How long to plan a wedding?

twowheelsonly

woodchuck wrote: »

I suppose I'm just wondering if it's an issue coming/going from a hotel in a wedding dress if I haven't gotten married there! Especially if there is another bride who has getting married there that day. I think I'd be a bit pissed off if I paid good money to be "the only bride" there that day and then spotted another bride passing through :P Or am I overthinking it??

My sister got married in The Carrigaline Court Hotel in Cork last year. There was another wedding party staying there as well (nearly all down from Dublin) that were having their wedding in the Yacht Club in Crosshaven. That party was advised that there was another wedding in the hotel and therefore the bride, in particular, could not come back to the residents bar in her full wedding dress in order to prevent a clash with the 'resident' bride.

My sister got wind of it beforehand and made a point of tracking down the other girl that morning and telling her to drive on if she wanted and that none of us would have a problem with her turning up. She advised the hotel as well that she had no problem with another bride arriving later. That's exactly what happened, and even though the bride didn't stay too long in the residents bar afterwards (lightweight was gone by 3:30 ) a good craic was had and they were very appreciative of the gesture.

Having said that, my sister is the coolest, most laid back creature to ever walk on two legs !! Nothing phases her and she was probably more chilled than anyone in the place despite it being her own wedding.

woodchuck

Thanks twowheelsonly! That was very nice of your sister

Yeah I'm hoping it's not an issue if we're just passing through reception to check in/out. I haven't any plans to hang out at a residents bar... I'm already wondering what is the earliest acceptable time to go to bed at my own wedding :P I wouldn't be a late night reveller by any means!

Crunchy Friends

woodchuck wrote: »

I'm back! So we've provisionally booked The Anglers Rest and even found a humanist who is free on the same date

My question atm though is about accommodation. The Anglers Rest doesn't have accommodation (which is fine), but we might like to go back to a nice hotel at the end of the night. Is this an issue though with me showing up at the end of the night at another venue in my wedding dress? I'm thinking if the place we're staying has another wedding on... especially if they have a one wedding per day policy.

Has anyone any experience of this? Is it better to flag this to the accommodation before booking to see if it's ok, or just show up at silly AM in my wedding dress and hope it won't be an issue? (better to ask forgiveness than ask permission etc) Not much they could do at that stage anyway! I obviously just don't want to end my wedding day on a sour note if the hotel makes an issue of it.

I feel like everything you are thinking about the Angler's Rest is exactly what is going through my head! I think it looks like a lovely venue (I haven't been to see it yet) but I wonder about accommodation etc. Are you going to have the ceremony there too?

woodchuck

Crunchy Friends wrote: »

I feel like everything you are thinking about the Angler's Rest is exactly what is going through my head! I think it looks like a lovely venue (I haven't been to see it yet) but I wonder about accommodation etc. Are you going to have the ceremony there too?

It is lovely alright. They sent us a link where you can do a 3D walk around too, which is great. There were no surprises at all when we went to visit, it's exactly as it looks online!

We were considering doing the ceremony somewhere else, but we're probably just going to do the ceremony there. It's just easier for everyone I think instead of making people move between venues for the sake of it! Their ceremony room is nice enough anyway and they don't charge extra to use it. We might just add a few extra flourishes, but they do have some basic decorations already.

Our only concern was that I'd heard from a friend that the ceremony room can get hot - she was at a wedding there over the summer and she said that everyone was sweating in the ceremony room (but grand at dinner). She did say it was an exceptionally hot day though! We're looking at mid-Sept, so hopefully it won't be an issue for us. Alison did point out that they bought air conditioning units this year though (portable as opposed to built into the walls) and that drafts can be created by opening the doors if there's an issue. The windows don't open though, just to be aware of that (health and safety...).

We were mainly considering "alternative" venues. I.e. not a hotel function room. So that automatically meant that a lot of the places we were considering didn't have accommodation. That's a sacrifice I'm willing to make though! Just so long as we can get a taxi to a nice hotel at the end of the night, it's all good with me :P I have no interest in a "day 2" though!

They do about 100 weddings a year at the Anglers Rest and I assume every other bride works out any issues re accommodation etc... so hopefully it'll all be grand I particularly love how it feels like you're in the countryside, but so close the city. The best of both worlds!

qwerty13

I went to a wedding in the Angler’s rest a few years ago - food was really good. But I have to say the room upstairs was roasting! I think it was late August, maybe sept. There just seemed like there was no air though. So lots of people (smokers and non smokers) stayed outside after the food.

I was a plus 1, so I didn’t mind whatever happened. But whenever I went to the loo / the bar, it was obvious that there was an ‘outside crowd’ and an ‘inside crowd’. Most people were actually outside. It divided the crowd a lot.

qwerty13

qwerty13 wrote: »

I went to a wedding in the Angler’s rest a few years ago - food was really good. But I have to say the room upstairs was roasting! I think it was late August, maybe sept. There just seemed like there was no air though. So lots of people (smokers and non smokers) stayed outside after the food.

I was a plus 1, so I didn’t mind whatever happened. But whenever I went to the loo / the bar, it was obvious that there was an ‘outside crowd’ and an ‘inside crowd’. Most people were actually outside. It divided the crowd a lot.

And I know you said about staying somewhere else, but I found it closed early enough, and lots of guests didn’t know what to be doing. As I said, I was a plus 1, but there seemed to be lots of people that didn’t want the night to end, but there was nowhere to go. If you’re a bit of a night owl, or you’ve got an overnight babysitter, the earlyish end can be a bit of a downer (from person observation). As I said, it wasn’t my friends/family marrying, and then 6 of us went on to a late night bar - but lots of the crowd were a bit “what’ll we do now”.

Not a deal breaker, but worth considering I think

woodchuck

Thanks qwerty! I'm not too worried about things ending early - I'd be curious to know what day of the week you were there, as they do close quite early midweek if you don't pay for the bar extension. We're looking at a Saturday, so the bar will be open until 1am even without the extension (2.30am if we decide to pay for the extension). We're not sure yet if we'll pay for the bar extension - 1am sounds late enough to me, but then I do like my sleep!

Yeah the potential for the heat is something that might be a concern. They have gotten the two portable air con units recently though, so you wouldn't have had the benefit of those when you were there a few years ago. Part of the reason we're opting for September though, is because we think the worst of the summer heat should be over by then. And I have no problem asking for doors to be open if needed. Smaller numbers (70 max, but could be closer to 50) should work in our favour too from that perspective.

My latest wonder about the venue, is photos. The interior is lovely, but we plan to do our "couples" photos in phoenix park (maybe at farmleigh). I'm just wondering about photos with the parents and siblings if the weather is nice. We don't really want to be herding a group of people into the phoenix park. I'm wondering if there's a spot just outside the Anglers Rest (not requiring transport) that's good for that - just a nice leafy backdrop would be fine! I'll ask the wedding coordinator there too, but always good to get input from people who have been there

hanaimai

If you're super worried about arriving in the hotel in your wedding dress with another wedding potentially being on, could you change before you arrive? Maybe ask a family member to throw a change of clothes for you into their car or something so you could just grab before you head off?

woodchuck

hanaimai wrote: »

If you're super worried about arriving in the hotel in your wedding dress with another wedding potentially being on, could you change before you arrive? Maybe ask a family member to throw a change of clothes for you into their car or something so you could just grab before you head off?

Thanks, that could always be a last resort! Not something I'd like to be doing ideally though.

I suppose I'm just wondering if I should discuss this with the hotels in advance, or would I be shooting myself in the foot. If they have a policy we can work around (e.g. can't go into the residents bar), that's grand. But I don't want them to turn around and give an outright "no, only 1 bride per day, stay somewhere else".

woodchuck

I just wanted to provide an update on the accommodation for our upcoming wedding in the Anglers Rest in case anyone else also encounters an issue.

I contacted a number of places ahead of time about checking in wearing a wedding dress. We had to rule out the following:
- Castleknock Hotel. They said that they have a one bride per day policy and have a wedding that day, so I can't be in any public areas in my wedding dress. They were nice about it, but the bottom line was that I'd have to change before checking in - I don't fancy getting changed in the loos at the Anglers Rest at the end of the night though, so have ruled them out!
- Carton House. A little further out, but I'd heard good things. Unfortunately they came back with a flat out no - they have a one bride per day policy, already have a wedding that day, so can't accommodate a second bride for the night. I understand where they're coming from, but they weren't particularly nice about it.

We found the following options:
- Becketts Hotel. They said that they do weddings, but not on Saturdays. So no issues checking in wearing a wedding dress on a Saturday night and they have a night porter. Happy days! We've booked them as the property looks quite nice, with a bit of character.
- Hilton Hotel Kilmainham. They said they don't do weddings at all, so no issues checking in wearing a wedding dress and the reception stays open at night. That was another good option and a little closer than Becketts, but we just prefer the look/sound of Becketts overall!

I contacted a couple of other places too, but got no reply.

Hopefully this information might come in useful for anyone else planning a wedding in the Anglers Rest!

Neyite

I kind of understand the policy of one wedding per day - after all, you want your venue's staff to be focused on your function, but having worked in plenty of places where a wedding, a massive Christmas party and a fully working á la carte restaurant were ticking away nicely all at once in various corners of the place I think the "one bride on the premises" policies are actually quite awful.

What's going to happen if a bride on her way to the jacks happens to see a glimpse of another woman sitting in a white dress at the bar having a quite drink? Is it like seeing a doppelgänger where you are supposed to die or something?

Are there actually brides out there that are so insecure that the mere presence of another bride checking in at reception causes the ruination of of their wedding to the extent the venue needs it in a contract?

woodchuck

Neyite wrote: »

Are there actually brides out there that are so insecure that the mere presence of another bride checking in at reception causes the ruination of of their wedding to the extent the venue needs it in a contract?

I guess so!

I do understand where the venues are coming from though. Particularly in this increasingly litigious society of ours... if it's in the contract and the venues breaks those terms and conditions, then in theory they could be on the hook for a lot of money. Emotional distress? :rolleyes: Not to mention the bad review costing them future business!

I'm glad I got in touch ahead of time though. Could you imagine if I hadn't, went to check in at silly AM and they made a song and dance about it? It would completely ruin my day! I'm no bridezilla, but I don't want to be made feel ashamed of the fact that it's my wedding day. The only reason I even thought to ask is because I randomly came across a story online of someone it did actually happen to.

At least we have options though. Just wanted to post them here in case anyone else does a search in the future - might come in handy for them!