Top Tips to Plan Your Perfect Day!

By Cathriona Muprhy

For our Spring Wedding edition, I wanted to bring our readers a feature designed to give insight into planning and preparing for your Wedding day and who better to chat with than Wedding Manager, Sile Browne of The Kenmare Bay Hotel. Sile is renowned around the county and further afield for her expertise and professionalism in the Wedding industry. So much so that she was awarded Wedding Manager of the Year in the Brides of Kerry Wedding Industry Awards 2018. I sat with Sile recently and asked her to give some advice and some insight into what is on offer over at The Kenmare Bay Hotel.

Sile, from the moment a proposal occurs, realistically how much time should a couple give themselves to plan a wedding?

From experience, I feel it all depends on the date/time of year you wish to book. Those looking at specific dates or Bank Holidays, school holidays or even Christmas, need to plan well in advance to secure those dates. Not just with the venue but also for other suppliers that may be high on your list and in high demand. Those that are more flexible on dates and open to numerous options, anything from 8 to 18 months is generally more than enough time.

In terms of choosing a venue, what steps should a couple take?

• Choosing your location- Kenmare is a destination location and offers so much to couples in regard to photo locations, day after wedding parties and more. We also offer ample accommodation options for couples which is important as well as a stunning setting for your ceremony and/or reception with spectacular mountain views.

us. You truly get a sense of your wedding when you meet the team and feel comfortable that your day will be as you envisage.

• Ensuring the venue and main suppliers including celebrant/ church are available for your chosen date – At the Kenmare Bay Hotel, we can provisionally hold any date for up to 4 weeks while you make your final decision. This give our couples time to make sure the date lines up with other suppliers and the church etc.

What advice would you give around budget planning and making the most with your venue and budget?

Each couple will have a different budget and a different idea of how they want it split. For many, the venue, photographer/ videographer and band are very important so doing your research and finding out the cost of these main suppliers is key to developing the overall budget. After that, it’s about prioritising the remaining areas and allocating a section of the budget to each. Doing research and getting quotes early on will help in making sure the couples priories stay in line with how they imagine their day.

With so much choice out there at the moment how will a couple know that the particular venue is the one for them?

It’s all about “that feeling”. Our couples always say how they just knew it was the venue for them when they came in and had the chat and saw what we have to offer for themselves. Some couples will have their venue picked before they even get engaged or have a dream of where they want to get married but at the end of the day, you have to feel it in your gutt and sometimes it needs no explanation only that.

• Meeting with the Wedding Co-ordinator and Team – When planning your wedding, it is so important to run through packages for personal budgets and specific detail on how you imagine your day. At the Kenmare Bay Hotel, we are so flexible and open to creating a day as unique as each couple. No 2 weddings are the same and making each couple feel that is so important to

To avoid confusions and miss communications between couples and venues, what advice would you give on how to manage expectations and give clarity to the needs of both parties?

Good communication is key between each couple and the venue. As a venue, we put everything down in emails and have it in black and white for both parties. Each couple will know exactly what we offer, when key planning dates with the hotel will be and everything in between. It is important for couples also to ask any questions they have (the more the better) so they have clarity on all aspects also. It could be as simple as asking, what time does the bar close? No matter how small the question, having asked it means that our couples have an answer and they can tick another item off the list.

Can you give some advice on how to plan for changeable weather, does Kenmare Bay have plans in place with the couples for such events?

Our venue caters mainly in an indoor setting from ceremony to reception. We have an outdoor courtyard for summer prereceptions, but this is an extension of our main pre-reception room so if the weather doesn’t co-operate, its not used. For civil ceremonies, our suite provides spectacular views of the Kerry Mountains so even if it is raining cats and dogs, they can still enjoy a wonderful view from the warmth and comfort of our ceremony suite.

Our General Manager, Andrew, believes he has a deal with mother nature though and can almost guarantee that even on a forecasted rainy day, he can guarantee a dry spell for photos and arrival to the hotel. He hasn’t been wrong for a few years now so touch wood..

What do you feel is the unique selling point for Kenmare Bay?

We have an exceptional reputation for food and service at the Kenmare Bay Hotel and we are only looking at improving this service year on year. We have new tableware, crockery, and cutlery for 2023 as well as a revamped wedding menu which will hit a whole new level of culinary delight. Our wedding team is also second to none and have a real passion for making each wedding as good, if not better, than the last. We are a team but also with most in long service of over 15 years or more, we are a family also. You are truly in great hands at the Kenmare Bay Hotel.

For a couple booking in with yourselves for their big day, what can they expect from start to finish?

For your special day, we have everything covered to make it as stress free and relaxing as possible. Prior to your wedding, you will get a complimentary night stay plus a VIP menu tasting evening where you will sample your favourite menu options and wine on the night. After your menu tasting, we are just a short stroll from Kenmare Town so you can enjoy its atmosphere before settling down for a good night's sleep. The following morning or in the days following, we will go through all the final details of your wedding day and include everything that we need to know to ensure the smooth running of your special day.

The morning of your wedding, our own wedding car and experiences chauffeur Carlo will pick you up and bring you to the ceremony location. After the ceremony, he will drive you to your photoshoot locations and offer you some snacks and prosecco along the way to keep your energy high and ready for the evening ahead. A red-carpet welcome awaits you at the hotel for your evening reception with complimentary prosecco and canapes for all your guests in our Courtyard Bar before the bell is rang for your meal.

Our Head Chef Bobby was born and raised in Co. Clare and started working in kitchens at the age of 15he has travelled the world and is extremely passionate about cooking and making sure every detail is 100% up to his standards. He has redesigned our menu offerings to include more local and fresh produce and together with his team have created a mouth-watering offering to suit all tastes.

Our Banqueting Suite is flooded with light from our large windows and decorated in neutral tones to really allow the focus on our stunning mountain views. During your meal, our mood lighting reflects our couples’ colours and choices with vibrant reds to warm whites and everything in between to choose from.

Our Banqueting Suite has a partition also that allows for more intimate weddings and a beautiful civil ceremony space with those all-important mountain views. We offer complimentary décor including lanterns, centrepieces, and flowers as well as a beautiful white silk backdrop to frame the room.

Once you have eaten your fill and made your speeches, our large dancefloor is only waiting to be filled with happy feet to dance the night away.

We have ample parking onsite also for all your guests and access to our Banqueting Suite by a lift for those that may need it.