Dunmore House & Gardens

About

Dunmore House & Gardens is an exclusive-use wedding venue set on a private estate in County Donegal, just 3 hours from Dublin and 10 minutes from Derry/Londonderry. Surrounded by ancestral beauty and award-winning walled gardens, the venue offers ceremonies amongst flowers and woodlands, followed by wedding breakfast in a bright marquee and evening celebrations in a heritage barn. The Georgian family home and manicured grounds provide stunning backdrops throughout your day. Accommodation is available on-site in the east wing suite and log cabins, making it ideal for guests traveling from afar.

Dunmore is a family home first, and it shows. The Georgian house stands above the River Foyle at Carrigans, close to the border with Derry, and it has been lived in by the same family for generations, kept warm and a little ivy-covered rather than polished into a hotel. The gardens run to more than two and a half acres, with flower borders, ponds, meandering paths and mature trees, anchored by a walled garden and glasshouse, and they feature on the Donegal Garden Trail.

The day usually flows through three spaces. You can marry in the heritage barn or outdoors on the lawn in front of the house, move to the gardens for drinks, eat in an open-fronted marquee and then dance in the barn once evening comes. The barn and marquee are built for far bigger crowds than 50, so a small wedding here feels spacious and relaxed rather than packed, and there are no other parties on site that day. Long tables and chairs come included. If you want a civil ceremony on site, note that the venue holds these Monday to Friday only, and paperwork is arranged in advance through the Letterkenny registrar's office. Humanist, spiritual and blessing ceremonies are also welcomed.

Food is not done in-house. Instead Dunmore works with a small group of trusted caterers, including a Donegal team and a Coleraine firm offering silver service or barbecue, and there is a bar for the evening. The estate also offers a ceremony-only package, which suits couples who want to say their vows in the gardens before heading elsewhere.

For staying over, full packages include a night in the honeymoon suite with an Irish breakfast for the two of you, and there are two log cabins among the trees in the grounds. That is not enough for a full guest list, so most people will book nearby, and the venue suggests a handful of hotels and guesthouses in Derry and the surrounding area.

What makes it special

• Exclusive-use private estate with Georgian house, heritage barn & award-winning walled gardens
• On-site luxury accommodation in east wing suite and log cabins for guests
• 3 hours Dublin, 2 hours Belfast, near Wild Atlantic Way

Features

Venue style

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