*FOR THE MOMENT WEDDINGS AT THE CAIRN ARE ON PAUSE* The Cairn of Old Kilgobbin, a venue with heart and soul, and a whole lot of country.
I love to share this amazing space by hosting events such as weddings and thought- provoking workshops and seminars, all the while being protective of the environment beyond its walls that is diverse, ecologically sensitive and precious to the community that I live alongside. Thus I limit functions to daylight hours (8am -6pm) so that our guests can see the landscapes surrounding us, take a picnic blanket and a glass of wine and sandwich themselves between a Dargle sky and a slice of rolling lawn, hang over a wooden fence and have a conversation with one of our magnificent Friesian horses, and as the last guests drive sedately down the hillside towards home , our resident owls can glide across a quiet farm and the tree dassies can wake up and arouse the rest of the forest night life.
The name "the Cairn" was inspired by the fact that Old Kilgobbin is an Irish settler farm and in Ireland cairns are built to commemorate important events, and also placed as route markers on journeys and what more momentous an event do we experience in our lives than a wedding, and the journey that follows is the most important any of us will undertake. So the Cairn seemed a fitting name for this lovely space.
Weddings nowadays are often synonymous with stress and yet planning a wedding should not have any negativity involved, so I have over the past 10 years created a package that alleviates the potential of stress for the couples who choose the Cairn. From planning, provision of décor, to the set up and the flowers to coordinating the day of the wedding and managing the external service providers’ timelines, I do it all as part of the venue hire. Our way is not following the well worn wedding formula, and we are not suitable for many couples, but for those who are, find our weddings to be filled with connections, conversations, good food and time to soak in the countryside calm.