In need of a wedding coordinator - International wedding planning

Hi everyone. I could REALLY use some referrals and help. My husband and I had a very small and intimate ceremony in February with the full intention of having a big church wedding once we were in Europe. He's Irish and has a large family there but his immediate family is in Germany along with a lot of his friends. My family is in America and my friends  are scattered all over the country.  We really want to get married in Ireland but I don't even know where to begin to start planning. I REALLY want a wedding coordinator that knows the US and Ireland so we can tie American traditions with the Irish.

I have tried to search venue locations in Ireland on my own but I'm so overwhelmed that I keep putting it off. Can someone/anyone tell me of a wedding coordinator I can refer to so I have some professional help planning. Its so hard when he is working all of the time, I don't really know anyone here and my mom is in the US.

Help! Please send me a private PM or just reply here. I'm freaking out!

Bridget  

You may want to check to see if you can even legally get married in Ireland again. It's my understanding for the UK that once you're married, you can't do it again. There's a good chance that is the case for Ireland too. Where did you want to do this in Ireland? It's a big place, so once you have it narrowed down as to where, that will be helpful. Were you hoping to get married in a church or a registry office? Have you considered just having a reception at a hotel? I went to an Irish wedding the other week and I didn't find it too different from an American wedding. The wedding was Catholic, so that was different for me, but I imagine every denomination has their own traditions. The reception was in a hotel. The main differences at the reception were 1.) no open bar - the couple would have never been able to afford it! 2.) lots of speeches, which is similar to English weddings and 3.) the wedding started at 1:40pm and everything probably ran until at least 3am with the dancing and such.

Oh, and be prepared to pay. It's gonna be expensive!

Well we are legally married but we are not in the eyes of the Catholic Church, which is very important to both our families. We looked into it and I think its possible. I just need to find a wedding coordinator to help me facilitate everything. There's not a shot I can do this solo.

I think we'd like to get married close to Dublin so it would be easy access to those traveling from the US and Germany. I know Shannon is another option but I think Dublin would be best. Does anyone know of nice venues? There will be at least 200 guests but probably more. I want to find a place that we can marry in a Catholic Church but be within close proximity to a nice reception venue.

I need so much help!

I just did a google search on Irish weddings and found this:

http://www.dreamirishwedding.com/

It's for weddings in the west of Ireland, but it's gorgeous out there. Your guests would certainly thank you for having a wedding there!

A google search for 'dublin wedding planners' found this, but there were a bunch more:
http://www.everyfete.com/

If your husband has family in Ireland, you could narrow down where you want to get married based on where his family is located, then contact his family's parish for any ideas.

As for some venues around Dublin, Kilkenny is a nice town and is within easy travel distance from Dublin via car or train. Here are a couple of hotels from there:

http://www.hotelkilkenny.ie/
http://www.lyrath.com/ (We've stayed here and it's a lovely hotel. There was even a wedding going on that weekend. Take note though, it's more than 5 minutes from Kilkenny city!)

If you google 'dublin wedding venues' you'll get a good idea what's out there. I think it's really going to depend on what you're willing to spend. Oh, and I wouldn't worry about proximity to a Catholic church. They're everywhere! 

You probably need to have a discussion with a priest first.  A Catholic wedding in Ireland is legally recognised as a civil wedding too (just as a C of E wedding is in the UK) so he may have to do a different kind of ceremony, such as a blessing.

But you certainly won't be the first people to do this.  And if your husband's family know their parish priest I agree that is probably the best place to start.

Vicky

Thank you for all the info. I will certainly look into parishes. Unfortunately, I don't think we'll be getting married where he has family. He is originally from Sligo (Yeats Country) and that is a 3 hour car ride from Dublin airport. I know you can take a small plane from Dublin to Sligo but I cannot ask guests from the US to pay additional costs. Its already going to cost people enough.

His family may know of a priest in Dublin. We'll have to look into that immediately. I will check out the links you sent. I really appreciate your help and time.

xo,
Bridget

Have you tried Hitched? http://www.hitched.co.uk

You could ask about planners on their boards. 

If you need flower recs, I've seen the work of http://www.bloomsday.ie/ online but I don't know if location-wise she'd be any use to you.  (She is an expat though, originally from Detroit)

Hey lilb,

I only just saw your message and replied.

I only know of wedding planners who are UK based, and are English, but there is one girl I know of who is sharp.

Like the others have said, since you guys are legally married already, I think that you can have a ceremony with a blessing, and I believe most churches are happy to do that. I have a wedding coming up in France and funnily enough, that's how they are doing it. One day is the legal bit, and the next day the church ceremony.

But don't panic, it'll all work out

Hugs,
Teri

Thanks Teri. You sound like such a positive person   I will take all of your advice and keep it in mind while I try and plan the big day.

I'll be in touch and thanks again.