Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Weddings in Ireland!

There have been some recent changes in the laws relating to getting married in Ireland, essentially loosening up the restrictions and requirements for where and how a legitimate ceremony can be performed. Which is fantastic for all those brides who have dreamed of getting married in a castle or on a lovely manor estate in that perfect, friendly, and verdant country. Rates have fallen all the place as well, and with the Euro strong but not so out of control as in the past several years, it's actually quite realistic to think of planning a destination wedding in Ireland.

And to that end, I have a recommendation for renting castles, manor houses, estates, villas if
you will, in Ireland.


Destination weddings are in some ways less stressful than regular weddings because there are certain wedding "musts" that you can just forget about when planning for far away events. The "special touches" you obsess about are sort of built in to the grandeur of being in a foreign place. Food, drinks, favors, what have you can all be related to the locale, shrinking the pool of possibility enormously, thereby limiting analysis paralysis over finding the very perfect choice in a sea of options. Plus, your guest list is often limited (those obligatory invitees probably won't throw down cash to travel to show up and avail themselves of your hospitality, food, booze, dancing-late-into-the-night, etc. as they might if the event were a few zip codes or even a few states away) and you have the opportunity to craft an event with only your nearest and dearest in attendance.

Having traveled extensively in Ireland, I highly recommend it as a unique destination for a great wedding. The Irish are incredibly kind and friendly people, and there's so much history and beauty and tradition that can be imbued into your celebration. Between the self-catering castle rentals, the serviced holiday Manors, mansions and estates, and even the sweet Irish farmhouse cottages, there is no shortage of options for hosting an amazing event.