Our list of top luxury hotels for weddings come from across the globe. They all offer something extraordinary, to make your wedding surely the best day of your life.
Ballyfin Demesne, Co. Laois, Ireland
One of Ireland’s top luxury neoclassical house hotels, Ballyfin Demesne stands in its own 614-acre grounds with the Slieve Bloom mountains as a backdrop. Uniformed staff awaits each guest, setting the tone for old-school service, yet full of Irish warmth. The reception rooms are filled with superb antiques and paintings and there is a classically styled indoor pool and two luxury treatment rooms. Every bedroom is in classic Irish country-house style. The food sublime.
The impressive ballroom is ideal for wedding receptions accommodating up to 130 guests and the State Dining Room with views over the water cascade accommodates up to 70 guests with outdoor terraces and garden spaces for wedding photographs. You can also book rooms for pre-wedding celebrations, dinners or parties.
The Peninsula Shanghai, China
For pure glamour and sophistication, say “I do” in one of China’s best hotels, The Peninsula Shanghai. A top team of wedding specialists are on hand to help personalise your celebrations to the finest detail, ensuring memories for a lifetime. They will create luxury floral arrangements, select a menu of top-rate cuisine by the hotel’s Michelin starred culinary team, so you can make the perfect entrance in The Peninsula’s customised, 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom.
The Gritti Palace, Venice, Italy
The top of all hotels in Venice, Gritti Palace’s restoration in 2014 has seen the antique décor and fine Rubelli silk fabrics freshened up. General Manager Paolo Lorenzoni is one of the best in the country, being courteous, ever-present and quick to respond to problems. The staff, in their impeccable vintage liveries, are equally superb. A waterside wedding reception on the terrace overlooking the shimmering Grand Canal has to be one of the top Venetian experiences.
La Bastide de Gordes, Gordes, Provence, France
La Bastide de Gordes is another of Europe’s top hotels for wedding celebrations. From the terraced garden to the suspended swimming pool there is much to enjoy in this magic place where magnificent architecture from the eighteenth century is combined with Provençal charm.
The hotel’s forty rooms and suites are pure luxury. Corridors and stairs are rich with treasures. Manorial salons impose elegance. There is also a Sisley spa and food from Michelin starred Pierre Gagnaire to enjoy.
Ellerman House, Cape Town, South Africa
Perched high above the Atlantic, in a 1.5-acre terraced garden carved out of the Bantry Bay cliffs, Ellerman House can claim to be the top location of all the hotels in Cape Town.
Both the Ellerman House Private Villas provide beautiful backdrops to intimate weddings, with a private chef. All you have to do is look forward to the special day and relax while everything is taken care of. The Wine Gallery is a state of the art space ideal for an intimate wedding reception surrounded by modern art such as the Corkscrew, storing 1500 of South Africa’s top red wines. Alternatively, book exclusive use for up to 200 guests for your wedding.
Alila Villas Uluwatu, Bali, Indonesia
A hotel with modernist architecture and Indian Ocean views situated on Bali’s peaceful Bukit Peninsula. Villas offer luxury and are stylish and soothing, with private pools and butlers. This is the one of the first hotels in Indonesia to receive the highest level of certification for environmentally sustainable design.
As well as intimate wedding villas, there is also the Cliff-edge Wedding Cabana, an overhanging cliff-side platform with a dramatic view over the Indian Ocean.
The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, India
Wedding ceremonies on the front lawns began in November, 2016. A maximum of 200 people can enjoy seated dinners under the night sky and Sangeet performances with music. The marbled platform on which the Taj Mahal rests can also be utilised for Jaimalas and bridal entrances, as well as a stage for the exchange of rings. The central water body in front of the Taj Mahal. and all the indoor areas cannot be used for a wedding. To keep the sanctity of the monument, all are required to dress modestly.
Iniala Beach House, Natai Beach, Thailand
Natai Beach, just north of Phuket, is one of the most sought-after hotels in Asia. Set in a tropical landscape amid sprawling lawns and the romance of the sea it provides a mesmerising backdrop for a wedding.
Located in the grounds sits the ‘Iniala White’, a beautifully natural space created to host intimate weddings or a large reception of up to 350 guests. With its manicured lawns suitable for banquet tables, scatter bean bags, bar areas and even a raised stage, guests can create their very own luxury setting that is both personable and distinctive.