rbnwdln

My nephew would like to get married in a Catholic Church in Dublin next May. He would like help and I am wondering if anyone has any recommendation with how to make this happen? Does anyone have experience with this? There will be about 25 people at most and he will be paying for some of the family to attend, so don't want a hotel that is terribly expensive. It would be just a small dinner following the ceremony. He (nor I or his fiancee) have ever been to Ireland, other than the airport. Can someone recommend a hotel or wedding planner/ travel agent, or other advice that would help us get started? (He is planning on going with his fiancee to Dublin at New Years to find a church, but we need to get some plans now.) Thanks!!!!

Cathinjoetown

Google "getting married in Ireland" and a great deal of information will come up.

Hope it all works out.

nytraveler

Unless rules are very different in Ireland to get married in the Catholic church at least one person needs to be a member of the parish and the couple needs to participate in pre-marital counseling with their priest.

Before looking at the hotel or the wedding planner I think they should consult their local priest to see if he can provide information on what they will need to do as far as the church is concerned in order to qualify for marriage. then follow up with the hotel and the reception.

rbnwdln

Thank you for your help. He is looking into all this, especially the church. The information on google is not hugely helpful and was hoping for some first hand experience. I think he needs to find a travel agent/wedding planner familira with all this, but I would still like to hear if anyone has any exerience with hotels/churches, etc. in Dublin. Thanks!

nytraveler

OK - for hotels - what do you mean by "not terribly expensive". Hotels in Ireland are often much more than in the US. But - if he is booking several rooms he may be able to get some sort of discount. (If you are looking at rooms at a hotel that can hold a reception I think that might drive your prices up even higher - since small B*Bs are usually most economical.)

socialworker

Find out if there is a church run by the Paulist order of priests. I am not sure if that order is present in Ireland or if they are strictly American. Their churches tend to be---in the US at least---churches that minister to transients and people passing through. They are usually in city centers, current or centers of the past.

The Paulist Center in Boston is one example and Old St. Mary's in Chicago (if it is still there!) is another.

Ryan

Is there a particular reason for Dublin?

Might he consider other locations in Ireland that have a bit more charm to them? Perhaps something a few hours west of Dublin?

On our recent trip to Ireland I found Dublin to be the least appealing location that we visited. The charm of Ireland is the countryside and the beautiful villages like Kinsale or Cobh. There are numerous tour operators in Ireland that would make that option for a group far more practical.

Perhaps he is willing to consider flying into Shannon Airport and having the wedding in an area in the West of Ireland?

We recently stayed for part of our vacation at the Castlemartyr resort in the east of Cork. With the decline in the Irish economy they have been offering some fantastic deals for a hotel that was constructed to be a 5 star resort.

Compared to other European capitals I found Dublin to be the least interesting. Of the dozen or so European capitals where I have traveled I'd put Dublin on the bottom of the list for a future trip. We are however already contemplating a return trip to Ireland for next year, but we are looking to confine our visit to the Galway and Cork area.

Wexford may be a nice option to consider as it's a bit over an hour to the southwest of Dublin with a lot more charm than the capital.