Killarney, Co. Kerry is one of the premier wedding destinations in the country.  With stunning scenery and tons of places to get great photos taken, it is the perfect backdrop to any wedding.  Also – guests love the opportunity to explore the area, there is so much to see and do in Killarney!

Take a look at one of our venues in Killarney for your Wedding Day.

You can check availability for Darby O’Gills wedding venue in Killarney for your prefered wedding date on WeddingDates.ie.

Everyone loves a bit of cake, and at your own wedding you can go as extravagant as possible with it!  Think multiple tiers, lucious icing and intricate decorations.  While browsing cakes online the other day, I came across the website uglyweddingcake.com – where you can take a peek at some wedding cake disasters.  Oh lordy – read more…

The Irish heats for the 2010 Wife Carrying Championships in Finland were held last weekend in Sneem, Co. Kerry as part of the Sneem Family Festival
Naturally, the weddingdates.ie team were out in force and James and Ciara managed to improve their time to 1 minute 38 seconds!! Not bad for the couple who came read more…

Clonabreany House opened its doors last week and I was lucky enough to get invited to the launch party (yes, they had champagne!)  The place is steeped in history as it was the house of the Wade family in the wake of the Cromwellian Settlement.  Clonabreany House and Courtyard lie at the gateway to the Boyne Valley in Clonabreany near Crossakiel Co. Meath.  It is roughly about an hour from Dublin (depending on traffic) but is quite remote and as they say themselves – “quintessentially Irish”.

The historic Georgian property is surrounded by traditional farms and Irish countryside which would provide a great backdrop to wedding photos.  The restored courtyard has 10 self contained houses, (which can sleep up to 90 people!)

Clonabreany Courtyard

A fantastic feature of this private wedding venue is that it has a cosy little sibín bar apart from the main house, which would be a winner with any late-night wedding guests!! (We certainly put it to good use after the launch party!)  It is full of old time country character.

Clonabreany House itself is joined to a permanent semi solid marrquee fully fitted for weddings.  The marquee has a funky black & white tiled dance floor and  private dining facilities and can cater for up to 200 guests. The main houses boast four reception rooms and three bedrooms – the bridal suite is HUGE and the bathroom has a free standing bath.

Clonabreany Marquee - Meath

The restoration of this property truely has been a labour of love for the owner and so much work and effort has been put into the place, that is clear.  However, now that it is finished, the most important thing about this venue for any bride is the team behind the scenes.  Events at the property are being managed by GK Events under the careful eye of Gary Keating and the day-to-day operations is being handled by Lorna Murphy who has extensive experience is organising large-scale events such as festivals and corporate hospitality.  Lorna is really hands-on and is going to be making sure that the weddings run smoothly for the bride and groom.  Another point to note, is that the food and Catering at Clonabreany House will be cooked personally and overseen exclusively by Euro-toques chef Gerard Meade. He is a prominent local chef from Navan with twenty five years experience in hotels and restaurants both in Ireland and abroad.  I met him at the launch and it really comes across that his passion is for locally grown and produced food and seasonality of ingredients.  They even had stands on the night exhibiting some of the local food producers and suppliers who treated us to the most delicious cheeses, crab claws and cold meats.

Something that will be very attractive to many couples looking at this venue is that it offers the bride and groom and their wedding party complete exclusivity and privacy for their special day.

Watch their own YouTube video below to get a feel for the place:

What do you think of a private hire venue like Clonabreany for your own wedding?  Give us your thoughts in the comments!

For the young and funky bride who wants a new hotel with a real fresh feeling, look no further than the Ashbourne Marriott Hotel. The staff work tirelessly to ensure that standards are met here. highly recommended!

Looking for a wedding venue in meath? Check availability for the Ashbourne Marriott now!

The Carlton Hotel, Cork has the only dedicated spa in Kinsale and has kindly offered us up a “Summer Glow Package” for this month’s competition!

The Summer Glow Package consitsts of:

• Lime and Ginger Salt Glow Body Polish
• A taster facial
• A Jessana toe nail polish

To be in with a chance to win, simply watch the video walkthrough we did for the Cork Wedding Venue Carlton Hotel & C Spa in Kinsale and answer the simple question below!

Question: How many treatment rooms does the Carlton C Spa have?

Send your answers along with your name and address to competitions@weddingdates.ie – winners will be announced in next month’s newsletter!

And if you are looking for a waterside wedding venue in gorgeous County Cork – then check availability for the Carlton Hotel in Kinsale here on weddingdates.ie!

We’ve all seen the funny wedding first dance vids on YouTube, but came across this yesterday and had to share……a VERY different church entrance dance – an aisle-walk with a difference!  Not sure how well this would go down in an Irish church, mind!  And HOW many groomsmen and bridesmaids do they have?!

I recently got the full tour of the Trident Hotel in Kinsale, Co. Cork and really liked the intimate feel of their banquetting room, its a long room with lowish ceiling, but the stone walls and old fashioned windows, not to mind the view over Kinsale Harbour gave this hotel a real sense of character and the room certainly would not need a huge amount of room dressing – a nautical theme would be perfect here!

Take a look at the video to make your own mind up on this wedding venue in cork(and disregard the grey sky – I didn’t pick the best day for filming, but then again this is Ireland and we all know we can’t control the weather as much as we’d like to!)

You can check availability for this nautically-themed wedding venue in cork on WeddingDates.ie!

Recent stats released by the Central Statistics Office reveal that civil weddings are becoming increasingly popular in Ireland and may overtake religious ceremonies by the year 2012.
civil ceremonies have increased from 6% in 1996 to over 23% in 2006, according to the CSO.  During the same period, the proportion of religious ceremonies has decreased.
If you read more…

The debate rages as to whether or not veils are a must-have or a no-no for the modern bride.  Personally, I think they finish off the bridal look and can really transform a dress – draw the eye down the back to some detailing for example.

As ever, it is a matter of personal choice but read more…