V is for Venue

It has always been Catherine’s Dream to get married at the Sacred Heart Church in Omagh, as she put it “I’ve chosen the church now you choose the reception.”

When considering the reception venue there are a few points that one must always be mindful of.

Distance

Availability

Atmosphere

History

Facilities

Price

The first venue we considered was the Greenvale in Cookstown. 

The Hotel in situated just outside of the town, the wedding mass to the reception would only be around 35 miles this is totally inside the range we were hoping for. Any further and we wouldn’t feel comfortable asking our guests to make the journey. The Greenvale for being in a large town like Cookstown feels quite remote; a good distance from the main road, the large car park and all the greenery gives the sense of peace and quiet like a country house hotel. Another plus of the Greenvale was their price; they are very competitive (a full brochure can be found on their website). The Greenvale seems like the perfect place for us.

However as I mentioned there are more things to consider. For me it was automatically taking off the table, my sister had used the Greenvale as her wedding reception (it was a beautiful day and the staff and facilities were second to none) also within 3 years I had been a guest to another 2 family weddings played host by the Greenvale. For me I had seen all they had to offer and considering that I will be inviting guests that have been to the same weddings a change of scenery is required. On top of this Catherine has forever associated the Greenvale with her memories of her time in the Tyrone Rose of Tralee, and so in an effort to conserve those wonderful memories for her the search for the perfect venue continues...

The next venue on our list was the Glenavon hotel Cookstown, this hotel is situated opposite the Greenvale hotel so the distance again is not an issue.

 The Glenavon is a huge hotel meaning they could easily hold the number of guests we have in mind. They have several function rooms and the interior design of the hotel is very striking, it always puts me in mind of the decor of the fancy part of the titanic. The major negative to the Glenavon as a reception venue is the price. It would stand at almost double the cost per person of most other venues for their standard package. I personally couldn’t imagine how the extra cost would stack up against what we would be getting from the venue. Since most of our ideas for the day would be quirky and will require more effort on our behalf. This would be perfect of a lot of others but not for me or my Geeky Bride to be.

The next post will be in the New Year... 2014 and Catherine will continue with more...