Free bars & hashtags? Irish public weigh in on wedding do’s & don’ts

Aug 24, 2023

Wedding etiquette can be tricky business – how much should you spend on a gift? Is it rude to leave before 11pm? Can I tweet this photo of the bride?

Most people will have their own individual answers to these questions, but with so many differing opinions out there, it is easy for lines to become blurred.

In an effort to shed light on the general consensus of Irish wedding do's and don'ts, gift card company, One4All, surveyed 599 adults, and the result were very interesting indeed.

Destination weddings have increased in popularity over the past few years, and with that, many wedding guests are asked to travel abroad for their loved one's special day.

While this can often be a costly affair, 37 per cent of those polled said they would travel anywhere to watch their nearest and dearest tie the knot.

A further 61 per cent said they would travel outside Ireland, while 59 per cent agreed a wedding abroad would be an enjoyable experience.

When it came to gifts, research showed that Irish wedding attendees spend an average of €186 on bridal presents.

Add that to the cost of a new outfit, drinks at the reception and overnight accommodation and guests are looking at spending €643 on average per wedding – ouch!

But hey, you'll almost certainly get a fancy sit down meal – or at least 88 per cent of us think we should. Another 57 per cent believe a second helping of food should be provided later in the evening.

Interestingly, just 3 per cent of Irish adults believe a free bar should be provided at a wedding reception.

Opinions on social media differ from couple to couple, but with one in 10 people in Ireland revealing they have attended a wedding with its very own hashtag, it looks like technology is starting to play a bigger part in our nuptials.

That being said, the traditional approach also proved popular with 16 per cent saying they would consider a social media ban on their wedding day.

Commenting on the survey findings, group marketing manager for One4all Ireland, Aoife Davey, said:

“The research shows that the majority of people in Ireland are willing to go above and beyond for the wedding celebrations of loved ones whether that means travelling abroad or splashing out on a generous gift, and wedding guests prefer personal weddings now more than ever.”

We're a very generous bunch all together.

Something blue: 8 FAB ways to incorporate blue into your wedding

Jun 6, 2022

by Alison Egan

First things first – CONGRATS, you're getting married – slay queen.

There is a time-honoured tradition that brides should incorporate "something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue" into their wedding ensemble, but it can be tricky to include all these factors.

This tradition was once thought give the bride good luck on her wedding day, but also help to guarantee fertility and prosperity. However, nowadays it is simply a sweet ritual you can incorporate into your special event in many ways, from accessories to delicious treat.

With all of this bridal loveliness in mind, we have done up an edit on some special ways you can add something blue to your wedding day!

1. Splash some blue into your bouquet

2. Get yourself some gorgeous blue shoes.

3. Sew a blue heart to the inside of your dress

4. Satisfy your sweet tooth with a delicious blue wedding cake.

5. We really love the idea of a vintage blue hair comb.

6. Get yourself a blue manicure

7. Why not go the whole way, and get yourself a stunning blue wedding gown?

8. Add a hint of sparkle to your wedding look with some lovely blue jewels.

Is Clonabreany House the most stunning wedding venue in Ireland?

Nov 29, 2019

by Amber Saunders

We think it is one of the best! The magnificently restored Georgian estate in County Meath, is also celebrating 10 years of delivering truly unique, exclusive weddings and events to guests from Ireland and overseas. To mark the occasion, Clonabreany House has launched its ‘A Passion for Provenance’ menu celebrating the very best of seasonal, Irish produce and its continued commitment to local suppliers. The stunning setting of Clonabreany House, which led to it being chosen as the location for The Great Irish Bake Off in 2013, is complimented by the highest quality, bespoke service ensuring that this beautiful venue is constantly in high demand. The quality of the food at Clonabreany House and the team’s commitment to local suppliers, is undoubtedly one of its key differentiating factors.

The 'A Passion for Provenance' menu celebrates Clonabreany's commitment to Irish produce and the valuable relationships that the team has developed with local suppliers which includes sourcing fresh fruit and vegetables from Grange Farm in Trim, breakfast products from Doherty Craft Butchers in Kells and the highest quality beef from CR Tormey's farm in Kilbeggan.

Executive chef Simon Mooney’s menu also celebrates award-winning produce from all over Ireland, such as Goatsbridge trout, Velvet Cloud cheese and yoghurt, Wild Irish Foragers preserves and syrups, and Highbank Orchards apple cider, balsamic vinegar and pink apple juice, to name just a few.

Simon commented: “At Clonabreany House we utilise the finest, seasonal ingredients to ensure that every guest has a wonderfully memorable dining experience. We take particular pride in meeting guest’s individual dietary requirements, whether that’s vegan, vegetarian or a preference for plant-based, we strive to deliver a top-level restaurant experience for every guest.”

Mary O’Neill, General Manager, Clonabreany House commented: “Our food offering has always been an integral part of the unique Clonabreany House experience. We’re delighted to mark our 10th birthday with the launch of this new menu. We look forward to welcoming and celebrating with many more happy guests in the future.”

The opening of Clonabreany House in 2009 marked the unveiling of a 10-year restoration project of the 18th century land master house and adjoining courtyard, which received an Ellison Award from An Taisce for excellence in conservation. Guests celebrating at Clonabreany House have exclusive use of the beautiful buildings, which can cater for groups of 220 and accommodation for 90 guests, with further accommodation options available in the local area and neighbouring towns.

The hugely successful private wedding and event venue is a key employer in the area, and generates significant business for other suppliers in the wider area such as florists, photographers, musicians etc. on an ongoing basis.

www.clonabreanyhouse.ie

So, this is how much average Irish couples spend on their wedding

Uniquely Irish

Oct 8, 2019

by Kat O'Connor

We all know weddings can be expensive, from floral arrangements to the venue and from the groomsmen’s suits to the cake. It’s a pricey affair, but worth every penny.

We’re sure there will be plenty of proposals happening as we get closer and closer to Christmas.

Love is in the air in the Emerald Isle, but if any of you are planning on walking down the aisle you may want to start saving now.

Weddingsonline has revealed the average price of an Irish wedding and it may startle you a little bit.

Apparently, the average Irish couples spend €26,015 on their wedding.

We think it’s time to start doing the lotto.

It has also been revealed that lovebirds in Ireland spent more on weddings in 2017 than ever before, with a 7 percent increase in wedding costs.

The average figure of €26,015 includes honeymoon fees which cost approximately €5000.

So, where exactly is all this money coming from? 62 percent of couples shared that they use their personal savings to pay for their big day. With a further 22 percent admitting that their parents have helped out with the excessive costs.

18 percent of couples stated that they have taken out loans to cover the costs of their wedding day.

One of the things with the biggest pricetags included the venue, with couples spending an average of €12,413 on their venue.

Other pricey additions included the wedding dress, a wedding band and a photographer.

They say your wedding day is one of the most special days of your life, but are Irish couple’s spending too much on their big day?

Now that we know how expensive a wedding possibly could be, should you consider a destination wedding instead?

Virtual Reality for weddings has landed in Ireland, and it looks class

Apr 30, 2018

by Rebecca O'Keeffe

Virtual Reality for Weddings has landed in Ireland! For decades’ people have captured their weddings, from the days of black and white photographs of old to high quality full colour photographs and more recently with video recordings.

Now with the advancement of new technologies, capturing your wedding has taken a giant leap forward. Virtual reality is growing at a phenomenal rate and has really taken off in areas such as gaming and education. To put it in its simplest terms, virtual reality is a 360-degree, 3-D video that virtually places you directly back into a moment or into the middle of the action, and now it is available for your wedding!

The footage is captured using a state of the art 360-degree camera which captures a visual image from every single angle. When you experience this footage via a virtual reality headset, it is if you were back in the room with the ability to look in any direction and see what had been there originally.

360-degree sound is also captured, meaning you can hear the sounds from all directions as you would normally in the live moment.

When you apply this to a wedding, the result is truly amazing. Imagine being able to re-experience the best day of your life, witness the reactions of close relatives that you may not have seen on the day, whether that be your mother in law crying at the first dance, or your father laughing throughout the best man’s speech.

It is if you were literally back in the room with the ability to watch it over and over again. Now imagine experiencing this 20 or 30 years after your wedding, to re-live those happiest moments with all the people you love most as they were. For many couples, this immersive video transports them back to their wedding day in a way that standard video can’t, allowing them to relive how they felt in that moment.

The opportunity to share the experience with relatives and loved ones who may not have been able to make it to your wedding has also improved greatly with this service. Virtual reality takes people beyond a photograph or simple 2D video capture.

“VR Weddings” are a premium producer of virtual reality content specifically for weddings, and have a range of options to suit your budget and requirements. Once your preferred option has been chosen, a pre-production meeting will take place at the wedding venue to establish the running order and best camera position for the key moments throughout the day.

On your wedding day, an experienced 360-degree camera professional will capture all of the pre-planned footage. This is then post produced in studio to create a beautifully edited piece of virtual reality content. This content is then placed onto the most modern headset available on the market – The Oculus Go, and is delivered to you within 2 weeks after your wedding date for you to enjoy and keep.

Find out more at www.vrweddings.ie

We just found the dream job, and it involves weddings and DOGS

Jul 18, 2017

by Amber Saunders

If there's two things we love in this world it's dogs and weddings (pizza comes in somewhere too, obvs).

Unfortunately for most of us, neither of those things will ever be incorporated into our working lives.

But now, a woman named Veronica Silva had trouble finding a dog sitter when she was getting married, and feared that her beloved pet would end up alone on her big day.

In the end, the bride couldn't find anyone to mind her precious pup… so she came up with a very smart business idea.

A post shared by Pawfect For You (@pawfectforyou) on Jun 13, 2017 at 8:13pm PDT

Dog sitting at weddings.

Veronica set up her own company Pawfect For You, and we think it's the dreamiest job in the world.

She takes care of everything that the pet needs on the day, from transport, to cleaning, feeding and everything in between.

Speaking the HuffPost, Veronica said: "I was trying to find a pet sitting service that would take care of our dog on our wedding day, but would also bring JakeBear to the church and venue to be in some of our pictures.

A post shared by Pawfect For You (@pawfectforyou) on Jun 15, 2017 at 5:11am PDT

“I didn’t want to ask one of our friends, since they were all part of our wedding.

“I love this, being able to go to couples’ special events where they’re already ecstatic and in a wonderful mood. Having their pet there elates them more.”

Dogs and weddings? Does it get any better?

This woman asked a stranger to a wedding and they ended up married

Jul 7, 2017

by Amber Saunders

So, they say love can be found in the most unlikely of places.

Whether it's a chance encounter in a bar you were dragged to against your will, or an old friend you suddenly began to look at differently, romance can come crashing into your life when you least expect it.

And this is something one lucky couple know all too well.

This modern day fairytale began back in 2014 when Llia Apostolou took to Twitter in an attempt to find a date to bring to her sister's wedding.

Are you a man? Can I borrow you for a wedding next weekend? Bonus points if you can source a baby that I can pretend is mine too.

— Llia Apostolou (@Llia) July 6, 2014

In a bold move, Llia put out a call for any eligible bachelors who would be willing to attend a wedding with a complete stranger, and to her surprise, she got the response she was looking for.

Just minutes after the tweet was posted, Phil Gibson, a man completely unknown to Llia, offered himself for the role.

@Llia I can do this, I've got a suit and everything!

— Phil Gibson (@philgibson01) July 6, 2014

The pair then engaged in some back and forth flirtatious banter with Llia even saying, “See you at the alter” – and she wasn't lying.

@philgibson01 See you at the altar.

— Llia Apostolou (@Llia) July 6, 2014

@Llia My Grandma already wants to meet you.

— Phil Gibson (@philgibson01) July 6, 2014

Three years later, the couple actually did meet at the alter when they tied the knot at their own wedding.

What's more, Phil didn't actually attend Llia's sister's wedding, but the pair did meet up a week later after hitting it off on Twitter.

Did it! Here's me and my wife @Llia on the way back from the registry office. pic.twitter.com/Q117Rx1XE2

— Phil Gibson (@philgibson01) July 4, 2017

Happy birthday to me! I've woken up in a huge four poster bed… WITH MY BRAND NEW HUSBAND. pic.twitter.com/OtiBxW52VO

— Llia Apostolou (@Llia) July 4, 2017

We're not crying, you are!

‘We’d love to pay for your wedding’ This is the CEO you wish you had

Jul 3, 2017

by Amber Saunders

Weddings are a pricey business.

Whether you opted for a bank loan in order to celebrate your union or postponed your big day in order to save as much as possible in the run-up, there are few couples who haven't felt the pinch when planning for their wedding.

Aware of the financial pressures which invariably accompany an engagement, one CEO in the States has made the decision to fund his employees' weddings.

Chieh Huang, the CEO of Boxed – a wholesale retailer – called a meeting in order to announce his intentions to his stunned staff.

In an incredibly moving speech which has been uploaded to YouTube, Chieh explained that he felt compelled to introduce the new policy after learning that an employee had been working seven days a week so he could bring his wedding forward in order for his ill mother to attend.

"No one at this company should feel pain like that," Chieh said in the video which has been viewed more than 50,000 times.

"I've thought about what we can do to help you guys, and what we can do to help other people in the company. So we got you out of work and got all these people here to tell you that we'd love to pay for your wedding, so that you guys can have it," Chieh continued.

Check this out…

There’s a wedding hashtag generator and it’s super creative

May 24, 2017

by Amber Saunders

As many brides-to-be will know, planning a wedding takes a lot of work.

There's the dress, the rings, the venue, the invitations, the guest list… and of course, the wedding hashtag.

A wedding hashtag has only become popular in the past few years, and while some brides want to steer clear of social media on their big day, others opt to have a hashtag for the memories and the LOLs.

And many guests admit that it's much easier to find wedding photos on social media under a hashtag than trying to look up individual guests accounts'.

So, say hello to the Wedding Hashtag Test.

This new website is basically a time machine to the 90s, as it not only generates a hashtag, but it also calculates you and your significant other's compatibility.

You'll feel like you're doing a ~*groovy*~ test from a teen magazine.

But, it's really fun and you'll no doubt have a laugh with your partner when you only score a compatibility rate of 21 per cent.

Give it a go and let us know the gas hashtags it creates in the comments below.

Camera shy? Here’s how many snaps will be taken at your wedding

Apr 27, 2017

by Amber Saunders

Your wedding day will probably be the most photographed day of your life, and with good reason.

Between the perfect dress, the flawless make-up and the beautiful venue to act as the backdrop, you’re going to want to document your efforts. But have you ever stopped to think just how many photos will be taken?

A new report has put a number on it – and it's slightly terrifying.

Research by Mobiles.co.uk has found that an average of 3,000 pictures are taken over the course of the average wedding day.

That's right, 3,000

See, while most couple still choose to hire a professional photographer to document the day, a massive 75 per cent of wedding guests will use their smart phones to grab some extra snaps.

The survey of 1,015 wedding guests and 1,015 recently married couples also found that two thirds of those pictures are shared on social media – so essentially 2,000 pictures of your wedding day will be floating around in cyber space for all of eternity.

Given these stats, it’s no wonder most brides make it their business to look their best on the day.

Those dresses! Penneys’ wedding day range is all kinds of gorgeous

Mar 16, 2016

by Amber Saunders

While Penneys is considered the go-to for all things festival-, summer style- and night out-related, it's not the first place you might think of to source wedding supplies.

But the Irish retail giant has just launched Primark Weddings, a whole range dedicated to those perfect details for your big day.

While they're not stocking wedding dresses (not yet, anyway), there's just about everything else you could need for a Pinterest-worthy wedding day.

Like these flower girl dresses, from the Primark Wedding Little Stitches range:

Crochet Shift Dress, €14

Print Prom Dress, €14

Lace Overlay Dress, €14

Or these little touches for the church, reception and everywhere in between:

White Wedding Plaque, €2

Wedding Arrows, €3

And for your wedding night and honeymoon, there's a heap of stunning white lace and satin lingerie, starting at just €8.

Plus these sweet pillows for your first night as a married couple *swoon*

Mr and Mrs Bedding, Pillows €5

So basically, we just want it all.

Calling all budget brides! Would you wear an ASOS wedding dress?

Nov 13, 2015

by Amber Saunders

Planning a wedding? You have to think about the invites, the cake, the venue, the band, the food, the photographer, the church and countless other things but for most brides finding the perfect wedding dress sits firmly at the top of that never-ending list.

Shopping for the perfect dress is pretty much a wedding rite of passage. You gather your mammy and your trusted bridesmaids to sip champagne and try to find the perfect gown before heading out for a boozy brunch. And we all know that we may just HAVE to repeat the process… numerous times.

But what if you would prefer to have the dress dilemma sorted in the click of a button and for just couple of hundred euro…

Well ASOS has the now given you that option. The trusted online retail giant has announced the launch of it's first line of bridal gowns. Notoriously ahead of the fashion curve, ASOS is aiming to sell designer looking gowns for a fraction of the price.

Due to be available online from April 2016, official prices have not ye been released but according to Who What Wear all the dresses will cost less than €400! Now THAT is a bargain.

The styles range from more traditional silhouettes (lacy long sleeves, a-lines and trumpet styles) to more modern looks (short cocktail style dresses and Grecian goddess style numbers). And with a price tag that will leave a lot of spare cash in the big day budget, these dresses are definitely winning us over.

We can't wait to get a peek at the full range but for now, just need to find a husband…