Choose the Perfect Scottish Wedding Venue
Choosing your Scottish Wedding Venue has to be the most difficult decision. You may already know which venue you want but is it available for your dates? Have you decided how many guests you want at your Wedding as this again will affect your choice of venue. What location would you like to get married, would you like a loch side wedding such as getting married on Loch Lomond, would you like to get married in a Scottish Castle and do you want a venue that can hold both the Wedding breakfast & evening reception?
Other decisions you need to make include what type of ceremony you want and if not a Church Wedding, do you want to get married in the Reception Venue or elsewhere? Today you can even choose to marry beside a loch, in a genuine castle or on the top of a remote hillside. You can even choose your registrar to tailor the service to suit your beliefs.
Organising your wedding might be stressful, but it is also very exciting and you may get carried away with the overall picture instead of focusing on the finer details. Brainstorming is key when organising your wedding as it removes stress and decreases time later on in the planning process, you may also want to consider using a Wedding Co-ordinator, or choosing a venue that provides this service as part of their Wedding package.
Wedding Venues
We have compiled a list of suitable wedding venues with great choices in and around The Trossachs and Loch Lomond at the bottom of this page. These can be searched by location and you will find useful information about each venue and will be able to contact them directly in order to make an enquiry.
Many people automatically think they would like a Loch Lomond Wedding, but there are many other areas in Scotland that can equally provide scenic beauty for one of the most important days of your life.
You can also click on the Map Pins below and you will find lots of information about Wedding Venues locations, local services and specific information on Scottish wedding venues in and around Stirling, Inveraray and the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.
Things to Consider for a Wedding Venue
Ceremony and reception together
Do you want the wedding ceremony and reception held in the same venue, or do you want the ceremony in a separate place to your Wedding reception? Some Scottish wedding venues can perform the wedding ceremony as they have a special license for this and this will save on the logistics of getting the guests from the church to the reception. Check with your chosen venue to see if they are licensed as a place for marriage.
Size
How many guests would you like to attend your Wedding and will they all be coming to the Wedding Service and evening reception. Having settled on a number ensure you confirm the venues policy for reducing or increasing the numbers decided at the time of booking.
Wedding coordinator or wedding packages
Many Wedding venues, especially the larger venues, can provide an in-house advisor to help you create your wedding day at no extra cost. You could also hire your own wedding coordinator but you may prefer do it all yourself with the help of the groom and the chief bridesmaid as this may be part of the build up to the big day.
Exclusivity
Check with the wedding venue whether you have exclusivity on the venue (many smaller venues will insist on this) or just the reception room with the bar area being public. This may be important during the evening reception to ensure that you are not sharing the function room with members of the public.
What Facilities are nearby
What are the in house and local facilities. Does the hotel have a swimming pool or a Spa? Is your wedding venue easy to reach and are there local attractions and places to visit for guests to visit once the celebrations are over?
Local Accommodation
Not all wedding venues are able to provide accommodation for you and all of your guests who want to stay over. Remember, in high season and weekends accommodation in The Trossachs and Loch Lomond areas can be fully booked and the cost for accommodation will increase. Book as far ahead as you can to ensure your guests can stay over at a reasonable price. Use our accommodation finder to help you find a suitable accommodation in the Trossachs.
Entertainment
If you don't have a band in mind ask your wedding venue if they can recommend local musicians (most bands will charge for travelling to and from the reception). Ask how late your band can play until and the venues alcohol licensing hours. There are a number or good ceilidh bands available in the Trossachs and Loch Lomond area.
Deposit
Once you have chosen your wedding venue you will need to pay a deposit to secure your booking. Before you sign on the dotted line make sure you check whether you have the option to pay in instalments.
Changes
It's normal to make changes as your date draws nearer and your plans change, unfortunately this could result in additional costs if the wedding venue has to make special arrangements e.g. making changes to the number of guests or to the menu. Best to ask the venues 'changes policy' and get it down in writing at the time of booking.
Cancellation
This may be the last thing on your mind but unforeseen things can and do sometimes happen therefore its imperative that you check in advance what is the venues policy on cancelling a wedding and within what time frame can they withhold your deposit if they are unable to resell your original date?