Small wedding venues in Ireland: options for intimate weddings
How to find a venue for a small or intimate wedding in Ireland: venues that publish smaller-wedding options, minimum numbers, and four formats that work well.
Published 24 October 2026
You can have a beautiful small wedding in Ireland, but it takes a different search to a big one. Many hotel packages are built around 100 guests or more, with minimum numbers at weekends. The trick is to look for venues that publish smaller-wedding options, or to change the format of the day.
What counts as a small wedding
There is no fixed line, but most Irish venues treat anything under about 80 to 100 guests as small, and under 50 as intimate or micro. That matters because a venue's weekend minimum is often 100 to 140 adults.
Venues that publish smaller-wedding options
These venues publish packages, rooms or minimums suited to smaller numbers on their own websites or brochures:
| Venue | County | What they publish |
|---|---|---|
| Cabra Castle | Cavan | a low-season Monday to Wednesday intimate wedding at €5,000 for 40 adults |
| Slane Castle | Meath | wedding packages for 15 up to 250 guests |
| Limerick Strand Hotel | Limerick | a minimum of 50 guests in its City View and Harris Suites |
| Tullamore Court Hotel | Offaly | weddings from 50 guests |
| Castletroy Park Hotel | Limerick | a Signature package for 50 to 119 guests at €128 per guest |
| Falls Hotel & Spa | Clare | intimate packages for under 120 adults at €102 to €130 per person |
| Grand Hotel | Dublin | a package for 80 guests from €12,995, Monday to Thursday |
| Clayton Hotel Galway | Galway | small intimate weddings as well as larger celebrations |
| No. 1 Pery Square | Limerick | ceremony packages for up to 75 guests, €500 to €1,000 |
Notice that a small wedding is not always cheaper per head. Castletroy's smaller Signature package is €128 per guest against €82 for 120 guests or more, because the venue's fixed costs are spread over fewer people.
Four ways to do a small wedding well
1. A hotel's smaller suite. Many hotels have a second, smaller function room with a lower minimum. Ask specifically for it, as the main ballroom is what they show first.
2. Midweek or off-peak. Minimum numbers drop midweek and in winter. Cabra Castle's €5,000 intimate wedding, for example, is a low-season Monday to Wednesday offer.
3. Exclusive use of a country house or restaurant. Smaller country houses and restaurants often take a whole-venue booking for a small party, which feels private in a way a corner of a big hotel does not.
4. Registry office, then dinner. Marry at a registry office on a weekday, then book a private dining room for a meal. It is the simplest and usually the cheapest small wedding. See how to legally get married in Ireland for the paperwork.
Questions to ask a venue
- What is your minimum number of adults on our day, and in which room?
- If we are under the minimum, do we pay the difference, or is there a smaller room?
- Is exclusive use possible for our numbers?
- Do you publish a midweek or off-peak small-wedding package?
Keeping the rest of the budget in proportion
With fewer guests, the per-head venue cost falls but the photographer, dress and rings cost the same. Run your numbers through the guest cost calculator and see how much a wedding costs in Ireland. Compare hotel wedding packages in Ireland or browse wedding venues by county.
Venue details are as published by each venue on its website or brochure, checked October 2026. Always confirm minimum numbers and prices for your date.
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