Finding your Dream Wedding Venue is one of the most important factors in planning your wedding.
The venue will determine your whole wedding vibe, look and feel you are after, for this reason, you must sit down and discuss with each other exactly the type of wedding you want and atmosphere you wish to create.
You also need to decide on guest numbers, and you need a defined budget set in place before you start. Once you’ve thoroughly discussed this then you should be ready to start the exciting first step – Finding Your Dream Venue!
At the end of this episode, I’ll share a brief list of ways that you will know that you’ve found ‘The One’ – so make sure you listen to the end!!!
Choose your type
Castle Wedding Venues
If you’re after a fairy tale feel for your Big Day, a beautiful castle will tick all your boxes. Castle wedding venues are the stuff many wedding dreams are made of and for good reason – these stunning historic buildings have the wow factor in spades but still have that charming, cosy feel and you and your guests will feel like royalty to boot.
Hotel Wedding Venues
If you’re looking for beautiful Irish hotel wedding venues, you are in the right place. Ireland boasts many jaw-dropping hotel wedding venues and it can feel hard to choose between them all! Whether you are after a large venue that can accommodate all your friends and family, a luxurious location, immaculate grounds, show stopping reception rooms or anything in between
Exclusive Wedding Venues
There are some incredible exclusive use wedding venues dotted around the country offering you and your guests peace and privacy! From Country Houses and Estates to Castle Hotels – the list is endless. And as for the benefits of hiring an exclusive venue… how much time have you got? We’ll only mention one, the most important one – no strangers wandering around on your Big Day. Because the stories of wedding crashers are true, you know.
Alternative Wedding Venues
All couples are different, but they all have one thing in common – they want a wedding venue that’s so ‘them’. Maybe you don’t want a venue that has white linen or seat-covers and you want more a rustic feel or you don’t want a traditional hotel wedding venue and want something with a bit more of the “wow factor”
Restaurant Wedding Venues
There are some amazing restaurants in Ireland that host weddings! You’ll find some incredible options all across the country, in all different styles. So if you’re a foodie or want to ditch the formalities this might be your best bet!
Start looking at different options
This is probably the most difficult part, because where the heck do you even start? When I was planning my wedding 10 years ago, I had to rely on Google searches and hunting through potential wedding venues’ websites, emailing them and scouring through catalogues. It was so time consuming!
To save you the pain I had to go through, I’d love to tell you about the most mind blowing wedding planning tool. It’s weddingsonline’s venue finder: https://www.weddingsonline.ie/venue-finder?submitted_by=dropdown
First you put in your wedding venue type [this is why we started with this!]
Add in required features (like do you want all inclusive packages, or a waterside venue…)
Add in your number of guests and how much you can pay per head
With the criteria in mind, you’ll see a list of venues that match!
You can view the venues’ profiles and then put in your name, email address and wedding date – these contact details will be sent to the venues which matched your criteria and they will then be in touch.
That’s literally one click of a button and you’ll have all the key bits of info sent to venues which tick all the boxes for you!
Get ready to ask your big questions
Once you have narrowed down your potential venue list to a reasonable number of venues (five is usually my advice!) you should arrange a private viewing or request to attend a showcase they may have coming up – keep an eye here on our events page. It is important, if possible, to attend an onsite viewing in order to get a feeling for the venue, see it fully dressed and meet the team.
Viewings should be fun and exciting and should allow you make the right choice for you both! If this is not possible Virtual Viewings are now available in most venues nowadays! Attending the viewing is the next step and knowing all the right questions to ask is half the battle, so we have created a detailed list of all the wedding venue questions you should ask before and during your venue visit.
Episode 25: Questions To Ask Your Wedding Venue
Here’s how to know you’ve found ‘The One’
- Fits your style
- It’s in the perfect location
- It’s got great reviews
- The venue matches your guest count
- There are lots of good photo ops
- It’s in your budget
- And it’s available on your wedding day!
