Best Wedding Venues in Northern Ireland

With over 15 years shooting weddings in Northern Ireland, we’ve had the privilege of being backstage at nearly every wedding venue here.

There are now so many spaces where you can have a relaxed, informal wedding, and make the space your own. And the choice of venues keeps on growing.

Here are a few of our favourites…

Old Court Chapel

Old Court Chapel is a beautiful wedding venue on the shores of Strangford Lough. There are restored stables, a yurt type marquee, a stone chapel for your ceremony, an old boathouse as a bridal suite - a peaceful hideaway where you can have a private party. It’s beautiful by itself. And there’s also plenty of scope for you to customise the space so it reflects your personality.

Old Court Strangford wedding on the blog

The Ulster Museum

We've photographed many weddings at the Ulster Museum and we've never had two that looked alike. That's quite rare, and it's everything to do with the venue.

The Ulster Museum sits at the edge of Botanic Gardens in south Belfast, just beside Queen's University and not far from the city centre. It's one of the most distinctive wedding venues in Ireland, and it hands a couple genuine creative freedom. Alternative, classic, goth, decadent, simple, joyful - we've photographed them all here, and every single one was completely its own thing.

Tullyveery House

Tullyveery House is a fantastic venue if you’re planning an outdoor wedding in Northern Ireland. Perfect for ceremonies in the garden, with the rolling Co. Down hills in the background.

Tullyveery House wedding on the blog.

Limepark, Armoy

Limepark is an 18th-century farmstead in the Causeway Coast and Glens, a few miles from Ballycastle in County Antrim. The site feels less like a modern wedding venue and more like a small village that's been there for two hundred years - cobbled lanes, original stone walls, quirky doorways, plants and flowers spilling over walls. It's like a gorgeous little corner of the Ulster Folk Museum.

Mussenden Temple

Of all the National Trust wedding venues in Northern Ireland, Mussenden Temple is probably our favourite. There’s something magical about the domed, circular space perched on the cliff edge. Downhill beach, below the Temple, is a great spot for a few quick portraits.

Mussenden Temple wedding on the blog.

Clandeboye Estate and Courtyard

Just outside Bangor, the Clandeboye Estate and Courtyard feels like a world of its own with woods, gardens, a lake and a huge amount of hidey holes to nip off to for photographs. The little stone chapel is the perfect place for a religious wedding ceremony, and there’s a great courtyard for non-religious wedding ceremonies. The big barns are brilliant for medium to a larger size wedding receptions.

Clandeboye Estate and Courtyard wedding on the blog.

Beech Hill Country House Hotel

Beech Hill is an amazing spot for a Derry wedding. The food is gorgeous, there’s a laid-back vibe in the House, and there are so many fab places to explore in the grounds. A great option if you want a wedding venue where families and friends can stay overnight on site.

Beech Hill Country House wedding on the blog.

The Ulster Hall

Home of so many great gigs over the years, the Ulster Hall in Belfast city centre is a dramatic space for a wedding ceremony. This venue is all about the lighting and staging, and the building itself is a complete knockout. There are so many great restaurants and pubs on the doorstep for a reception afterwards. We were lucky enough to shoot the first ever wedding there!

Ulster Hall wedding on the blog.

Merchant Hotel Belfast wedding photographs

The Merchant Hotel

There’s something special about a wedding in Belfast’s cathedral quarter, the cultural heart of the city. And the Merchant Hotel ticks all the boxes. You can have your ceremony in the hotel, the food is amazing, and portraits are a dream, 30 seconds in any direction and you’re standing beside some world-class Belfast street art.

Merchant Hotel wedding portraits on the blog.

Queen’s Film Theatre

Sticking with Belfast wedding venues, the Queens Film Theatre is a stunning and unusual place for a ceremony. You have full use of the screens, stage and bar. If you want to integrate film into your wedding ceremony, or even if you don’t, the QFT is a top option.

Queen’s Film Theatre wedding on the blog.

Drenagh House

Drenagh House near Limavady in County Antrim is probably best known for its beautiful moon window. A kind of wedding portal where you step through into your ceremony. The House itself is gorgeous. Think walls of books, strong colours, eccentric stately home decor.

Drenagh House wedding on the blog.

The Carriage Rooms at Montalto

Set in a huge estate near Ballynahinch in Co. Down, the Carriage Rooms at Montalto is a one of the leading wedding venues in Northern Ireland. Think glamorous garden party wedding or a sophisticated dinner party. Definitely a good choice if you’re after a wedding that’s elegant and easy to organise.

Montalto Estate Wedding on the blog

Larchfield Estate

Larchfield Estate is where we got married! Just outside Lisburn, it’s really close to Belfast and easy to get to. You can have an outdoor wedding in the garden, inside the barn if it’s raining, and there are so many nooks and crannies for amazing photographs. A great option if you want your full wedding day to take place in the one venue.

Larchfield wedding on the blog

Orange Tree House

Orange Tree House is a gorgeous stone barn on the shores of Strangford Lough. You can get married in the old chapel on site, or use the barn as a reception venue. The wild Co. Down coast can make for some dramatic photographs, especially if you stake out the good light. The ruins of Greyabbey are a few minutes away if you want sneak off for some portraits.

Orange Tree House wedding on the blog.

Crom Castle

There’s something a bit special about the idea of an Irish Castle wedding. And Crom Castle in the Country Fermanagh hits the spot. It has rolling parkland, woods, a Victorian conservatory, a boathouse… You can have religious or civil ceremonies in the Castle. And also a small house party in the West Wing, if you want to spread things out over a few days.

Crom Castle wedding on the blog.

Belle Isle Castle

Another great option for a castle wedding in Northern Ireland is Belle Isle Castle in Fermanagh. It’s a slightly smaller venue, but hidden and wild, with loads of cottages for guest accommodation.

Belle Isle Castle wedding on the blog.

Empire Music Hall, Belfast

We shot the first ever wedding at the Empire Music Hall in 2012. More than a decade on, we're still photographing weddings here, and it still surprises us. That's not something we can say about many venues. Primarly an evening venue, pairs well with Belfast City Hall, the Ulster Musuem and the Ulster Hall for maxium city vibes.

Read more in our behind-the-scenes guide as an Empire Music Hall Wedding Photographer

Groom emerging from vintage sweet shop at the Ulster Folk Museum wedding

Cultra Manor & the Ulster Folk Museum

Cultra Manor and The Ulster Folk Museum together make a great play-park of a wedding venue in Holywood, Co. Down. Depending on numbers, you can get married in an old meeting house, chapel, or a school-house… and have your reception in a dockside gallery, Cultra Manor or the Belfast room. So many options for photographs and exploring for guests.

Cultra Manor wedding on the blog.

Your Local Pub!

Some of our favourite weddings in Northern Ireland have been in a pub! Grace Neills, the Garrick Bar in Belfast, Billy Andys, Daft Eddies, the Dufferin Arms are a few we’ve been to. Countless more across Donegal and the rest of the Ireland. Pub weddings always have a brilliant laid back vibe. The image above is the Crown bar, famous for a swift pint before ceremony…

Grace Neills wedding on the blog

tipis at Finnebrogue Woods Wedding Photographer

Finnebrogue Woods, County Down

Finnebrogue Woods makes you feel like you've stumbled into a secret world. Set in the heart of ancient woodland near Killyleagh and Downpatrick, with a ceremony circle and giant tipis perched above the lake and a free hand to design your perfect wedding. It's a journey from the everyday into somewhere else entirely - a little bit Narnia, a little bit private festival in the woods.

Wedding Photography at Finn Lough Resort Fermanagh

Finn Lough, Fermanagh

Finn Lough is tucked into ancient woodland on the shores of Lough Erne in Co. Fermanagh - one of the most secluded wedding venues in the north of Ireland. The transparent Loughshore Dome is a real showstopper for a ceremony, and the restored barn, with its timber beams and woodburning stove, makes a beautiful spot for the evening. Guests can stay in the lakeside lodges or forest domes, which means the whole weekend can feel like a retreat rather than just a wedding day.

Finn Lough wedding on the blog

Hillmount House, Larne

Hillmount House is a Georgian country house near Larne, with gardens that sweep down towards the sea — one of the few venues in Northern Ireland where you actually get a coastal backdrop. The Coach House and Barn give you options for ceremonies and dinner, and there's a real sense of having the place to yourselves, since it's one wedding per day with the option to stay the whole weekend. Outdoor ceremonies in the gardens are a particular highlight when the weather plays along.

Hllmount House wedding on the blog