Belfast castle?

Hi TM2TW - gorgeous venue!!

You're from here but live in London, Im from London and live here!! Where abouts in London do you live? I am from Greenwich x

Hi ButterflyChild

Haha thats so funny - I live really close to Greenwich in Hither Green!! Do you live over in NI with your h2b then?

I moved to Lodon for my job, h2b is Cornish

Tx

Haha!! I know Hither Green very well indeed. I used to live in Plumstead before moving to Ladywell in Lewisham. I live in Newtownabbey now, been here for 7 and a half years. Been with H2B for 6years! H2B is from NI x

My mister is from London! (battersea) he moved here so we could be together!

I moved over here because of family, Mum's side of the family is from NI. I met OH over here, he'd like to move to England eventually though!

Hey girls!!

Just thought i'd see how everyone is getting on with their planning?

6 months to go eek!! Pretty exciting but stressful as there's still a lot to do!

Hi!!! Im another NI bride...i never c any of us here so got a little excited lol!!! Iv never been 2 a wedding in Belfast Castle but I have heard lots of great reports about it!! I am getting married in my home church near Strabane and having my reception at the Royal Court Hotel Portrush on the 18th July!! Hope all your planning is going well!! ? xoxo

Wow your so close now!! must be mega exciting now getting all those wee final things sorted!! Aww thanks...I love Portrush and the beach so couldn't think of any where more suited lol!! xoxo

Oh Rachel88 that sounds lovely. Portrush is a beautiful location, you could always go to Barry's afterwards!! Hehe. When are you getting married? How you getting on with your planning?

Graceyfly, have you got anything else to sort out, or is it just tying up loose ends?? I'm excited for you!

Getting married 18th July 2013!! Am engaged 2 years now but cant believe how quickly it has all come around. Planning is going really well, feel like we have got most stuff done for now. Ordered the stuff 2 make the invites so thats the next thing on th elist to do when ever it arrives. How id your planning coming along?

Getting very close now graceyfly...hope u get your cake topper sorted soon!! xoxo

Hey everyone ,is this post still running ?NI bride (marrying a wonderful man from there ) at the Belfast castle and would really appreciate any guidance on decor ,d.j and photography.we are both in England so not easy planning from away.. x

Hi Ellah, I am an NI bride to be, although not getting married in Belfast Castle, I do live in Belfast. Our DJ is Bespoke Music Solutions: http://www.bespokemusicsolutions.co.uk/. My fiance and I are both really in to music and loved their mixes on the site. Our photographer is Retrosight Photography: http://retrosight.co.uk/blog/. It's a girl called Amy who is really lovely. Depending on your budget Black Box Photography are amazing as are Epic Love and This Modern Love. All quite pricey though. Decor I can't help too much with as that is what I am still working on myself!! Let me know if you have any other questions or anything ?

This review is specifically for anyone thinking of having their wedding at Belfast Castle, and using one of their suggested catering companies - 'Craft Event Co.' Let me begin by saying I'm not a habitual online reviewer. I don't go out of my way to write reviews online, especially negative ones. That said, a wedding is one of the most expensive purchases the average person will make in their life, outside of their home or car. So, I feel the need to share my experience to inform anyone else thinking of choosing either Belfast Castle or Craft Event Co.

Let's start with the good: the wedding day itself was, for the most part, ideal. The castle is a striking setting for the ceremony and reception. My wife is American, and her guests in particular got a kick out of the historic building. The serving staff did a tremendous job; very attentive and flexible with delays caused by the wedding party and therefore outside their control. The bar staff were also fantastic. One lady, whose name I have unfortunately forgotten, was great banter and a big hit with the American guests. Caitlin, the catering manager, was also very pleasant and attentive. The food was delicious, the kitchen staff did a great job. Even though we opted for the most affordable three course meal on offer, there was no skimping on quality.

Speaking of affordability - the hire price of the Castle is also very reasonable. As a cost conscious couple it was also good to have access early in the morning to set up a lot of the decorations ourselves.

Now - the bad:

Most of the negative experiences happened in the months leading up to the wedding (more on that shortly). There was one major problem on the wedding day itself that really disappointed everyone. The first speech of the evening was my Dad. He's not a natural public speaker, but put a great deal of work in to write a humorous and heartfelt speech. He stands up, his hands shaking with nerves. He takes the microphone but there's a problem - it keeps cutting out. As he's in the flow of the speech we don't want to interrupt him, but the majority of guests can't hear him. A friend of mine noticed the problem and rushed out to find the Craft Event Co manager. By the time she arrived, it was too late. His speech was over and the microphone is being handed to me. She shouts across at me to point the microphone toward the receiver in the corner of the room, which did work. This infuriated me because:

1 - The fact she knew immediately how to fix this issue means she was aware of it, but did not take appropriate steps to fix it or test the microphone ahead of time.

2 - Everyone else had to give their speeches with their heads pointed at an awkward angle towards the corner of the room. This further affected the delivery and our ability to glance at our notes.

3 - Worst of all, my Dad was robbed of his moment in the limelight. There'll never be a chance to give this speech again. It's ludicrous that the Castle did not have a functioning microphone, and that they were likely aware of the problem but did nothing to fix it. My advice to the castle and caterers: check and double check the microphone! Wedding speeches are a momentous event in people's lives, and often the only time they'll ever speak in public. Don't ruin their big moment.

Now - the really bad:

Communication was terrible in the months leading up to the wedding. We also had to deal with some downright dishonesty. This is mainly involving Craft Event Co. First of all, we seemed to constantly be assigned different staff members to look after us. We'd get a copy and pasted e-mail from person A, I'd write a big reply, and then person B would get in touch with the exact same copy and pasted e-mail asking for information. I finally get a phone call with person C, then she stops answering her phone when I try to follow up. I find out months later she's no longer with the company. We were initially sent a menu that had prices on it. This was perfect to help us budget the entire day. Our wedding date was delayed, so they sent us a new menu. Great - except this menu had no prices. I'm getting frustrated so I reach out to Belfast Castle who follow up with Craft Event Co.

I'm contacted by a guy named Zsolt.

Zsolt explains he's a consultant who has been brought in to help Craft Event Co. He infers that they've been undergoing some problems and that he's been brought in to assist. Fantastic - he's on the ball with replying to e-mails, setting up phone calls and helping with scheduling the day. He squeezed in a call at 6am which I was very appreciative of. The problem? New fees amounting to hundreds of pounds start showing up on our invoice. Suddenly there's a 'kitchen hire fee.' Also added was a fee to have a bar, and a fee to have beers on draft! These fees were NEVER mentioned to us by anyone when booking. Already dealing with the stress of work and planning a wedding, now I'm having to complain about these fees. Zsolt says we need to talk to the castle about getting these fees removed. He positions himself very much as a 3rd party between Craft Event Co and Belfast Castle.

Side note: be prepared for a lot of finger pointing by the caterer and the venue. When we booked, it was explained to us by Belfast Castle that they just provide the venue; the caterer runs the day. That is, until, the caterer decides something is not their fault. Don't have the right cake stand? 'The castle provides that.' It's very frustrating and happened a lot. For Belfast Castle to flourish as a venue there needs to be a SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT who will take on the responsibility making the day happen.

Back to our old pal Zsolt: he apologises profusely and says it's the castle charging us these fees. The cost of the meal itself has also skyrocketed since we booked but in fairness, inflation is hammering everyone right now so I can let that slide. That said, the new process for determining the cost is a total pain. In short, "tell us what you want on the menu and we'll tell you what it costs." This leads to a lot of needless back and forth as you try to work out how to stay in your budget.

A few weeks before the wedding we finally get it resolved. We have full bar service at no extra cost. Zsolt came through there which I was thankful for, even though this mess shouldn't have happened in the first place.

"Thank goodness for Zsolt," I think to myself. "It's great they got a consultant to come in and fix this mess!" Well...after the wedding I take a look at the Craft Event Co website. I didn't notice it before, but guess who is listed as a FOUNDER OF THE COMPANY?

You guessed it - our old pal Zsolt.

Despite the fact he got the wedding over the finish line, I was extremely disappointed at this dishonesty and cowardly way of facing his company's failures. If he had said, "I started this company, I'm so sorry for all these problems, and I want to make it right," I probably wouldn't be writing this review. Instead, on our phone calls he was say things like 'I'll talk to Craft about this,' and very much portrayed himself as an outsider of the company.

Look, I understand things are still tough for a lot of businesses after Covid. It's hard to get staff and margins are tight. Zsolt rectified a lot of the issues we had and I'm grateful for that. But seeing him listed as a founder on their website after the wedding was the straw that broke the camel's back. There is simply no excuse. If he was dishonest about that, how can you trust the integrity of the company as a whole?

I'll try and end on a high note. Despite all this, I really enjoyed my wedding day. Belfast Castle is a relatively affordable venue. More than that, it's unique, historic and in a great location. My guests all had a blast. I didn't want to write this review, but hopefully it will provide some food for thought to Belfast Castle and Craft Event Co - to ensure that anyone else getting married there will have a smoother process for the thousands of pounds they will spend. I also hope it will give any couples reading it an honest and realistic idea of the risks they are taking on.

P.S. Today, I received an email from Belfast Castle asking if they could use my wedding photos, which I paid thousands of pounds for, at no charge on their website. They even provided a consent form for me to sign stating, 'The copyright of these images belongs to Belfast City Council." I don't think so boyos!