The only good thing about the search for a wedding venue was seeing the rich green fields and the ever-changing colours of the countryside, thought Amy. They drove through the pretty towns on the River Leighlinbridge, Bagenalstown and Graiguenamanagh, with their bridges and old mills and waterways. She gasped when she first caught sight of the magnificent old castle perched overlooking the River Barrow, near St Mullins, which had been originally built in 1605 and restored over the last century.
‘Wow!’ she said, taking in Castle Gregory’s magnificent backdrop of fields and river and lush countryside.
As the two of them walked under its medieval stone portico and into the great hall, Amy knew immediately that this was it! This was the place where she wanted to celebrate their wedding.
A disdainful young woman in skinny jeans and plaited hair opened the door and disappeared off to get someone, and a few minutes later a tall thin man in shabby cords and a bottle-green jacket appeared and introduced himself as the owner.
‘My daughter Tamsin is in the middle of studying for exams, so please let me show you around the place,’ offered Hugo Roberts, leading them along a fantastic oak-lined corridor towards the main hall.
‘This is where we usually host weddings, conferences or big family parties,’ he said, proudly showing them the magnificent long oak tables set with heavy white linen and sparkling crystal. ‘Tonight we have a dinner here for sixty guests. They’ve gone fishing today and tomorrow they’ll play golf.’
The walls of the big hall were hung with rich tapestries, and on one side of it there was a massive fireplace. Tall windows with stained glass looked down over the parapet towards the river and valley below. There was a minstrels’ gallery, and a sumptuous drawing room, and loads of nooks and crannies where guests could sit and relax. A group of Italians were chatting and consulting their guide books.
‘We can serve champagne and drinks or cocktails out here on the terrace when you arrive,’ he suggested. ‘And of course your guests are free to wander around the rest of the castle and its environs. I always actively encourage our guests to explore. We also have the library and music room, which will take smaller numbers for a sit down meal, and we use them for pre-dinner drinks if the weather is inclement and lets us down.’
Dan liked the place. She could tell. He was asking Hugo all kinds of questions about the castle’s history. This place was so romantic, and so quirky and different. OK, so it wasn’t one of the big famous castles that people raved about and hordes of tourists visited, but it was pretty special. Just imagine getting married in a castle!
‘There is a small church near the castle grounds,’ Hugo told them. ‘Guests often get married in it. Also some of our guests have fireworks at midnight to celebrate their nuptials,’ he added. ‘We don’t disturb anyone, as the castle grounds are quite extensive. Our lands cover about eighty acres of countryside.’
‘Fireworks!’ Amy definitely wanted fireworks!
‘Would you two like some coffee?’ asked Hugo. ‘I was about to have one myself. I’ll get Noeleen to bring us up something.’
Ten minutes later they were sitting in the large front drawing room, helping themselves to sliced home-made gingerbread as they drank fresh-roasted coffee and perused a brochure on the castle and the range of facilities it offered. Another showed the menu options provided by the recommended caterers that the castle normally used. Hugo explained the price breakdown to them.
Amy tried not to blink when he told them it cost ten thousand euros to rent the castle for a wedding, but this included the use of its twenty bedrooms for two nights, providing accommodation for forty people. It was so expensive! Catering and the bar costs were extra; and even tables, chairs, glasses, crockery and linens had to be hired. However, even at a quick glance the prices that the castle’s caterers charged seemed far more competitive than those of any of the hotels they had been considering. As Amy looked at the menus she tried to do a quick mental calculation to see if any savings could be made there.
‘When were you hoping to have your wedding?’ Hugo asked, stirring his coffee.
‘We were hoping for some time in the summer,’ said Amy, holding her breath.
‘I suspect our calendar is very full,’ he apologized. ‘My wife usually organizes these things, but if you want I’ll go to the office and check. I’m not sure if we have any dates left for next summer. Let me have a look in my own diary.’
Amy held her breath as he pulled a small leather diary from inside his jacket pocket and looked through the date planner.
‘The only date we seem to have left is a Friday, the twenty-third of October. Then we close after Halloween and don’t reopen until Easter.’
Amy loved the place but really didn’t want to get married in late October.
‘Hold on, I’ve something crossed out here for the sixth of June. We were holding it for a local opera company’s open-air performance but I have a feeling there is a problem with it. I need to check in the office with Tamsin, but I have a feeling that Saturday the sixth of June might actually be available.’
Amy couldn’t believe it. A Saturday in June available! She was almost bouncing up and down in the chair with excitement. Renting the castle was exorbitant, but it was so perfect.
‘Listen, I’ll go and check with my daughter,’ excused Hugo. ‘You two have a wander around the place and come back to the office afterwards.’
‘Dan, I love it!’ Amy declared, excited, as they strolled around the garden. ‘Please say you love it too. It’s perfect. You know it is!’
‘It’s a great place but it’s so expensive to hire,’ he said reluctantly. ‘And you don’t get as much as a chair or a serviette for that!’
‘When we went to Sarah’s wedding in the marquee in her parents’ garden they had to hire everything, too, even three Portaloos!’
‘I doubt the marquee cost as much as this place! Listen, Amy, we need to get a calculator and crunch some numbers. Do a few comparisons on price.’
‘But, Dan, this is where I want us to have our wedding,’ she pleaded. ‘It’s so perfect.’
‘I know it’s perfect.’ He grinned. ‘But what about your parents? I know your dad wants to pay for the wedding, but it’s going to cost a fortune, and then there are all the other extra costs you have to take into account. I think we should pay some of those, Amy, it’s only fair . . .’
Amy totally agreed with him. Her mum and dad were so good and generous, but they had probably no idea how much a big wedding could cost! She and Dan both had good jobs and savings accounts, and sharing some of the wedding expenses would make it easier on everyone.
‘This is exactly what we are looking for,’ she insisted. ‘We’ve looked everywhere and this is by far the best that we have seen. It’s absolutely gorgeous. My mum and dad and your mum and dad will love it. I know they will. Just wait till they see it.’
‘Are you sure, Amy?’
‘Of course,’ she said, trying to dispel any qualms she had about the price of the castle rental.
‘It seems crazy spending so much on a wedding,’ he reasoned. ‘I think we should talk to Paddy and Helen about it, see what they think before we decide. I know it’s by far the best we’ve seen, but I just don’t know if we can afford it.’
‘Let’s go talk to Hugo,’ urged Amy, giving him a big hug.
Hugo’s office was in the west wing of the castle, with a huge window overlooking the grounds. A computer and screen were on the massive mahogany desk, and the shelves around the small room were packed with books and maps and photographs.
‘I talked to Tamsin and she checked our calendar of bookings,’ he said, tapping quickly on the keyboard. ‘The summer, as I said, is already totally booked, but you’re in luck as that opera date on Saturday the sixth of June is definitely now available. There was meant to be a wonderful open-air production of Carmen coming in, but due to the current economic climate the company has decided not to go ahead with staging it this year. It’s most unfortunate, and very disappointing for local opera-lovers, but that Saturday in June is available if you are interested. Otherwise we go into October, like I mentioned.’
‘You have a Saturday in June, just the day we are looking for,’ said Amy, unable to contain her excitement. ‘Please can you book us in for the sixth?’
‘The procedure is that I will put you in our books and up on the computer so this date will become yours,’ smiled the castle owner. ‘I will need a small deposit of three hundred euros to hold the booking, and the rest of the deposit will be due in eight weeks, with the full payment due six weeks before your wedding.’
‘I want my parents to see it, if that’s all right,’ explained Amy. Her mum and dad had been looking at a few venues, too. ‘Maybe they could come to see it next weekend if they are free?’
‘They will be most welcome,’ Hugo agreed as he took Dan’s credit card details and printed them out a receipt.
Walking back towards the car half an hour later, Amy was elated. It was the most perfect place ever. She and Dan had actually found somewhere they both agreed on. They had their wedding date set and they had Castle Gregory. Amy couldn’t believe it!
About half a mile down the road they found the small grey-stone church which Hugo had mentioned. It was locked, but from the outside it looked perfect. It was surrounded by oak and beech trees and there was a little graveyard and a path that led back up towards the castle.
‘It’s so beautiful,’ she whispered.
Dan took her hands in his.
‘I love you, Amy,’ he said, touching her face. ‘If there was a priest here I’d marry you right now and forget all the palaver and fuss. It would be just the two of us here in this little church under the trees.’
‘I love you, too,’ she said. ‘And it will always be the two of us for ever and ever. But having our wedding here with all the people we love around us will be wonderful, Dan. I know it will.’
‘OK.’ He sighed, kissing her. ‘On the sixth of June, in this little church, we will become husband and wife, if that’s what you want.’
‘I do,’ she said, kissing him back. ‘I do.’