March/April 2021
The UK's outdoor hospitality business magazine for function venues, glamping, festivals and outdoor events
The UK's outdoor hospitality business magazine for function venues, glamping, festivals and outdoor events
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PEOPLE<br />
boathouse. The chapel was designed by Adrian<br />
and put together by local builders. The first bride<br />
was Annaleigh McCaffrey, who happened to be the<br />
head of marketing for Primark. “I told her that if she<br />
booked a wedding I’d build her a church! It’s nestled<br />
among the pine trees on our site and is perfect for a<br />
simple blessing or a full ceremony.”<br />
The bride then spread the word. “She told all her<br />
media buddies about us and in that first year we<br />
held seven weddings. In 2013 we had 27 and in 2014<br />
we had 40. Pre-Covid, we were up to 75 weddings,<br />
each a wee mini festival in itself!”<br />
For post wedding drinks and canapés, guests use<br />
the fully heated Boathouse, which was completed in<br />
2012. “We have a Jamie OIiver wood burning pizza<br />
oven housed in its own glazed kitchen so couples<br />
can host pizza parties the day before or after their<br />
weddings.”<br />
The converted barn can seat up to 220 and<br />
features a light filled atrium with a Jacobean library<br />
and lots of soft furnishings. A grand piano sits in<br />
the corner of the room for guests to play and the<br />
décor is a combination of vintage chic with antique<br />
and restored furniture. “We’ve used Arts and Crafts<br />
wallpaper to frame the entrance into a garden room,<br />
which has a wood burning stove and looks out onto<br />
the restored walled garden where ceremonies are<br />
also held with guests seated in a raised amphitheatre<br />
overlooking the pond,” says Adrian.<br />
Mount Druid’s unique style has been entirely<br />
created by Adrian and his wife Deirdre. “It has<br />
been borne from a need to do everything on a<br />
shoestring budget. Necessity has been the mother<br />
of all invention in our case thus we’ve never had an<br />
architect and wouldn’t dream of using an interior<br />
designer.<br />
“I have spent a lot of time in junk shops and<br />
Deirdre on eBay looking for things like tea cups and<br />
saucers and second hand shoes – items that help<br />
make up our various quirky interior collections.”<br />
Adrian and the team had the wedding recipe right<br />
and were able to scale the business. “We thought<br />
it was a good idea to turn into a venue and couples<br />
have all the accommodation on site exclusively for<br />
guests to stay in. We made millions of mistakes but<br />
over time we stopped making them and got better<br />
and better and now I like to think we are pretty<br />
much flawless.”<br />
Over 50 per cent of couples come from the<br />
UK and further afield, making Mount Druid very<br />
much a destination venue. “It works well as we<br />
are only one hour from the airport.”<br />
The core team comprises 10 full time staff,<br />
rising to 25 on an event day. Adrian and<br />
Deirdre’s six children, who range from 11 to<br />
22, are also involved. “I often refer to them<br />
as reluctant employees, but they do love it<br />
sometimes and all know what to do. I hope they<br />
will take the business on one day, but only if<br />
they want to. My parents ran a B&B, but other<br />
than that I had no real experience in hospitality<br />
myself. I do however have a degree in estate<br />
management.”<br />
14 WWW.OPENAIRBUSINESS.COM
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