After my experience at Crom Castle for my friends' wedding, I really hope more of my friends decide to get married (never thought I'd say those words)....but I hope they do so in Europe. And then invite me.
The experience was totally worth the missed plane, three flights, two buses and one taxi that it took to get there.
Friends and I stayed in a cute nearby cottage on the estate which was "pimped out", well, as far as cottages go anyway. It had a living room, fire place, full kitchen and even a clothes washer, which definitely came in handy.
Then the castle, where the ceremony and reception took place, dates back to the 1800s and is owned by a couple who is related to the royal family. The room where the bride and groom stayed in (pictured above) is called Camilla's room because she stayed there with Prince Charles.
My favorite part of the estate, though, was the ruins. The old 1600s castle on the property survived two sieges but then fell to a fire. The only ghost story I heard about the property was that when rebuilding the castle the workers found that their tools kept being moved overnight, supposedly by the ghosts of those who died in the sieges, so they moved the location of the new castle to where it is today.


It truly was a beautiful venue and completely worth the 3,000+ mile trip.