How much is it these days to get married in Ireland
- Thread starter carrieann
- Start date
S
Sintra
Guest
Hi Carrieann, Huskerdu is right, however to try and help you are prob looking at a minimum €25/30,000 (incl honeymoon) for something decent to be remembered.
I married an Irishman in Italy (my country) in August.
paid for 110 seated and for 70 at the evening reception. went almost 4 weeks on honeymoon to hawaii and the whole lot cost us about €30K (incl us paying for the first night in the hotel and for all bus transports from the airport, to the church etc for the irish guests).
we paid €70 a head for the meal (min €100 in Ireland) and €25 a head for the evening reception (again min €40 in Ireland), we paid €400 for the Italian band and €450 to get an Irish band in too (between the two the music was on from 8pm to 2am).
the cake was €0 because in italy the restaurant provides them (we had a choice of four flavours and endless shapes, they also gave us the topper figurine free, and the best part of all, it was gone within 20 mins....the irish especially loved it, my father in law alone had 7 blooming slices!!!, it was a millefoglie, millefoille in french, delish)
dress was fab italian hand-made yet was the cheapest i found at €1250.
the church flowers cost us a lot at €1000 but that's because italian churches are dressed to impress at weddings (and that price was a family friend discount !).
the only thing we spent most money on was the photographer + video at €2500 (pretty same as in Ireland, but the album + DVD are digital novelties not to be found here....dying to get them).
we didn't fly first class (we'll do that when we are pensioners
) but the hotels were all 4+* and 5* (you need them after a year planning).
So it really depends on your needs and what you want to remember most.
eg I was going to give up on a lovely merc for transport but my mother in law convinced me to get it in the end for the sake of €300 because she said she didn't want us to regret not having done this and that.
so think carefully what you give up on, but remember it's only one day at the end of the day.
what really makes it are the guests.
i have been to a few all irish and all italian weddings and by god are they all the same boring lot?
i am sorry to disappoint you but every bride ends up spending more then her peers trying to add in things that make her own wedding stand out...but in the end they are all the same aren't they?
i was lucky cause with the 2 cultures meeting neither party was at all bored (they all had something new to experience) and the day was a novelty of different uses for all to enjoy.
so my advice would be:
1) getting married abroad is still costly but you get more value for your money (however if you are not a foreigner it might be daunting so you defo need a planner)
2) i thought the irish would have hated the irish band (we got it for the italians really) but they absolutely loved it, so get one...even if you get married in ireland
3) classy doesn't have to be posh. we got married in an agriturismo (like a farmhouse/ranch with chalet style rooms) which everyone regarded as the most beautiful place they had been in. so ditch the big posh hotels, sometimes you may find real class in a countryside setting.
4) the best were my sandals (august roaring hot wedding) at €12 (love them!!). the only person who knows they were €12 is my mum. everyone else thinks they were fab and they look brill on the pics. and my necklace was my mum's too (you need something borrowed after all )
5) my auntie likes flower arranging so my bouquet cost €0. She got the begonias from her garden and the roses from a bunch i got as a present from a neighbour. the ribbon was from strips i asked the dressmaker to keep. it lookes great on the pics and it ended being thrown in the crowd anyway.
6) get yourself a foreign fiance to have a guaranteed good party where people don't need booze to have a memorable night (maybe farfetched)
i am sorry i could be talking about this for days.
hope i have helped somehow.
I married an Irishman in Italy (my country) in August.
paid for 110 seated and for 70 at the evening reception. went almost 4 weeks on honeymoon to hawaii and the whole lot cost us about €30K (incl us paying for the first night in the hotel and for all bus transports from the airport, to the church etc for the irish guests).
we paid €70 a head for the meal (min €100 in Ireland) and €25 a head for the evening reception (again min €40 in Ireland), we paid €400 for the Italian band and €450 to get an Irish band in too (between the two the music was on from 8pm to 2am).
the cake was €0 because in italy the restaurant provides them (we had a choice of four flavours and endless shapes, they also gave us the topper figurine free, and the best part of all, it was gone within 20 mins....the irish especially loved it, my father in law alone had 7 blooming slices!!!, it was a millefoglie, millefoille in french, delish)
dress was fab italian hand-made yet was the cheapest i found at €1250.
the church flowers cost us a lot at €1000 but that's because italian churches are dressed to impress at weddings (and that price was a family friend discount !).
the only thing we spent most money on was the photographer + video at €2500 (pretty same as in Ireland, but the album + DVD are digital novelties not to be found here....dying to get them).
we didn't fly first class (we'll do that when we are pensioners
) but the hotels were all 4+* and 5* (you need them after a year planning).So it really depends on your needs and what you want to remember most.
eg I was going to give up on a lovely merc for transport but my mother in law convinced me to get it in the end for the sake of €300 because she said she didn't want us to regret not having done this and that.
so think carefully what you give up on, but remember it's only one day at the end of the day.
what really makes it are the guests.
i have been to a few all irish and all italian weddings and by god are they all the same boring lot?
i am sorry to disappoint you but every bride ends up spending more then her peers trying to add in things that make her own wedding stand out...but in the end they are all the same aren't they?
i was lucky cause with the 2 cultures meeting neither party was at all bored (they all had something new to experience) and the day was a novelty of different uses for all to enjoy.
so my advice would be:
1) getting married abroad is still costly but you get more value for your money (however if you are not a foreigner it might be daunting so you defo need a planner)
2) i thought the irish would have hated the irish band (we got it for the italians really) but they absolutely loved it, so get one...even if you get married in ireland
3) classy doesn't have to be posh. we got married in an agriturismo (like a farmhouse/ranch with chalet style rooms) which everyone regarded as the most beautiful place they had been in. so ditch the big posh hotels, sometimes you may find real class in a countryside setting.
4) the best were my sandals (august roaring hot wedding) at €12 (love them!!). the only person who knows they were €12 is my mum. everyone else thinks they were fab and they look brill on the pics. and my necklace was my mum's too (you need something borrowed after all
)5) my auntie likes flower arranging so my bouquet cost €0. She got the begonias from her garden and the roses from a bunch i got as a present from a neighbour. the ribbon was from strips i asked the dressmaker to keep. it lookes great on the pics and it ended being thrown in the crowd anyway.
6) get yourself a foreign fiance to have a guaranteed good party where people don't need booze to have a memorable night
(maybe farfetched)i am sorry i could be talking about this for days.
hope i have helped somehow.
I would have to disagree with some of the figures in Sinatra's post, we got married in a four star hotel in Ireland. The cost for the meal was €55 per head and €7.5 pp for evening food. You will definitely get the meal for under €100 pp and €25 for the evening is expensive. Our wedding cost under €20,000 excluding honeymoon for 100 people.
You can pay as much or as little as you want, it's all the extras that add up. We didn't bother with the cars as our opinion was they're incredibly expensive for the length of time they're used.
You can pay as much or as little as you want, it's all the extras that add up. We didn't bother with the cars as our opinion was they're incredibly expensive for the length of time they're used.
Well, my fiance and I are looking into the cost of a wedding at the moment, and the best very rough total we have come up with so far, would be approx €15,000 for 80 guests, 55e per head for meal, drinks reception & canapes on arrival, a round for everyone for the toast, couple of bottles of wine per table,tea & sandwiches served in the evening, civil ceremony in the venue - €500-suprisingly dear - accommodation fo bride & groom,and probably my dress! think with honeymoon, rings, bridesmaid dress and suits for groomsmen, would be looking at €20,000 and thats being quite careful with the money. personally couldnt justify spending more than that - even €20,000 for a party sounds insane, but we're broke so it all sounds mad at the moment!! As other people have said, it'll cost what you are prepared to pay, but a basic reception for 80 ppl, not too many frills,costs aprox 7 - 8,ooo so you can imagine how the other stuff ads up on top of that.
If you find any great deals, let me know!!! I think once you feel you'll get full enjoyment out of it, that you are going to love the fresh flowers everywhere, or the red carpet arrival, or fancy cake or 4 bridesmaids or groomsmen or whatever luxuries u are paying for, once you are going to be fully thrilled and delighted, then it will be worth the money! Good luck
A
AMMS
Guest
We're planning our wedding this year...approx 120 for day & 30 evening.. so far the total estimated cost is about €15000..
menu per head - €39
corkage - €5.50 a btl (getting wine in asda etc)
cake - marks & spencer (1 tier) and chocolate cake in bakery
no cars - asking friends to drive us as their gift
band - 2000 but this includes church music, evening and dj
invites & stamps- € 140 - get invites in US -far cheaper
dresses - poss to get dresses in US - 1/2 the price of here & free shipping
shoes - next €37
evening food - 5.50 a head
flowers - check with priest who normally does the church flowers or if there is a wedding the day before...
Photographers - have a laptop at the reception for guests to upload their photos to so that you have a copy of theirs - many budding photographers at weddings
hotels usually give bride & groom nite free & 1st anniversary wkend free too. shop around!!! this is not the year for hotels to be picky also rather than getting gifts on day from ur friends suggest ways they can contribute...eg baking cakes, chauffering you, taking photos.
Good luck and most importantly enjoy the day!!
menu per head - €39
corkage - €5.50 a btl (getting wine in asda etc)
cake - marks & spencer (1 tier) and chocolate cake in bakery
no cars - asking friends to drive us as their gift
band - 2000 but this includes church music, evening and dj
invites & stamps- € 140 - get invites in US -far cheaper
dresses - poss to get dresses in US - 1/2 the price of here & free shipping
shoes - next €37
evening food - 5.50 a head
flowers - check with priest who normally does the church flowers or if there is a wedding the day before...
Photographers - have a laptop at the reception for guests to upload their photos to so that you have a copy of theirs - many budding photographers at weddings
hotels usually give bride & groom nite free & 1st anniversary wkend free too. shop around!!! this is not the year for hotels to be picky
also rather than getting gifts on day from ur friends suggest ways they can contribute...eg baking cakes, chauffering you, taking photos.Good luck and most importantly enjoy the day!!
picaresque
Registered User
- Messages
- 25
my wedding last year cost e14,000. 120 guests. meal just under e60 a head and about e1700 for wine if memory serves in a Co. Dublin hotel.
honeymoon was seperate. I've never actually added up the cost of this.
It all depends on what you want and your priorities.
honeymoon was seperate. I've never actually added up the cost of this.
It all depends on what you want and your priorities.
B
bradleycorey
Guest
hiya hun,
just came across your post.
Before i on on about our wedding costs, i just want to make sure this post is still valid and your still open to opinions and wedding expences.
Where was this hotel and also what did you get for this amount?
Will PM you - would rather not mention personal money on the site.
btw the €8k was the total bill for my wedding (excluding honeymoon). so for that I got hotel, video, photographer, band, flowers etc. You can do it cheap enough if you are sensible and try not be impress too many people. I had a great day and everyone at it did too, and all really enjoyed their meal and entertainment.
C
craftycat
Guest
Hi AMMS
I have a question relating to the below posting, I hope thats ok as its been up awhile! My partner and I are getting married next year and we are a little confused over the corkage charge. Ive been looking around hotels and they all seem to range around €15.00 per bttle, it seems very expensive compared to the €5.50 a btl you mention below. I take it €15.00 doesn't include the actual wine??!!! Also your menu per head is very good, could you send me the name of the hotel where you had the wedding? Btw Congrats!
I have a question relating to the below posting, I hope thats ok as its been up awhile! My partner and I are getting married next year and we are a little confused over the corkage charge. Ive been looking around hotels and they all seem to range around €15.00 per bttle, it seems very expensive compared to the €5.50 a btl you mention below. I take it €15.00 doesn't include the actual wine??!!! Also your menu per head is very good, could you send me the name of the hotel where you had the wedding? Btw Congrats!
We're planning our wedding this year...approx 120 for day & 30 evening.. so far the total estimated cost is about €15000..
menu per head - €39
corkage - €5.50 a btl (getting wine in asda etc)
cake - marks & spencer (1 tier) and chocolate cake in bakery
no cars - asking friends to drive us as their gift
band - 2000 but this includes church music, evening and dj
invites & stamps- € 140 - get invites in US -far cheaper
dresses - poss to get dresses in US - 1/2 the price of here & free shipping
shoes - next €37
evening food - 5.50 a head
flowers - check with priest who normally does the church flowers or if there is a wedding the day before...
Photographers - have a laptop at the reception for guests to upload their photos to so that you have a copy of theirs - many budding photographers at weddings
hotels usually give bride & groom nite free & 1st anniversary wkend free too. shop around!!! this is not the year for hotels to be picky
Good luck and most importantly enjoy the day!!
Bewleys Dublin airport have deal on for 100 guest for 5k reception price - maybe contact them for further details . Their are prob other hotels doing these deals as well so if this is the case I cant seee where you would need another 15k unless you are buying a diamond encrusted dress
€15 corkage is a joke, should be closer to €5. Times have changed in the hotel industry and many are struggling to survive. Do not forget that you are offering to fill their hotel, bar and restaurant for a night with cash spending punters.
Tell them how much you are prepared to pay and ask them if they are interested in bidding for your business.
L
LouthMan
Guest
We are going to have 150 people at 27.5K for everything, people say oh ye mine cost 15K ! Ye right, when you put everything down it all adds up.