I’ve been long looking forward to photographing a wedding at Virginia Park Lodge – a stunning country house in Co. Cavan, renowned for its award-winning food, stunning grounds and a luxurious reception pavilion (my personal favourite!) and certainly one of the best wedding venues in Ireland.
Sarah and Brian’s wedding was exactly what it promised – elegant, luxurious and fun at the same time. They got ready at a local guesthouse, had their ceremony in the stunning Trim Cathedral and then returned to Virginia Park Lodge for their celebration with all their favourite people.
Virginia Park Lodge – the Venue
The historic house is just outside of Virginia in Co. Cavan, overlooking Lough Ramor. The venue is exclusively yours to enjoy on the day, so you’ll have full run of its magnificent gardens and stately house, accommodating up to 125 guests in total. There are 23 en-suite bedrooms sleeping up to 47 guests, plus 15 cottages in the courtyard and 12 two-person huts in the woods. They are not only great for accommodating your guests but also one of my favourite photo spots!
Virginia Park Lodge is fully licensed to host wedding ceremonies, so you can choose to say your vows outdoors in the romantic walled gardens or indoors, in the stunning bright pavilion overlooking the lake. You can also go a more traditional route and have your wedding in a local church (there are plenty of them nearby!) before returning to Virginia Park Lodge for the festivities.
Virginia Park Lodge Wedding Reception
We all know the super important role of food on a wedding day, and this is definitely one of the major reasons to choose this venue. Richard Corrigan is an award-winning two Michelin-star chef, so your wedding menu will certainly be nothing short of amazing! All the produce is incredibly fresh, locally and seasonally sourced – both your drinks reception and dinner will be a true fine dining experience.
The pavilion for your wedding dinner is another highlight of this venue. Bright and airy (seating up to 300 people), with windows overlooking the gorgeous lake, it is always decorated with seasonal greens and fairy lights and takes your breath away the moment you come in. You spend a large portion of your day enjoying your wedding meal and listening to speeches, so it’s always great when you have a beautiful backdrop for those moments!
Wedding photos at Virginia Park Lodge
Suffice to say, you won’t have much trouble finding great locations for your photos. The Lodge itself is a great backdrop, so you don’t even have to go far. You can take a golf cart and go down to the lake, or walked to the walled gardens. My personal favourite area is the woodlands with the tall pine trees, natural meadows and cute log huts. It also gets the best sunset light on a fine day!
