It’s official! 2018 was the most successful year ever for tourism in Ireland – a record 11.2 million visitors came to Ireland north and south which is a rise of over 500,000 visitors and for the first time ever Dublin Airport has also surpassed the 30 million passenger milestone.

More and more of these visitors are couples from worldwide who have decided to say ‘I Do’ in Ireland and enjoy all the unique fun of an Irish wedding. But why are so many couples coming to celebrate their weddings in Ireland?

The reasons are many. Tourism Ireland has rolled out a campaign called ‘Ireland Says I Do’ following the ‘yes’ vote in the same-sex marriage referendum and is encouraging and welcoming all couples from Britain, North America, the Nordic countries, Australia, France, Spain, Italy, Germany and further afield to come to Ireland to the ‘dreamy romantic locations”.

So where and when are the most popular times and locations for weddings in Ireland? According to a 2019 survey from weddingsonline.ie, one of Ireland’s most popular wedding websites:

• The Top 6 wedding counties in Ireland are Meath (10%), Kildare (8.5%), Dublin (6%), Wicklow (6%), Cork (6%), and Galway (5.5%). 
• The average budget for an Irish wedding including honeymoon is €28,462, up from last year’s €26,015. This is an increase of 9.4%.
• Friday and Saturday are still the most popular days for weddings in Ireland (81%), with Thursday next in line for popularity.
• Two thirds of weddings in Ireland take place between May and September and in December, with August being the most popular month.
• The most popular month to pop the question and get engaged in Ireland is December (24%), with October in second place. Engagements are very evenly spread throughout the rest of the year.

Another popular Irish wedding website - confetti.ie - reveals that the average spend now on an engagement ring in Ireland, according to their 2019 survey is €4,080. The average number of guests at an Irish wedding was 170.

The generally mild temperatures with a lack of extreme weather conditions, the huge variation in beautiful locations from high-end luxury like Ballyfin, which hit the headlines recently with a visit by George and Amal Clooney for an Irish family reunion, to simple country locations with Irish traditional pubs and great value, make Ireland really attractive to couples that want to tie the knot, no matter what the budget.