The Ultimate Wedding Venue Guide: Galgorm Resort & Spa

On the hunt for your perfect venue? Here, the team at the world-renowned Galgorm Resort & Spa share what it is about the venue that makes it so special. Plus, check out my round-up of unmissable wedding photo locations at Galgorm.

Tell us about Galgorm Resort & Spa

Galgorm Resort & Spa is Northern Ireland’s premier resort destination, with 122 guest rooms, three on-site restaurants, luxurious banqueting facilities and not to forget Ireland’s largest Thermal Spa Village. The location itself couldn’t be dreamier, with beautifully landscaped gardens and the River Maine flowing through the resort.

Couples truly are spoilt for choice with a myriad of potential wedding venues in Ireland to choose from; barns, castles and even music halls… the list is endless. However, Galgorm Resort & Spa remains a popular choice as we offer a full service resort wedding. While aesthetics will always remain a huge factor when selecting a venue, more often than not, brides are now considering the onsite amenities, customer service and accessibility for their guests. Often wedding guests travel from great distances to celebrate with the bride and groom and having one central location for guests to stay affords you more time to catch up with those who have chosen to be with you on your special day.

The award-winning facilities, paired with a team of experienced wedding planners with the ability to remove any stress from the wedding planning process, makes Galgorm Resort & Spa a popular choice with couples.

What makes the venue different from other hotels?

There are many factors that make Galgorm a unique venue for couples, including two magical ceremony rooms; The Ghost House and The Phantom House. Both are equally stunning yet offer couples two completely unique backdrops, meaning you can host your wedding ceremony mere yards away from your reception.

Stress-free planning comes as standard at Galgorm Resort & Spa. Each couple will meet with one of our experienced wedding planners who are on hand throughout the process, from the initial enquiry, right through to the day itself. They can even secure your must-have suppliers, leaving you with more time to enjoy the fun stuff, like cake tasting! A dedicated wedding host is also on hand throughout the wedding day to ensure timings run to plan, even providing plasters when the dancing shoes get a little too much!

No one ever wants the party to end and that’s why we have devised an array of pre and post-wedding events that allow couples to extend the celebrations over a number of days. Pre-wedding dinners can take place in one of three on-site restaurants, or perhaps task our mixologists to create a bespoke cocktail for an arrival drinks reception. A popular choice is a post wedding BBQ in the beautiful Mulberry Garden – the perfect way to enjoy a proper catch up with your nearest and dearest.

What wedding options are available at the venue?

Through years of experience in wedding planning, we have honed a selection of inclusive packages that help couples make the most of their day, with options available for everything from the most intimate of weddings through to the more lavish. Offering total flexibility and choice, couples can handpick suppliers from a list of carefully chosen and highly regarded experts in their field. We like to call them, the people we trust!

The resort is home to three wedding suites, each with their own unique style and feel, catering to numbers ranging from 15 to 280. The Great Hall is the largest wedding suite, which offers an opulent setting oozing elegance with the unmistakable top table waterfall backdrop. The Renaissance Suite is a firm favourite thanks to its Art Deco sophistication and The Four Seasons Suite, situated in the main hotel, offers a contemporary suite with monochromatic features and a magical private walled garden.

How do you ensure couples get the wedding of their dreams?

We believe in the magic of weddings and reflect this by ensuring the setting, level of service and support couples receive is second to none. A truly personalised service enables us to bring dreams to life and with packages to suit every taste and budget, we endeavour to create memories that are unique to our brides and grooms. No request is too big or too small!

What tips would you offer couples to ensure a stress-free wedding?

A wedding is an extremely memorable event. To many it is one of the most important days of their lives, which is why minimising stress is so important. Our top tips would be:

1. Your day, your way

After the engagement celebration, it is hard to not hit the ground running and get your wedding planned. Realistically, you have probably been visualising this day long before your engagement with Pinterest boards and bridal magazines in tow. This is when it is important to remember that it’s your wedding day and you do it your way, as you will hear different opinions and see so many options that it can become very overwhelming, along with the stress of budgeting, invites and trying to carry on with normal life. It is lovely for your family and friends to have an input as often it is supportive but when it comes to making the final decisions in order to stay stress-free, you as a couple know what you want from your wedding day!

2. Be prepared for meetings with your wedding coordinator

Meeting with your wedding coordinator is a very exciting time as not only do you get to see your venue and your plans progressing, but everything becomes a little bit more real. To ensure this is a stress-free process, organisation is key! Be prepared for your meetings, take your notes with you and ask plenty of questions. Sharing information during these appointments allows your wedding coordinator to make this the wedding day of your dreams! Also make sure to take note of deadlines for final numbers and food requirements as this will be one of the biggest deadlines you will have to follow.

3. Enjoy every moment

Arguably one of the most important tips is to enjoy every moment of your wedding day! Many people will tell you that it goes so fast and believe them, it does. One moment you will be standing in the church saying “I do” and the next you are enjoying your first dance. Remember to take a few minutes to yourselves and soak it all in.

What is the most unique wedding day request you’ve ever honoured?

We have had quite a few unique wedding day requests over the years but a few of the most memorable would be when our wonderful wedding planner Laura came to the rescue and planned a couple’s wedding day in 24 hours! Unfortunately due to adverse weather conditions caused by the Beast from the East, a couple faced the challenge of finding a last-minute venue as their original venue had to cancel with one day to go. After a very considerate bridesmaid got in touch with Galgorm, Laura went above and beyond in ensuring all arrangements were in place for the couple to celebrate their wedding at Galgorm Resort & Spa – all within 24 hours!

Another particularly memorable request was that of a bride and groom who requested an owl to fly the wedding rings down the aisle. This was no issue for our wedding team, which was able to source exactly what the couple wanted. This paired perfectly with their owl-themed celebration.

TOP PHOTO LOCATIONS FOR YOUR HARVEY’S POINT WEDDING DAY

Galgorm has beautiful grounds with many different locations meaning you don’t need to go anywhere else to get photos. As Galgorm keeps expanding their grounds do too which means more new amazing locations for photos!

You can get married in the charming Phantom House on the grounds of Galgorm. The rustic decor and delicate lighting insideprovides the perfect backdrop for photos. The outside of Phantom House also provides a great location for photos.