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Deciding on what day to get married is pretty much dictated on when you can get availability on a venue.

Louise Coughlan & Ed Kerrigan

Deciding on what day to get married is pretty much dictated on when you can get availability on a venue. That was certainly my experience in Dublin in any case.

As soon as we got engaged in March 2000 we commenced the search for the venue. Everyone it seems wants a Friday or Saturday so immediately our choices were limited given the fact we were booking so late in the day (relative to so many others it seemed!). It appears that the year 2000 has been booked by many couples for some time. However a few phone calls to various hotels and country houses soon puts you in the picture. Most venues are prepared and have a information package that they can send you detailing availability, costs and menu options.

I have to admit though that the personal touch wins out in the end. During our trip home for our engagement, we called in at the ‘Grand Hotel Malahide’. There we were shown the various options on rooms, bedrooms and menus. They proved themselves as specialists and professionals and came across as knowing exactly what they were doing. This was so important to us. Having compared prices and availability, we eventually decided on the Grand Hotel. It satisfied all our criteria and was near my home in Raheny. We had already checked availability on the local church so altogether it made sense.

One tip to those getting costs from hotels/venues: make sure you are being quoted for all costs involved. Some hotels have packages and detail everything included. Some only have the meal prices which seem cheaper but then you have to add all the other things like flowers, microphones, cake stand, wine etc etc. Happy hunting!

Our Mission - To Choose The Perfect Venue! Choosing a venue for the reception requires a lot of research and careful consideration - it's quite a task! Most hotels have a comprehensive wedding brochure available, which gives details of their "wedding package". This was the best place to start as the brochures give full details of what the hotel includes in their package, sample menus, details of accommodation rates for guests and of course the all important price list! Most hotels include the same things in their package - red carpet welcome, floral table arrangements, complimentary overnight accommodation for the bride and groom etc.

Once we had read through each of the hotels' wedding brochures, Niall and I contacted the hotels we were interested in to arrange meetings with the manager/banqueting manager. Armed with the wedding brochures and a list of questions, which we had compiled beforehand, our mission to find the perfect reception venue began! On each visit we made sure that we asked all of the questions we had prepared and we also enquired about whether the prices quoted in the wedding brochure were subject to change (this is very important to keep in mind). We discussed the wedding package with each manager in detail to make sure that everything listed in their brochure was included! We also asked each manager to show us around their hotel so we could get a better idea of what each hotel had to offer and we also asked to see a typical guest room and of course the all important bridal suite! I have to say that we found the hotel/banqueting managers of each hotel to be very helpful and friendly. Niall and I paid a second visit to the hotels, this time we arranged a short meeting with each manager to see their function room set up for a wedding reception. This was a great idea as we could see first hand exactly how the function room would look for our big day. It was also a good way of checking out how each hotel prepares for a wedding reception, for example in one hotel the staff were still setting the tables even though the wedding party had just arrived!

After a lot of analysing and agonising, Niall and I finally decided to choose the ‘Limerick Inn Hotel’ for our reception as it offered one of the best packages. They have a beautiful big and spacious ballroom which had only recently been renovated. Niall and I feel that it is important to have plenty of space for your guests in the function room, both during the meal and especially for dancing later on. The rest of the hotel was also undergoing renovation and this has now been completed in plenty of time for our big day! Another factor in our decision was the recommendation of friends and family who had attended weddings at the hotel and had nothing but good things to say!

My advice to anyone trying to choose a reception venue is to shop around! Get as many wedding brochures as you can and make sure you meet with the hotel manager/banqueting manager to discuss their wedding package in detail. Ask for a tour of the hotel and ask about any special offers - some hotels offer discounts on weddings that take place during the winter months or on some weekdays. Visit wedding fairs as sometimes the hotels will have special offers for couples who book their wedding with them on the day of the fair (although that is not advisable unless you have checked the hotel out first). In short, take your time and don't feel pressurised to book the hotel straight away. After all, the reception is the most expensive part of the day!

Vanya Sargent & Edmond Fleming

We are getting married in St Fintan's church in Sutton, and the reception is in ‘Clontarf Yacht & Boat Club’. Although my family live in Portmarnock, I haven't lived there very much in the past few years, and I don't like the church there particularly.

Sutton is where my father is from, and the church in which I was baptised, and I like it much better than Portmarnock. The priest who is performing the ceremony is a friend of mine since my days in DCU, where he was the chaplain, and director of the folk group of which I was a member. Many of that groupare still my closest friends, and they will be providing much of the music at the wedding. The rest is from the brass band of the Harold's Cross Boys' Brigade. Ed has been in the 1st Dublin Company since childhood, and although he will not be playing on the day, the rest of the band will be there to play me down the aisle!

The reception is to be in the sailing club in Clontarf (not to be confused with the Yacht pub!) where I am an associate member. I have been sailing all my life, as have most of my family, back to my grandfather, who was a founding member of what is now the Irish Sailing Association. As he passed away four years ago, I think it is fitting that my wedding should be in the club of which he was a member for over 75 years.

We have arranged our own caterer, and even including the cost of hiring furniture, linen and crockery, etc., the cost is still substantially less than a hotel would have been. My mother is getting creative with muslin, and we will keep the nautical theme with gold-sprayed seashells on the tables, whose numbers will be on the sails of little boats. The cake will also have shells, etc., and of course the club is filled with sailing motifs and pictures. This may be the only wedding whose date depended on the tide, though, as we had to pick a day when no sailing would be held, and the tide therefore had to be out during the day!

Samantha Barnes & John Breen

This is a beautiful hotel set in the Vale of Avoca – ‘Arklow Bay Hotel’. Five years ago my sister got married in this hotel and I have loved it every since then, I always said it would be the hotel I would pick to get married in. So, we booked the hotel almost two years in advance to get the date we wanted as this is a very popular hotel in the Wicklow - Arklow area for weddings.

We are having a punch reception on arrival with tea and coffee. Dinner will be served at 5.30 with a wonderful five-course meal. John & I will be escorted to the top table by a piper!! The surrounding gardens will be fabulous for the photographs. I have attended many weddings over the past few years in this hotel so I know the standard of service is fantastic and both the owners and staff are very helpful.

Fiona Edmondson & Dave Butterly

We chose the ‘Summerhill House Hotel’ in Enniskerry for our wedding reception. We liked the idea of it being small and more like a house than a hotel. There is also a drawing room near the ballroom where older guests who will not like loud music can retire to after the wedding breakfast.

I want lots of colour at the reception and have decided to have quite a lot of flower arrangements and candles here and there to make the entrance hall, drawing room and ballroom look like my very own. I also have a very definite idea of what the tables will look like: the center arrangements will be a little different and I am prepared to sit up all night tying ribbons around napkins if need be!

I have designed and made all my own wedding stationery, which will of course include place cards and menus, and the theme will be carried through to the table decorations and the wedding cake. I have even made the cards for numbering the tables!

We have not had a meeting as yet about the menu, but as Dave is a chef it promises to be delicious!