Where are there great places to get married in central Scotland?

(The Wallace Monument from Stirling Castle)

Great places to get married? This is a matter of opinion of course and it's well worth spending some time visiting potential venues to see which ones suit your needs best and have the right 'feel'. In this part of the world, there are numerous lovely places to get married and although this isn't an exhaustive list, here are a few suggestions to get you going! Some of them are suitable for both your ceremony and the reception and others just for the ceremony. By the way, I've listed mainly local venues here, but I'm also quite happy to travel further afield to conduct weddings too! The beauty of living in central Scotland is that I can travel easily to numerous locations north, south, east and west! Here are some great local venues including fabulous hotels with great food, castles, other historic places and places with spectacular views:

Fabulous hotels with great food! 

Monachyle Mhor, Balquhidder (pictured)

The Roman Camp Hotel

Glenskirlie Castle, Banknock

The Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder

Castles:

The Great Hall, tower rooms or terraces at Castle Campbell, Dollar (pictured)

The Great Hall or the Chapel Royal at Stirling Castle

The Great Hall, Laird’s Hall or kitchen at Doune Castle

Culcreuch Castle, Fintry

Airth Castle, near Stirling

Glenskirlie Castle at Banknock
Plane Castle, by Airth
Broomhall Castle in Menstrie


Other historic places:

Argyll’s Lodging, Stirling (pictured)
Cowanes Hospital  also in the historic part of Stirling near to the castle
The Wallace Monument, Stirling
The Albert Halls, Stirling
Alloa Tower

The Royal Burgh of Culross

Gean House, Alloa

Linlithgow Palace

Callendar House, Falkirk


Please note: Historic Scotland have decided that weddings will no longer be allowed at a number of their properties in the central belt and they include Inchmahome Island, Tullibardine Chapel, Innerpeffray Chapel and Cambuskenneth Abbey. If you need more information about this, phone the Historic Scotland wedding team on 0131 668 8916

Places with spectacular views:

Loch Lomond islands such as Inchmurrin and Inchcallioch (pictured)
Venues on the western shores of Loch Lomond such as Cameron House, Duck Bay Marina, Lodge on Loch Lomond, Culag Lochside and The Cruin

Or venues on the eastern shores of Loch Lomond such as Rowardennan Youth Hostel and Boturich Castle

Dumyat hill, Stirling

Monachyle Mhor, Balquhidder

Castle Campbell, Dollar

The Harbour Café, Loch Venachar

The Lake Hotel, Lake of Mentieth

Loch Katrine (and the SS Sir Walter Scott)

Roman Camp Hotel in Callander
Comrie Croft
The Forest Hills Hotel at Kinlochard
Kinlochard Village Hall
Altskeith House  also at Kinlochard

Other ideas:

You will have noticed that there are one or two chapels mentioned in the lists above. Although humanist marriages are entirely non-religious in content, it isn't usually a problem (though check with your Celebrant first) to hold the ceremony in a building of religious significance, if it is no longer used for regular worship. Many old chapels have been beautifully renovated and make lovely settings for a wedding - such as Glencorse near Edinburgh :

The other thing you might be considering is getting married in your own home or garden and I have conducted some lovely relaxed and informal weddings in such settings. If the house isn't big enough or you'd prefer to be in the garden, you can hire a marquee, either large or small and have fun decorating it:

If you have an out building, a barn or a byre, this could be converted and decorated for the big day. A bit of whitewash, an inexpensive carpet and some nice decorations completely transformed this one for example:

And you might want to consider your local village or community hall too - with a bit of decoration, these places can make lovely (and often inexpensive) venues for weddings! Kinlochard Village Hall is particularly nice for example and has a lovely view over the loch:

And finally, don't forget that Humanist Celebrants can conduct legal marriages ANYWHERE in Scotland without the need for a civil licence, so if you have an idea for something unusual of different, just let us know!

By the way, you might want to consider the following local venues to accommodate your guests or for your reception if the ceremony venue doesn't offer an option for this:

The Roman Camp Hotel in Callander
The Dunblane Hydro

Victoria Hall Dunblane

Old Churches House in Dunblane
The Dunmar in Alloa
The Royal Hotel at Bridge of Allan
The Park Lodge in Stirling
The Stirling Highland Hotel
The Golden Lion Hotel, Stirling
The Albert Halls, Stirling

The Stirling Court Hotel, at Stirling University (formerly the Management Centre)

There are local pubs, hotels and halls that would be suitable for a smaller reception too. And if you're looking for accommodation for you or your guests, there are plenty of B&Bs around. Try:

Glenardoch House in Doune
The Woodside Hotel in Doune

The Red Lion in Doune

The Stable in Doune 

Doune B&B in Doune
Mackeanston House a couple of miles outside the village
Hillview Cottage a mile or so outside the village

There are quite a few lovely self catering cottages and houses in the area too. For example:

Lochend Chalets at the Lake of Menteith

Kilbryde Castle near Dunblane

The Cardross Estate holiday cottages near Port of Menteith

Nether Glenny Cottages, Port of Menteith

And if you fancy somewhere a bit bigger to accommodate a group of friends and family, try:

Newholme House in Stirling (accommodates 10-12)

Burnside House at Deanston (accommodates 8)

Gargunnock House in Gargunnock (where else?!) which is owned by the Landmark Trust (accommodates 16)

Plane Castle by Airth (accommodates 18)

Altskeith House at Kinlochard (accommodates 22)
Leny Estate near Callander (accommodates around 56 people in various lodges and cottages)

This is a lovely area to stay in and very central location for exploring the Trossachs. 

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