Dry-Hire Option Conservatory & Opera House Craig y Nos Castle
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Dry Hire of the Conservatory
& Conservatory Terrace
Craig y Nos Castle
Your Wedding Day Room - self-catering option
Tariff
The Conservatory
(A) Dry Hire of Conservatory Only: £1,390 (2026)
See Conservatory as Banqueting room here. You supply all food and beverages. You do all decor work and 'changeovers of the room'. We provide tables, chairs, table cloths, and plates and cutlery*.
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(B) Optional Extra: Hire your own private Bar (within Conservatory); stock with your own bottles, spirits and wines: £500
* Plates and Cutlery must be returned as supplied, washed and cleaned (a dish-washing service can be supplied at cost). All Waste must be placed in recycling bins correctly and the Conservatory left in a clean and tidy condition, as supplied.
Catering Options - Street Food
Catering is the most expensive element at a wedding. Venues charge over £100 a head for a Wedding Banquet, Evening Buffet & a Drinks Package. Fully serviced wedding prices are increasing to cover the taxes on Venues. Rachel's increased Employers' NI (at 15%), VAT (at 20%), Payroll Taxes, Pensions contributions, higher NMW etc means 80% of the cost of serving you a traditional wedding banquet goes in taxes and wages.
Save with self-catering. Dry Hire avoids all of this cost to both you and the venue.
Dry Hire allows you to hire in a Street Food Vendor of your preferred food style, from as little as £10 - £15 a head, to serve food of your choice from a mobile van / food truck. This can be parked in the Atrium Yard outside the Conservatory, or in the main Courtyard (latter means moving out all cars and is subject to availability).
Dry Hire does not include use of Castle Kitchen facilities; you will need outside caterers serving from a catering van.
Check Swansea Street Food Caterers in the Swansea area. A quick glance shows costs are from £10 to £15 a head. So for 'street food' caterers, allow from £1,000 for 50 guests (to add a few extras), 100 guests maybe allow £1,500 to £2,000.
A Castle Wedding Venue
At a Low net Cost to Couples
How you can organise your wedding for 50 - 80 guests for between £2,000 - £3,500.
Private Bar Option
Optional: Add private Hire Bar in Conservatory @ £500 (2026). Total Dry Hire Spend Conservatory with private Bar = £1,890 (2026). Stock your private Bar with your own wine and bottled beers. Serve drinks to your guests at 'standard hotel prices' to make a profit on your own bar. Put your 'private bar profit' towards the dry hire fee. Hire a bar person off us to serve and take payments for you, count stock, and supervise the correct management and service of alcohol to guests, including supply of glasses. Once you add Street Food for circa £1,000 the net cost of your wedding reception, depending on your bar profits, could be as low as circa £2,000.
Hotel Bar Option
You may prefer to supply your guests with table wine and welcome drinks, as part of the wedding. If you opt not to run a private bar, your guests can buy any additional drinks at the castle's main bar. Your total dry hire cost would then be just £1,390 (2026) for the Conservatory alone without a private bar. Assuming 50 guests, you'd maybe allow circa £2,000 for catering and welcome drinks / table wine etc, which you source privately. Depending on your guest numbers, the total cost of a Conservatory self-catering wedding reception including food and wine could come in at about £3,500 all in.
Ceremony Room Options
(C) Add Theatre as Ceremony Room - Optional. You hire the theatre only if marrying in the castle's opera House. The normal 2026 hire rate of £1,065 is reduced to £500 under this offer.
Or you can marry in the Conservatory at NO further charge by using the Conservatory as your Ceremony Room. While this saves you £500 hiring the Opera House, you will then have to 'change-over' the Conservatory ready for dining, meaning you cannot decorate your tables until after the Ceremony.
(D) Book Registrar and Other Suppliers.
You book and pay for the Registrar separately, along with all your Wedding Suppliers. Read more on Registrar and other suppliers here.
Availability Craig y Nos Castle Dry Hire
Any Weekday in Any Year, and Any Saturday in next 6 months where we have no bookings, including pretty much all of Jan Feb and March 2026. Any Friday in 2026 or 2027.
We see many couples who do not know their exact wedding plans and guest numbers, or which wedding package to choose. You may be quite early in the planning process and finding it all rather overwhelming. You may not want to make a commitment to a specific wedding package and contract so far ahead, when unsure of your numbers, requirements and budget. Booking a 'Conservatory Dry Hire' for 2026 or 2027 allows you to secure your wedding date first, and still be fully flexible on your eventual numbers and options. You can either continue down the Dry Hire route, or upgrade to a fully serviced/ fully catered wedding package.
Booking Dry Hire as an initial 'secure the date' option, allows you longer to plan your wedding. With your Wedding Day firmly locked down in your Diary, you can send out your save the date cards (or emails!), work out who is able to come to your wedding, who is staying overnight etc. Once you know your numbers, you can upgrade to a suitable wedding package, catering and drinks options etc, as your plans develop. A full wedding planning advisory service can be found here and read at leisure.
Craig y Nos Castle
Guest Accommodation Options
Guests B&B is Optional but recommended.
All your guests pay for their own accommodation. There is no obligation for guests to stay. However guests who do stay, will party late.
B&B Option
£150 B&B first night for two in an en suite, £105 for two second night.
Budget Option: £70 B&B for two in a Non-Ensuite.
Room Only Option
Room Only Option for two people in en-suite double, £99 per room per night.
Breakfast is not included under this option. Guests can either be catered for by you / street food in morning, or they can go to Country Park Cafe where breakfast is served all day at £12/ head.
From just £11 more than the Street Food Options above ....
... Choose a
Full Sit-Down Wedding Banquet
with Cresta Caterers (Aberdare)*
* On Craig y Nos Castle's Self Catering Option only, when hiring Conservatory Dry Hire.
To upgrade from the Street Food Option to a full Wedding Banquet with external caterers, we recommend for best value, Cresta Caters of Aberdare.
Please visit Cresta Caterers Menu options here. A few options are shown below. Please visit their website for pictures and many more dining options at superb value. Check correct pricing with Cresta as rates change from time to time.
Min 50 adults. From their menus you may choose the following: - A Starter, - A Main Course and a vegetarian alternative, - One Dessert.
Wedding Breakfast - Arian
£26.50 (2025/6) + VAT
Starter
Leek & Potato Soup
Chunky Tomato & Rosemary Soup with a Cream Swirl
Vegetable Spring Rolls (Ve)
Served with a Dressed Side Salad & Sweet Chilli Sauce
All Served with Baskets of Warm Bread Rolls & Welsh Butter
Main
Mother's Traditional Roast
Please choose either Beef, Chicken, Pork or Turkey
Country Vegetable Pie (v)
Individual pie filled with Vegetables and a Rich Gravy topped with Puff Pastry
All Meals are accompanied by a medley of Vegetables
Roast Potatoes & Baby New Potatoes and A Traditional Gravy
Desserts
Vanilla Cheesecake served with a Fruit Coulis & Cream Rosette
Traditional Cream Profiteroles with Chocolate Sauce
Chocolate Fudge Cake with a Pouring Cream (GF & DF)
~
Tea, Coffee & After Dinner Mints
This menu is priced at £26.50 per person
All prices quoted are excluding vat at the standard rate
Wedding Breakfast – Aur
£30.35 (2025/6) plus VAT - Min 50
Starter
Chunky Tomato & Rosemary Soup
or Vegetable Cawl
served with Bread Rolls and Welsh Butter (v)
Chicken Tikka Skewers
served with a side Salad and Yougurt Dressing
Farmhouse Pate
Served with a Beetroot Relish and a Crisp Baby Leaf Salad
Creamy Garlic Mushrooms
with a Puff Pastry Hat (v)
Main
Roast Topside of Welsh Beef, Yorkshire Pudding, Horseradish Sauce & English Mustard
Roast Chicken Dinner with Sausage and Stuffing
Chicken Breast marinated in Balsamic Vinegar & Garlic
Served with a delicate Jus
Braised Welsh Beef Steak (£1.50 surcharge)
Served in a Rich Red Wine Sauce
An Entrecôte of Pork French trimmed
and Served in a Cider & Apple Cream Sauce
Lentil & Kale Wellington (Ve)
(A rich blend of red Lentils and Kale wrapped in a flaky puff pastry,
served with a Vegetable Gravy)
Accompanied with 3 seasonal Vegetable Dishes
Baby New Potatoes and Roast Potatoes
Traditional Gravy
Dessert
Raspberry and White Chocolate Roulade served with a Pouring Cream
Tangy Lemon Tart served with Crème Fraîche
Vanilla and Biscoff Cheesecake served with a Biscoff Sauce & Cream Rosette
Chocolate Fudge Cake with a Pouring Cream (GF & DF)
Apple Pie and Hot Custard
~
Tea, Coffee & After Dinner Mints
This menu is priced at £30.35 per person
All prices quoted are excluding vat at the standard rate
BBQ Menu
This menu includes a Jumbo Hotdog or a Welsh Black Beef Quarter Pound Burger in a Roll per
person with cutlery & crockery provided. Please select a further two items from the list below:
BBQ Pork Ribs Minted Lamb Steaks
Koftas Honey Roast Chicken
Chinese Pork Steaks Tandoori Chicken
Pork & Leek Sausages Marinated Chicken & Pepper Kebabs
Little Sirloin Steaks Marinated Prawn Skewers
Guests can then help themselves from the buffet table selection below:
Fresh Green Salad
American Coleslaw
Tomato, Red Onion & Feta Salad
Garlic Bread
Sauces and Condiments
Hot New Baby Potatoes, Potato Wedges or Chips (please choose one option)
This menu is priced at £18.50 per person, extra items can be added at £3.75 per person.
All prices quoted exclude VAT at the standard rate
Hog Roast
A whole succulent Pig cooked on our mobile gas spit.
The Hog will feed up to 130 persons.
Cooked to perfection by our Chef, the meat is carved and served with a large white or granary roll,
Sage & Onion Stuffing, Apple Sauce and Pickles.
A selection of our home-made Coleslaws and Salads are served from a buffet table.
American Coleslaw
Tomato & Basil with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Savoury Pasta
Crunchy Caesar Salad
Couscous Salad
Baby New Potatoes In Their Skins or Potato Wedges (please choose one option)
The cost inclusive of all the above with all china, cutlery, napkins and buffet table service is
£1920.00
Extra meals can be provided at a cost of £14.76 per person.
Vegetarian or Chicken meals can also be provided for guests who do not eat Pork. The charge for
these meals are £14.76 per person.
All prices quoted exclude VAT at the standard rate
Craig y Nos Castle
Venue Dry Hire Q & A
Q: Which areas of the venue are included in Conservatory Only Hire?
ANS: You will have exclusive use of the conservatory and the conservatory terrace. You will have use of the conservatory Kitchen for cleaning and washing and food storage only. The conservatory Kitchen cannot be used for cooking but can be used for serving from and for storage and cleaning of plates and cutlery. In addition you will have non exclusive use of the Castle Courtyard and Atrium Yard and Theatre Gardens and Lower Gardens. The Conservatory may be used for your Wedding Ceremony, Wedding Banquet/ Reception, and your evening party. Alternatively you may choose to hire the Opera House for your wedding Ceremony, to save turning the room around from 'Ceremony Room' set-up to 'Reception Room' layout.
Q: Is Craig y Nos Castle Dry Hire and Can I bring my own Suppliers?
ANS: Yes, under the Conservatory Dry Hire Option, you have exclusive use of the Conservatory for the duration of your wedding day, and can supply your own drinks and food. You will need to provide your own suppliers, such as caterers, bar, florist, DJ, decor etc. We have an extensive list of wedding suppliers that are known to the Castle and whom we recommend. Our photographers know the venue well which is helpful for you to get the most out of your wedding photography. You are welcome to select your own suppliers if you prefer.
Q: Can we run our own bar or do we need to hire a professional bar person?
ANS:
(i) Table Wines & Bottles supplied free:
We are happy for you to offer free drinks from a 'drinks table', and supply your own bottled wines to the tables in the Conservatory. Guests who wish to top up with their own choice of draught beers and so forth may do so optionally, by visiting the main hotel bar and then returning to the Conservatory.
(ii) Running your own Bar:
Or you can choose to sell drinks to your guests by running your own bar as a 'commercial venture'. To do this you would hire the bar in the conservatory off us @ £500, and stock it with your own drinks. You run this as a commercial bar and take payment from your guests for drinks sold. We do require that whoever is serving drinks from the bar, holds a licence to do so. At all times there should be a responsible person on hand to ensure licensing laws are complied with. To ensure compliance with licensing laws, you may wish us to supply a bar person at cost - typically £15/hr plus VAT at current rates (2026). You stock the conservatory bar with your own bottles, spirits and wines, crisps and snacks and sell these on to your guests at a suitable mark-up to cover costs of bar hire and serving staff and to contribute, if you price accordingly, additional funds towards the overall costs of your wedding.
Private drinks that you supply may only be consumed within the conservatory and on the conservatory terrace.
Q: Do you charge Corkage?
ANS: We do not charge corkage under Conservatory Dry Hire. We do charge corkage under all other full service wedding packages.
Q: Are Tables and Chairs included in Craig y Nos Castle Venue Hire and how are they arranged/ supplied?
Yes we provide sufficient Chiavari chairs and sufficient round tables for your use based upon your numbers. This saves you hiring your own tables and chairs.
If using the Conservatory for your Ceremony we will set out the chairs and registrar's table / signing of the register table ready for a 'Wedding Ceremony'. The Round tables will remain stacked ready for your later use for dining. After the Ceremony you would move your guests out of the room and with your own helpers, 'turn around' the room and set up your round tables ready for dining. You will place the table cloths on top, decorate your table centres and lay out the cutlery and plates, and arrange your chairs around the tables according to your seating plan. This is down to you and your helpers, or any decor company whom you hire in to do this for you.
If you decide it is an inconvenience having to change the room around, from Ceremony Room lay out to Wedding Reception Dining Room layout, you can opt to hire the Theatre for your Ceremony, at a reduced rate of £500. We will then set up the Conservatory for you ready for your 'wedding reception', with round tables laid out according to your seating plan, and cutlery and table cloths on the tables. You then only have to put the final touches to your table decor and centrepieces upon arrival in the morning.
Hiring the theatre as your ceremony room saves you the hassle of changing the Conservatory around after the Ceremony, and gives your guests a change of scene for the Ceremony. Using the theatre for your Ceremony enables you to assemble your guests on arrival in the courtyard, or the main castle bar (subject to availability and 'non-exclusively') for drinks and hello's in the hour or so before the Ceremony, before having everyone enter the Theatre for the Ceremony. Your guests then separately enter the Conservatory for the Wedding Reception, drinks and meal, seeing the Conservatory for the first time all beautifully decorated.
Hiring the theatre as a separate Ceremony Room means you can have a 'Grand Reveal' of the Conservatory Banqueting room all beautifully decorated and ready to go, after your Ceremony and after your Wedding Photographs in the main Courtyard.
However some Couples prefer the ambience of the Conservatory for their Wedding Ceremony, and it is a popular option to have both the Ceremony and the Wedding Reception in the same room. So we leave the choice to you.
Q: Will our suppliers / we have somewhere to dispose of their / our waste?
ANS: We have strict compliance rules regarding the recycling of waste into the correct rubbish bins. The correct bins for Bottles/ Glass, Paper/ Cardboard, Plastics, Food waste, are supplied, labelled, in either the Conservatory Kitchens or at the Main Bins outside the Main kitchens. Location of bins and waste policy will be advised to you upon arrival. Waste should be placed in the appropriately labelled bins.
Q: How do deliveries work and food marquees set-up/ erected etc?
Where practical, deliveries and goods vehicles should not be moving around during service for the safety of your guests. Food catering vans should set up in either the Atrium yard or the main Courtyard to serve food. Vehicles may not cross any grass area. Catering tents may be erected in the atrium yard if weather conditions require and where you are serving food directly from an external street food provider.
Q: Is there a charge for cleaning cutlery, plates and the Conservatory after use?
We expect you to return plates, cutlery and all items used, in a clean state as supplied to you. Should this not be done, we will charge for cleaning/ pot & plate washing at the minimum cost for a four hour shift, being £60.00 plus VAT. Tables and chairs should be left neatly as found. We do not charge for laundering table cloths, which may be either left on the tables, or placed in a pile ready for laundering. The Conservatory should be swept clean of all rubbish and waste, so it is ready to hire out with minimal cleaning effort required by our staff. A supplementary cleaning charge will be applied, if the place is left in an overly messy state with rubbish, disposable plates, bottles and cans etc., not collected and placed in the bins provided. Please leave everything much as you found it.
