Plan your wedding well in advance with your travel agent or by going online and trying to arrange transportation and reservations yourself. You can save a lot on transportation and sometimes hotel costs by booking early. Check their refund policy in case the engagement goes sour.
You can bring your outfits and video cameras with you for your wedding. Northern Ireland has many local services and companies that you can use, though. You can hire a band, get catering, buy an ice sculpture, get a last minute appointment at a local beauty parlor, rent tuxedos or even find a speechwriting service for your best man. There are many picturesque venues to have the wedding ceremony itself and to honeymoon at. There are many things to do for your wedding guests, whether they are couples or singles. Northern Ireland has beautiful coastline, historical architecture, varied entertainment and lots of beer.
There are many online directories to wedding services all throughout Northern Ireland. Wedding magazines may have classifieds form these services, too. Be patient, do your homework, shop around and you’re sure to find something within your wedding budget.
You must give notice to the registrar of what town you plan to get married in for your marriage to be legal. You will have to pay fees for the marriage notice and the marriage certificate and the wedding. Northern Ireland also has these fees and rules for civil partnerships. If you don’t care about it being legal, skip this step. You might choose to have the legal paperwork and ceremony in your home country and just have just a big party in Northern Ireland. See what you can afford, and what is legal. This differs from country to country.
You can choose a church wedding or a civil service for the legal weddings. If you want a Pagan wedding (called a ‘handfasting’) or a wedding ceremony in any other tradition, you will find someone to marry you, but the ceremony will not be considered legally binding. These alternate ceremonies can be deeply moving experiences, though, so don’t entirely discount them.
Northern Ireland is considered part of the United Kingdom, so no additional paperwork is needed to gain entry into Northern Ireland if you already can get to England. The legal currency is Pounds Sterling, but more and more places are accepting the Euro, as well as international credit cards like Visa and American Express. Most people will speak English, although you might run into some who still speak the ancient, original Gaelic. There are some sayings and expressions that seem to be uniquely Irish. One of my favorites is “I’m just looking for the craic.” In other English-speaking countries, that sentence can get you arrested. In Ireland, it means “I’m looking for a good time.”
So think of Belfast for your wedding. Northern Ireland definitely has lots of places to find the craic.