Wedding Venue Advice - South Down

lazer

Hi,

I got engaged last weekend, so now its time to sort the venue

I think we have whitled it down to the final 3,

Whistledown Hotel, Warrenpoint
Burrendale Hotel, Newcastle
Newry Golf Club

If anyone has any comments on any of them, or other suggestions please tell me! I hate making decisions!

tara747

Congrats! Never been to any of those, have you priced them? (this is MSE after all)

lazer

tara747 wrote: »

Congrats! Never been to any of those, have you priced them? (this is MSE after all)

I've got the price list for them all, however gonna to go to each of them at the weekend, see what the overall price would be.

They all seem to be in & around the same price - so its not a major factor in the decision at this stage!

mofopants

I have been to lots of weddings at the burrendale as well as other events and have never had a bad meal. The room is lovely too

GlynD

I've had severe problems in the Burrendale in the past which they tried to cover up by claiming I was drunk. Unfortunately at the end of an evening when something does occur very few people are stone cold sober. They manipulated this in my case. My brother had his reception at the Whistledown and loved it, unfortunately I couldn't attend. Newry Golf Club also sounds like an excellent idea. Have you looked at the Slieve Donard? It's one of my favourite venues.

lazer

GlynD wrote: »

I've had severe problems in the Burrendale in the past which they tried to cover up by claiming I was drunk. Unfortunately at the end of an evening when something does occur very few people are stone cold sober. They manipulated this in my case. My brother had his reception at the Whistledown and loved it, unfortunately I couldn't attend. Newry Golf Club also sounds like an excellent idea. Have you looked at the Slieve Donard? It's one of my favourite venues.

I've been to few weddings in the Burrendale myself and they have all been lovely so its good to hear thats its not all perfect.
Whistledown - I've never even been inside it - they have a wedding open day on sunday, so going to go to it.

Slieve Donard is very expensive and to be honest I'd rather not spend that much on the venue and would rather have the extras i could get in the other hotels such as the Bucks fizz on arrival for the guests, than pay more for the actualy meal and then have no extras!

GlynD

lazer wrote: »

I've been to few weddings in the Burrendale myself and they have all been lovely so its good to hear thats its not all perfect.
Whistledown - I've never even been inside it - they have a wedding open day on sunday, so going to go to it.

Slieve Donard is very expensive and to be honest I'd rather not spend that much on the venue and would rather have the extras i could get in the other hotels such as the Bucks fizz on arrival for the guests, than pay more for the actualy meal and then have no extras!

This was one of the worst things which has ever happened to me in any hotel and I've been to hundreds as a staying guest. In this case I immediately moved out into another hotel and refused to pay until the General Manager contacted me. I then told him who was at fault, and he agreed. They took no disciplinary action against the person however and he still works there in a managerial position. The only way I can express my disgust with how I was treated is to take my money elsewhere and I now use the Slieve Donard all the time. I've spent thousands there which the Burrendale would have had. I've seen us having family gatherings of up to eight people there - all staying overnight and having dinner.

That doesn't help you get your reception planned but it does give you an idea of how the Burrendale deal with problems if they occur. I realise the Slieve Donard isn't for everyone and sometimes I don't know how they justify the cost - they don't get a better class of guest all the time because of it.

Whatever choice you make ensure that the venue provides what you want. If they want your hard earned cash then they have to show you that they are the venue for you.

tara747

What about Narrow Water Castle? I was at a marquee wedding there a few years ago, it was STUNNING and the food was amazing (think it was the Yellow Door).

lazer

tara747 wrote: »

What about Narrow Water Castle? I was at a marquee wedding there a few years ago, it was STUNNING and the food was amazing (think it was the Yellow Door).

We did think about it, but to be honest it had gone off my radar.

What is a Marquee wedding like - since the wedding is likely to be October, I worry that it might be too cold fro a Marquee?

GlynD

lazer wrote: »

We did think about it, but to be honest it had gone off my radar.

What is a Marquee wedding like - since the wedding is likely to be October, I worry that it might be too cold fro a Marquee?

You're right to be concerned. Despite assurances from marquee companies that the heating supply is adequate for winter use I have found to the contrary. You'd have to take a chance that October would be mild and although that has been the case for a couple of years I don't think you'll want to take chances with your big day.

wanchai_2

lazer wrote: »

We did think about it, but to be honest it had gone off my radar.

What is a Marquee wedding like - since the wedding is likely to be October, I worry that it might be too cold fro a Marquee?

Hmm, not sure really! Ask on the weddings board, they'll have a lot more expertise