ballymagarvey village??? any reviews???

PCPhoto

Cat2111 wrote: »

Hi I hope you dont mind me messaging you but thought you might be able to help? I was about to put down a deposit in ballymagarvey but am a bit concerned as they agreed a package with us verbally and they went back on it in the written agreement. Would you mind sharing with me how you go on with the haggling? We are having a big wedding about 180. Thanks, Caitriona

if they have changed anything - it could have been an oversight ...tell them what you agreed.

if they are not willing to facilitate you - tell them thats fine - you will look elsewhere....there are plenty of other locations who would welcome 180guests.

I proposed over a month ago and we are looking at venues at the moment, we're quite willing to tell the various hotels etc that we want this cheaper or we want that included in the price.... you are carrying a huge bargaining tool - you want to give the venue €15-20K+ .... but only the venue that is most willing to cater to your needs.

it might be a bit of a distance for you but you could look around ... we love the brooklodge - Macreddin Village (€125 per head + extras ....they are willing to haggle)....we have not booked anywhere yet .... spent the bank holiday weekend looking at 10 different venues between Wicklow, Dublin and Meath

Roo1977

PCPhoto wrote: »

if they have changed anything - it could have been an oversight ...tell them what you agreed.

if they are not willing to facilitate you - tell them thats fine - you will look elsewhere....there are plenty of other locations who would welcome 180guests.

I proposed over a month ago and we are looking at venues at the moment, we're quite willing to tell the various hotels etc that we want this cheaper or we want that included in the price.... you are carrying a huge bargaining tool - you want to give the venue €15-20K+ .... but only the venue that is most willing to cater to your needs.

it might be a bit of a distance for you but you could look around ... we love the brooklodge - Macreddin Village (€125 per head + extras ....they are willing to haggle)....we have not booked anywhere yet .... spent the bank holiday weekend looking at 10 different venues between Wicklow, Dublin and Meath

Hi PCPhoto - how has your search for a venue progressed? I am going to BMV's open day this Sunday to see it in person, am concerned about the bar being outside the function room.

sweetie

Roo1977 wrote: »

Hi PCPhoto - how has your search for a venue progressed? I am going to BMV's open day this Sunday to see it in person, am concerned about the bar being outside the function room.

Many very nice venues have the bar outside the function room (i could name a dozen) and whilst it can make it more difficult to keep a crowd in one place all experienced wedding bands and djs will have dealt with this before and be doing their utmost to keep the dancefloor busy.

Acall02

Hi we have booked BMG for next year.

It would be great to get any feedback. Good and bad.

Thanks

bream

clint_silver wrote: »

Not my wedding, I do wedding band and DJ and have played there a few times. Couple of bad experiences with management. staff themselves are nice.

I dont think Ive ever said anything bad about any service or venue on here but the manager up there has made me come close a couple of times. :mad:

You meet a few personalities along the way and can live with that but he is the only guy in the entire country in any venue who ever p'd me off. Twice!!! 'nuff said.

Staff are nice though.

I'd have to agree, i was a best man at a wedding there recently and dealing with the manager was a bit of a challenge-the venue was great as were the rest of the staff, just a couple of incidents with management that grated a bit

msbusterpuss

Hi All, I was at a wedding here recently and I was not a fan. The bar being outside the room is a bit of a problem and you would want to have an absolutely brilliant band for this.

The service - well it was terrible, the staff barely even looked at us, leaned over and across us consistently, they threw the food at us and stuck their hands out for the plates to be handed back. It was like a pack of oul ones standing around chatting and that having to serve us was a total inconvenience.

With regards to the food, it was nice there just wasnt enough we were starving. We were at a table of 12 and we got one dish of baby potatoes and one dish of veg - a few people at our table were left with neither and when we asked for more - well we never got it. There was one basket of bread and it was brought out after the soup was served. The main was beef and it was a literally a sliver folded in half with a colouring of gravy. I have never been left starving at a wedding.

The venue is amazing and the bar staff were excellent. They were the only plus points.

Jerrica

I'm getting married in BMV so I'm reading this thread with great interest!

We fell in love with the venue when we went to see it and booked it on the spot. To date the staff we've dealt with have been fantastic.

To me, if the venue is top notch that's half the battle there and then. A couple of my guests have said they've attended weddings there and they have nothing but great things to say about the venue, staff and the food.

msbusterpuss it's interesting that you say you were at a table for 12, I was under the impression they largely only did tables of 8 (which makes much more sense for serving, anything more than that and it could get messy). We haven't done our tasting yet but we're planning on going for options that we think everyone will like and we want to make sure everyone is well fed. Between the food after the ceremony, the main meal and the late evening food we hope that's the case.

The bar in a separate room has its plusses and minuses - I quite like it as it means that people can have a drink in a quieter spot if they'd like it. Also I like the idea of everyone being able to mill around on their own time and not feeling like they 'have' to stay in one place for any time. We'll have a DJ and not a band, but even at that I'm not a dance all night kind of person and will be looking forward to the after party and a sing-song with the guests staying in the house as much as the dancing

confusedbride

Id love to know people's opinions. Im totally confused. Ive have booked Ballymagarvey and Tankardstown Provisionally and CANNOT decide. theres pros and cons to both. BMG i dont like that the bar is outside and im worried the room will look empty with 130 and that ppl will prop up the bar all night and not dance..the only other concern is the staff, i get someone different every time i call or email and no one can ever answer directly they have to get back to me.. I love the house, the ceremony room, the grounds. They are better value for arrival reception, the meal with the wine and the cottage for people to stay?
TKS is beautiful, the house is pristine, the wine is not included and the arrival drinks with the package, the rooms are very expensive for people to stay and the grounds are fantastic but not as wow as BMG. I dont like that they lock upstairs when were down at the meal and people cant roam about. And im also worried that 130 will look too small in their room???
Help

Ray von

Was at a wedding in Ballymagarvey a couple of weeks ago lovely venue.

Pros:

Lovely house for arrival drinks and canapes. Guy on piano added to the atmosphere.
Little bar next to house had a great atmosphere also.
Food & service was top notch.

Cons:
Not enough rooms to accomadate all overnight guests
Bar not in function room which did leave the dance floor empty at times. Especially when the band finished and DJ began.

Maybe you could ask them to remove all seating from the bar so people can't get comfortable and will be forced to return with drinks to the function room.

doughef

Hi,

I was at a wedding there last year. We stayed 2 nights in the main house.
The house was fab, it was a cold day and they had fires lighting and it very cosy.
Our room was at the top of the house, not the best in the house and a bit pricey but it was a family wedding.
I loved the fact that we completely took over the house and there was no need to lock your door or anything.
Also, I've never come down for breakfast before and seen the chef actually in the kitchen and cooking exactly what you wanted.

The bar in the house is lovely. There were two young fella working and they were really superb, great craic, and closing time was at your own choosing
As for the wedding venue? it was lovely, bar outside the function room but it wasnt the end of the world..
We stayed on the extra day and had a party... great day again.

I enjoyed it

confusedbride

Thanks a million guys.. yeah i did ask them to remove the bar stools and some of the seats. Im considering having a bar in the function room down the back now, just bottles and spirits which leaves ppl going out for pints?? havent asked that one yet..
going to visit tankardstown once more and decide then.. accommodation isnt an issue once ive about 10 rooms.

skimo

Hi


I absolutely loved Ballymagarvey and was going to book them for my wedding next year but I am finding it hard to get answers for my queries. I was talking to somebody else and he said his wedding is there next month and he was finding it difficult too?

Is anyone else having the same problems???

Theboinkmaster

confusedbride wrote: »

TKS is beautiful, the house is pristine, the wine is not included and the arrival drinks with the package, the rooms are very expensive for people to stay and the grounds are fantastic but not as wow as BMG. I dont like that they lock upstairs when were down at the meal and people cant roam about. And im also worried that 130 will look too small in their room???
Help

I got married in Tankardstown last year and could not fault the place. It is expensive but worth every cent IMO. Only the main house rooms are expensive, the cottages at €90 per person are good value when you consider the luxury of them - they are really 5 star (white company bedsheets, molton brown toilitries, nespresso machines etc).

I think the grounds are awesome but you say not are nice as BMV however i think quality of food, drink and service is ALOT more of a priority to how the grounds look. There's no point coming in and thinking WOW and then at dinner the food or service is crap. And when it comes to food, drink and service Tankardstown is like an expensive restaurant, not quite michelin star but nearly. How many weddings can you order how you want your steak cooked...

When you say they lock upstairs do you mean upstairs of the main house? we had family staying there and all doors were unlocked however none of our guests ventured up there, as why would they? if you don't have guests staying upstairs then they're right to lock it off, why would guests want to have a look up there - they wouldn't.

You're having 130 - i assume it's in their new orangery? You have to trust them they have an ability to make the space perfect for each wedding size and id have no doubt they'd make that amount look great there. We had about 65 in their main dining room (the one at the front of the house) and it was perfect - so double that in the organgery would be great IMO.

Obviously take all of this with a pink of salt as I'm obviously biased

confusedbride

skimo wrote: »

Hi


I absolutely loved Ballymagarvey and was going to book them for my wedding next year but I am finding it hard to get answers for my queries. I was talking to somebody else and he said his wedding is there next month and he was finding it difficult too?

Is anyone else having the same problems???

I considered them but no one would answer my questions, literally everything had to go through about 3 people. I started labelling my emails to a specific girl because anyone was replying to me and no one ever had a straight answer..i was worried that it would only annoy me closer to the date. to be honest they acted like they werent bothered about getting my money in the end..even the day we visited on the open day I could hear few guides saying 'im not sure about that ill let you know'..

Shinthing

confusedbride wrote: »

skimo wrote: »

Hi


I absolutely loved Ballymagarvey and was going to book them for my wedding next year but I am finding it hard to get answers for my queries. I was talking to somebody else and he said his wedding is there next month and he was finding it difficult too?

Is anyone else having the same problems???

I considered them but no one would answer my questions, literally everything had to go through about 3 people. I started labelling my emails to a specific girl because anyone was replying to me and no one ever had a straight answer..i was worried that it would only annoy me closer to the date. to be honest they acted like they werent bothered about getting my money in the end..even the day we visited on the open day I could hear few guides saying 'im not sure about that ill let you know'..

I have had the same problem I've even provisionally booked it but they still haven't gotten back to us about payment. I have told them on 3seperate occasion that I do not want different people answering my questions that I busted wanted to deal with one person. They have ignored this request in numerous accounts. And I'm nearly passed the point of loving the venue. I picked it because I liked the feel of the house but the staff just come across terrible they can't just answer simple questions. We wanted a 2day event day 1 for 200+ guests and day 2for 70guests and I've been out to view it twice once with my oh and once with my parents. Has anyone had any luck with discounts or extras??

Jerrica

Shinthing wrote: »

Has anyone had any luck with discounts or extras??

You won't get any, they don't really do discounts or haggling. I'm not that bothered about it though, all their prices are upfront and you know what you're getting. We're having two days also, and tbh the package is such good value for that day I'd feel a bit silly asking for anything off it

I haven't had any of the other issues you've described - I have usually spoken to different people when I call alright, but that's just because they have a big team looking after the venue. We put down the €2500 deposit within days of booking it, made an appointment to go up and see it again, got assigned a coordinator and got sent our contract within 24 hours.

Shinthing

Jerrica wrote: »

Shinthing wrote: »

Has anyone had any luck with discounts or extras??

You won't get any, they don't really do discounts or haggling. I'm not that bothered about it though, all their prices are upfront and you know what you're getting. We're having two days also, and tbh the package is such good value for that day I'd feel a bit silly asking for anything off it

Hi jerrica
Why would you feel silly asking for anything off. We've been in contact with both the shelbourne and Druids Glenn and have been offered way more for our money before even asking for a discount. Most premises offer more for the bride and groom as extras from anniversary stays to little touches like personalised bathrobes as a gift from the venue. The majority of places just give menus with guide prices that are not set in stone to allow people to negotiate. Plus it's a wedding for over 200people midweek. I'm pretty sure that most of there weddings are under the 150mark

Jerrica

Silly isn't the right word I suppose - for the price we were given (likely the same as yours) it includes the BBQ for the party, money behind the bar and accommodation for all the guests. I don't see any reason to try and bargain that. You're right, they don't have the same extras that other places do, but what they do have is exclusivity and that means a lot to me - I know the venue is ours from 3pm on a Saturday to 12pm on a Monday: no other guests mingling around, no interruptions, dedicated staff, we have the run of the place to do as we wish. I love that they have the couple's trees in the garden and that I'll be able to sit around with all my friends and family having lazy cups of tea in the kitchen the day after. It'll essentially be 'our' house for the whole weekend, and I don't mind paying for that!

Theboinkmaster

Shinthing wrote: »

I have had the same problem I've even provisionally booked it but they still haven't gotten back to us about payment. I have told them on 3seperate occasion that I do not want different people answering my questions that I busted wanted to deal with one person. They have ignored this request in numerous accounts. And I'm nearly passed the point of loving the venue. I picked it because I liked the feel of the house but the staff just come across terrible they can't just answer simple questions. We wanted a 2day event day 1 for 200+ guests and day 2for 70guests and I've been out to view it twice once with my oh and once with my parents. Has anyone had any luck with discounts or extras??

If they behave like that before you wedding when you're just trying to book them imagine what they'll be like for the actual wedding!? I'd run a mile and book elsewhere TBH

Shinthing

Theboinkmaster wrote: »

Shinthing wrote: »

And I'm nearly passed the point of loving the venue. I picked it because I liked the feel of the house but the staff just come across terrible they can't just answer simple questions. We wanted a 2day event day 1 for 200+ guests and day 2for 70guests.Has anyone had any luck with discounts or extras??

If they behave like that before you wedding when you're just trying to book them imagine what they'll be like for the actual wedding!? I'd run a mile and book elsewhere TBH

I know the only reason I like it is because its not a hotel. I didn't want the layout of a hotel because I feel once you've seen one hotel function room you've seen them all. I wanted something special but your paying more for it and yet they treat you worse than staff would in a 1star motel

Theboinkmaster

Shinthing wrote: »

I know the only reason I like it is because its not a hotel. I didn't want the layout of a hotel because I feel once you've seen one hotel function room you've seen them all. I wanted something special but your paying more for it and yet they treat you worse than staff would in a 1star motel

Take your money elsewhere - there are plenty of places similar, if not better. Have you looked at Tankardstown?

Miss2b

Hi there. I can't really comment on BMG as a bride to be. I have been at a wedding there and thought it was lovely but it seems everyone I know has or is going to get married there including a very good friend of mine, so I wanted something different. I wouldn't really worry about the bar as it is not exactly that far off the main room.

In my opinion Tankardstown is a far more luxurious venue and the orangarie they have built is fab as it is not your typical "function room" we have been out to view it twice. However, as much as I love it. I just can't bring myself or ask my guest to pay a silly €300 per room in the main house and €200 per room for the cottages. We have been to view a few five star venues and not one of them were charging that amount. I would have had no problem paying their price per head for their meal/package but at the price of the rooms we would have to put nearly €800 towards subsidising the rooms for our guests. I have asked if there is anything they can do but they really don't seem to care if you book with them or not. That's their price and that's it! I just can't help feeling if they are this unreasonable in the early stages, what will they be like to deal with after you have signed the contract?
Maybe the reason their prices have gone up( as a previous post said they got the cottages for €90pp not €100) is because they have built that huge orangarie and now have to pay for it so can't afford to budge. If I were you I would go with Ballymagarvey where you will get a far better deal and won't have such a problem/worry filling the rooms as the same goes for both venues. If you don't fill the rooms, the bride and groom are stuck with the bill. Best of luck!

Theboinkmaster

Miss2b wrote: »

Hi there. I can't really comment on BMG as a bride to be. I have been at a wedding there and thought it was lovely but it seems everyone I know has or is going to get married there including a very good friend of mine, so I wanted something different. I wouldn't really worry about the bar as it is not exactly that far off the main room.

In my opinion Tankardstown is a far more luxurious venue and the orangarie they have built is fab as it is not your typical "function room" we have been out to view it twice. However, as much as I love it. I just can't bring myself or ask my guest to pay a silly €300 per room in the main house and €200 per room for the cottages. We have been to view a few five star venues and not one of them were charging that amount. I would have had no problem paying their price per head for their meal/package but at the price of the rooms we would have to put nearly €800 towards subsidising the rooms for our guests. I have asked if there is anything they can do but they really don't seem to care if you book with them or not. That's their price and that's it! I just can't help feeling if they are this unreasonable in the early stages, what will they be like to deal with after you have signed the contract?
Maybe the reason their prices have gone up( as a previous post said they got the cottages for €90pp not €100) is because they have built that huge orangarie and now have to pay for it so can't afford to budge. If I were you I would go with Ballymagarvey where you will get a far better deal and won't have such a problem/worry filling the rooms as the same goes for both venues. If you don't fill the rooms, the bride and groom are stuck with the bill. Best of luck!

Tankardstown wouldn't move much on prices with us either. However we had our wedding there a year ago and was perfect. I kind of respect that - here are our prices book if you want. They are confident as it really is 5 star luxury and they get the weddings. The main house accomodation is expensive but the cottages at €90 per person and reasonable i think.

Miss2b

Hi there!

I totally agree with you on the €90 per person for the rooms, however it has gone up to €100 now. We would love to get married there and have both fallen in love with it but the price per person for the meal is expensive enough without having to subsidise the cost of the main rooms as well as the cottages. We would have to put €240 towards the cottages and with the main house rooms at €300 per room, I suppose another €400. Was the orangarie built at the time of your wedding as I think this may be the reason for the prices going up? Also do you mind me asking which wedding coordinator you were dealing with at the time?
Many thanks!!

Theboinkmaster

Miss2b wrote: »

Hi there!

I totally agree with you on the €90 per person for the rooms, however it has gone up to €100 now. We would love to get married there and have both fallen in love with it but the price per person for the meal is expensive enough without having to subsidise the cost of the main rooms as well as the cottages. We would have to put €240 towards the cottages and with the main house rooms at €300 per room, I suppose another €400. Was the orangarie built at the time of your wedding as I think this may be the reason for the prices going up? Also do you mind me asking which wedding coordinator you were dealing with at the time?
Many thanks!!

That is expensive now if you're subsidising other people's accomodation. I think at the time the advertised rate for the cottages was €100 but she knocked €10pp off. No the oranarie was built just after our wedding so perhaps you are correct with that being the reason. Though speaking to the owner i don't think they have much debt so I'd be surprised if they are increasing prices to cover that, but i could be wrong. We were dealing with Helen sometimes but mainly all went through Ciara Carolan who is the operations manager there and she is simply a superstar, couldn't do enough for you.

Actually i should say we only dealt with Ciara after we'd booked our wedding, but for all the negotiation on the prices it went through Helen and sometimes the owners themselves. PM me if you need any help.

I would say though if you can afford it Tankardstown is worth ever penny IMO.

omeatheopian

Went to the open day here yesterday, and the place looked really amazing. Was really looking forward to seeing it, and aesthetically, it lived up to expectations, based on the great reports I had heard. Then I sat down with one of the 5 or 6 dedicated sales people they had, and it all went pear shaped. Was very surprised at how inflexible they were, and all seems to be "this is what we offer take it or leave it". They are obviously doing extremely well considering they are mainly booked up for the next year almost, but I got an overwhelming feeling that they gave very few f*cks about us! Disappointing overall but anyway. Next................