A Look Back at 2015 in Ballinacurra House

After a very busy Christmas & New Year’s Wedding season at Ballinacurra, 2016 has arrived in the blink of an eye and it’s hard to believe that 2015 has come and gone.

2015 was an amazing year at Ballinacurra House and it far exceeded our own expectations in terms of popularity for weddings, private parties and corporate events. We always knew we had something special but over the last number of years, trends have been really leaning towards private estates as the venue of choice for those looking to make their special occasion more intimate, personalized and memorable.

Our year got off to a flying start with a variety of small and large weddings that brought families and guests from as far as Asia, Canada, India, Europe, the UK and the US.

Over the course of the year we hosted every type of wedding ceremony imaginable. We can even recall helping an Irish gentleman create a Jewish Chuppah for his Irish/ American wedding celebration! And who could forget the bride who walked up the aisle to the Jaws theme song (she is an avid swimmer!).

We have seen the most creative of couples throughout the year who brought Pinterest alive in our Ballroom and Garden Room by adding their own bits of personality to their special day.

We’ve hosted family reunions that came from across the US to have their own taste of the Wild Atlantic Way incorporate family hikes out to Charlesfort, giant Jenga on the front lawn and Laser Games in the Forrest in between day trips to the Cliffs of Moher, Blarney Castle and the usual tourist attractions in the greater area.

We’ve welcomed a few high profile guests as well throughout the year who arrived by private Jet and then took in the breath taking views of the Old Head of Kinsale by Helicopter throughout their stay. We’ve watched in awe as CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies come to sit in our tranquil gardens to be inspired by our amazing Irish landscape during business brainstorming trips. Some of these came and went without a whisper in the media and valued the privacy that Ballinacurra has to offer.

And not to forget other well-known guests who made national headlines!

It’s safe to say that no two events are the same here which keeps us on our toes and continues to make our jobs exciting and interesting. It’s no secret that we love weddings and events and our slight obsessive tendencies, when it comes to planning the perfect event, did not go unnoticed. We got so much fantastic feedback throughout the year and even a nod from Norah Casey.

It was also the year that our on-site boutique cookery school really got going to a great start.

We witnessed cooking novices come and leave with their skills and confidence in the kitchen transformed. We’ve watched tour groups arrive and experienced a taste of real Irish gourmet food hands-on and learned about the food revolution that has been happening in West Cork for a number of years now.

David Rice even graced the TV screens with appearances on the RTE’s Today Show and on the popular travel show Getaways, which will air in January. We had some really fun corporate team building days throughout the year where the competition really got hot in the kitchen!

What a year it has been and we have loved every second of 2015 and the many fun and colourful people that have graced our doorstep throughout the year. We’ve welcomed them, laughed with them, cried with them (tears of joy, of course) but above all we have remembered them for making 2015 a very special year for us. We look forward to extended our Ballinacurra welcome to many, many more in 2016.