Barberstown Castle

Incredible experience! Wow lads!
We had the pleasure of getting married here a few days ago and what can I say, it was just amazing. Absolutely everything was perfect, the venue, the location, the setting, the people, the staff, the food, the grounds, the couple..... It had it all!!! From start to finish, the whole experience was top notch, we really couldn't have asked for more. Everything was exceptional.

From the moment we booked the place, the staff were excellent, we were told what to do, where to go, how to go about it, with no fuss and expert direction. We had our day planned on how we wanted it to go and they worked around us and were just fantastic. They took care of everything and were in touch the whole time leading up to the wedding.
We went down for a taster menu and had a fantastic meal (the chicken butter, the bread, oh my god, it's absolutely incredible! 5 star food! ). While we were there, we met the fantastic Arlene. She served us all evening, got to know us, then went and checked to make sure she was working the day of our wedding! She was there on the big day and she was brilliant. So classy and such attention to detail.thank you!

Leading up to the big day, we were in touch with Sarah in Reservations, who was absolutely fantastic. She was attentive, kind and super excited for us and showed the enthusiasm and care that shone throughout the whole team on the build up. She really put us at ease and knew her role perfectly to round up who was going, where they were to stay, when to check in and how. It really took all the pressure off that side of making sure friends and family got everything they needed to be all set up and sorted for the big day. thank you to all the reception team.

Danielle then went through everything with us, what we wanted, how the place would look, what way to lay out the tables, how the space would work, what happened if someone accidentally asked an extra 20 people to the wedding (me, ooops!) and just how everything would flow. We got the full run down and they knew exactly how we wanted everything to be. We wanted fun, entertaining and light hearted and not only did she get us, It was exactly what we wanted, 3 cheers for you!

The morning of the wedding, I arrived and was greeted by all the hotel staff warmly,
I was shown to the room and it was gorgeous, i nearly didn't want to bother with the rest of the day, just relax in that tub and have a soak and some bubbles! (Lads, the shampoos, hand washes - it's how I imagine David Beckham smells every day, they are lovely!) There's beautiful touches in the room, everything just felt indulgent. We loved it.
Shout out to Patrick, who was working about 15 different tables for breakfast but still found a second to greet us, grab our things, bring up some food to us in the room - I honestly think he would have washed my car and gone to the shop for a bag of monster munch for me if I'd asked him! Nothing was a problem. Great fella - thanks Patrick!
Emma. The fantastic Emma met us then. Coordinator for the Day. She was incredible. This is your time. This is your day. I'm here for whatever you need, whenever you need it. All you need to do is relax. She was like RoboCop, Pink, Sinead o Connor, James Joyce and Tommy tiernan, all rolled into one magical person. Warm, clinical, philosophical, funny, knew all the right things to say. A real calming influence and brings order to the chaos. She put us at ease, guided us through the whole ceremony, eased our pre wedding nerves, and kept telling us just to breath it in, take the moments that matter and then just guide us on the journey through the day. Emma - you were incredible. Thank you.

Our ceremony was in the main hall. What can I say about that. Just stunning. I'll admit, 30 degrees heat and a 3 piece tux was a bad choice - barberstown castle can do alot of things but the weather is something they can't control!

The ceremony went by in the blink of an eye, the guests all gushed about the outdoor spaces, the grounds, the whole thing was just fabulous. It's the perfect venue. The flow is brilliant, the outside circulates with the bar and the dance floor and the seating area, it all just works so so so so well (I added those extra So's because it just is SO good!)

Another shout out to the most important men at the wedding that weren't us, Aidan and josh behind the bar! Lads, perfectly poured pints of Guinness, orders on before people even asked what the round was. Proper, professional bar men that knew their audience! Good drinks, good people. Good craic. Everyone was looked after. Ye were phenomenal. Thank you!

The food was brilliant. (Shout out to the confit of duck starter! Compliments to the chef!) The starters, the soups, the mains, the desserts! Everything was just top top notch! Could have skipped the soup in the heat but sure look, soup at a wedding has to be done!
Conor. Manager for the night. ( And who seemed to pretty much better my shadow for about 3 days!) Wow man! You sir, are incredible, you are a credit to Barberstown and they are lucky to have you. Every time I went to do something, you had done it 10 minutes before me. Nothing was a problem, everything was A1. Everything was taken care of. You made me question my marriage only a few hours in, and I was half thinking of bringing you on honeymoon instead, you were amazing so from the bottom of my heart, thank you! You looked after us, and every single side quest and request was met with 'not a bother' or 'already taken care of'. I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if I saw Conor running the country in a few years time, nevermind a castle! You are phenomenal. Thank you!

I have to give a shout out to Ger and Heather too on the night crew. They were great on dealing with missing keys, missing voices, grabbing some extra rooms, cajoling some taxis, just dealing with end of night hijinx where people just wanted to get to where they were going, find their room, and they did a sterling job of dealing with my paraletic, zombie 3am crew with aplomb! Thank guys!

Day 2 (nearly there, I promise!) was in the Haggard bar, we got spoiled (SPOILED!) In there again. It's great! Check it out if your thinking of doing something here. It's really really special!

Somehow, Conor was back in the morning, and had moved all of the stuff from our day one ( there was alot of stuff!) into that bar. He had everything set up upon arrival. Our slide show was playing, all our flowers were back and re-arranged beautifully in the space, and he had the football on the telly for me by request). Josh was back from day one taking requests, from sneaky pints to cocktails and shots with what I think must have been a mix of WD40, Petrol, and blu wicked! Thanks for keeping the Garysberg on ice Josh, it made my day! You were great and a credit to the place. Thanks for putting up with us!

We had the BBQ food for people around half 3 and the burgers - we had vegans in the party converted to eating them, they were honestly that good. Lads, they were brilliant. shout out to the girls in the kitchen, ye were absoltelely faultless, I can't say more. We parties into the night. Some... A little too much!

There's so many more people I haven't mentioned. There's so many little spaces and places in barberstown I haven't even called out but the amount of people that have came up to us and said "Best. Wedding. Ever!!!!" And genuinely meant it. - some of that is down to us, but most of it is Barberstown and it's staff, so on behalf of myself and my new husband, thank you all so much! G+A June 26.
(I'll deffo have my next wedding here too!!!!!)

We recently had our wedding at Barberstown Castle and genuinely cannot speak highly enough of the experience.

We were not a couple who were especially “into the details” of wedding planning, and one of the things we appreciated most was how completely safe we felt in the hotel’s hands. The team knew exactly what needed to be taken care of, what would matter on the day, and how to make everything flow smoothly without ever making us feel overwhelmed.

We also had a few slightly unusual requests (including a choir for the ceremony and some fairly goofy photo ideas) and every single one was met with patience, good humour, and a genuine willingness to help. The staff were so accommodating and nothing ever felt like too much trouble.

The setting itself is absolutely beautiful, with gorgeous grounds and a wonderful atmosphere throughout the venue, but what really stood out to us was the staff.

Every person we interacted with managed to be warm, friendly and putting us at ease, while also being incredibly professional and competent. That combination is rare, and we honestly felt so well looked after from start to finish.

The food was incredible. One of our relatives was so impressed that they actually asked for the chef to come out so they could thank him personally. That probably says more than we ever could.

There were also so many behind-the-scenes things that made the day work seamlessly: moving furniture, managing the flow of guests, keeping everything on time, and quietly making sure the practical details were handled. We noticed and appreciated all of it.

We have never been treated with such warm professionalism. Barberstown made the day feel relaxed, beautiful, and completely under control, and we are so grateful to Danielle and her team for giving us such a wonderful day to remember!

Emma & Paul