In this month’s wedding venue guide post, we bring you all the details you need on Fahan’s true hidden gem, The Red Door! Stunning views combine with real rustic charm to offer a truly unique wedding venue, which makes it an extremely popular choice with brides and grooms.

Today, we have a chat with the team at The Red Door to discover what exactly it is that makes it so special.

Tell us about The Red Door – what makes it such a popular choice with brides and grooms?

Here at The Red Door, we pride ourselves on providing the perfect intimate wedding venue for couples. Despite being located in Inishowen, Co. Donegal, our couples are from all corners of the globe! With the growing popularity of smaller weddings, couples are attracted to the less formal setting, moving away from the classic ‘function room’ set up. This intimate style means that couples still experience fine dining with our top quality restaurant standard food on their wedding day. Awards including Weddings Online “Restaurant Wedding Venue of the Year 2015” and MrstoBe “Brides’ Choice award” winner 2015 truly showcase the popularity The Red Door has obtained amongst couples in their choice to celebrate their big day here.

What makes the venue different from others?

Rather than being a hotel, The Red Door is a small, intimate, country house wedding venue, specialising in weddings of up to 160 guests. Weddings held here have exclusive use of the house and grounds for the day with the venue closed to the public, ensuring privacy and exclusivity. With our main dining room entirely surrounded by windows, guests can savour the stunning views of the manicured gardens and Lough Swilly, while enjoying their meal and for the entirety of the day. In particular, weddings with guests coming from abroad love traditional elements such as the open fires, sash windows and flagstone floors, which offer a traditional, homely feel.

What wedding options are available at the venue? 

The Red Door caters for weddings of 80 to 160 guests through Monday to Friday, all year round. With the exclusive use of the venue for the day, guests can enjoy use of the entire venue including our bar, lounge areas, gardens and outdoor seating areas (if the weather permits!) Our main dining room, The Willow Room holds a maximum of 120 guests while The Violet and Scarlet Rooms can seat an extra 40 guests between them. Our wedding team work closely with the couples to cater for their preferred seating and table plans to provide the best possible layout and use of the dining areas needed. We are also registered to hold civil wedding ceremonies, which take place in The Willow Room, overlooking the gardens and water.

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

The wedding team works closely with the couple from their initial meeting right through to their wedding day and departure. Getting to know the couple and paying close attention to their requirements, means that all the finer details are adhered to, making for the perfect wedding. With continuous email and phone correspondence and meetings, the team are always available and sure to take on board any requests and wishes the couple may have and do their utmost to cater for these in a professional, efficient manner.

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

We would recommend that couples use professional, established wedding suppliers. This will go a long way in ensuring that their wedding is stress-free. It is important to check a supplier’s feedback and samples/photos of previous work where possible. The Red Door can provide details of wedding photographers, bands, DJs, cake makers, florists etc. that other couples have used in the past.

The main thing is to relax and enjoy the planning and the day itself. There will always be things that don’t go exactly to plan so it’s important not to get too upset by any surprises and just go with the flow!

Hot spots for wedding photography

With its uninterrupted sea backdrop, The Red Door offers some truly spectacular wedding photo opportunities. Check out just a few of our favourites:

1. The grounds of The Red Door

There are so many beautiful locations to shoot on the grounds and many couples choose to shoot all of their images there.

I love shooting sunset images overlooking the water.

2. The old church – This is right next to The Red Door

3. Fahan Beach and Marina – right next to The Red Door, I love this location as it gives so many options from the stoney beach, old jetty and boats serve as a cool backdrop.

4. Lisfannon Beach is two minutes drive away.

5. Swan Park is in Buncrana and offers a forest, river and bridges.

6. An Grianan Fort – 10 minutes drive from The Red Door provides an amazing view, but avoid on a windy or cloudy day!

For more information on The Red Door, click here.