Jill and Matthew
This month’s blog features Jill and Matthew’s magical Palace Ruins ceremony and marquee wedding reception. The days started off wet but the couple were determined that they would exchange their vows in the woodland and thankfully the weather broke and and they were able to have their dream ceremony <3. Matthew is a Tree Surgeon and the couple love the outdoors so the Palace Ruins was the perfect location for them. You will see in the gallery that trees play an important role in their day with the invitations, seating plan and table names all featuring different
Fun fact: Jill and Matthew booked Ballyscullion Park just 5 months before their wedding day and organised a spectacular day with the help of our team. *We are excellent at helping organise weddings at short notice, something we discovered during the tumultuous couple of years of weddings during the pandemic.*
The Palace Ruins was elegantly decorated with a carpet running the length of the aisle and stunning floral arrangements by Velvet Peonies throughout the ceremony area. The Palace Ruins is such a naturally beautiful ceremony location that it really requires very little decoration.
The guests enjoyed the beautifully sunny drinks reception in the Walled Garen by playing with garden games on the main lawn whilst drinking delicious cocktails crafted by our excellent Bar Manager Garry and his team.
The Marquee as always provided an elegant backdrop for the couples evening reception. Centrepieces were provided by the Florist having been repurposed from them arrangements at the wedding ceremony in the woods. The delightful cake was provided by Lyttle Cakes, an excellent local baker to the venue, and was displayed on a stand made from a slice of tree trunk that the Groom prepared.
Photos taken by the one of our highly recommended Photographers ~ Sheena T Photography.
What made you fall in love with Ballyscullion Park?
My husband Matt is a tree surgeon and we really wanted to get married in a forest or wood. When we googled ‘getting married in a forest northern Ireland’ Ballyscullion was the first listing. We made an appointment to visit and immediately fell in love with the magical setting at the ruins. It was everything we wanted and more. Although we were equally impressed with the walled garden, grounds and marquee, it was the enchanting clearing surrounded by dense woodland at the Palace Ruins that we fell in love with. Ballyscullion was the first venue we viewed and we knew immediately that we didn’t need to visit anywhere else.
What was your favourite part of the day?
We have so many favourites it’s difficult to choose one. Walking down the aisle in the palace ruins and looking out over the farmland to the lough beyond. Matt and I and our guests being looked after so attentively by all the staff at Ballyscullion throughout the day. The twinkling lights both in the marquee and around the grounds in the evening. But I think my overall favourite moment was when Rosalind made the call that despite the inclement weather they would set up for our wedding down at the Palace Ruins. We have often said if it had of been any other couple Rosalind might have suggested the Strawberry Garden, but she knew what our hearts were set on and went out of her way to ensure that happened for us, regardless of the rain.
What would be your number one piece of advice / tip that you would give to couples getting married at Ballyscullion Park?
We got engaged at the end of April and married 14 weeks later, so it was all systems go for us from day one. My one tip would be to ask the staff at Ballyscullion for advice and recommendations. They have extensive knowledge of suppliers and were able to put us in touch with vendors they had worked with over a long period of time and trusted. This was very useful due to the short turnaround between us getting engaged and getting married. It saved us a lot of time and greatly reduced our stress levels. One other tip I would give couples is to seriously consider using Arbutus catering. The choice they offered was amazing, staff were very attentive, the food was fabulous, served piping hot to everyone and our guests raved about it afterwards.
I hope you enjoyed reading all about Jill and Matthew’s Ballyscullion Park Palace Ruins wedding ceremony and Marquee reception. If you love the idea of having your wedding ceremony and / or reception at our beautiful grounds, please get in touch with us.
