Best. Day. Ever. Thank you Auchen Castle!
My partner and I got married at Auchen Castle on the 2nd September 2022 and it was the best experience in the world.
We had been researching online when we came across the venue and reached out for their wedding brochure and the possibility of visiting. Sarah, the general manager, got in touch with me to share the brochure and discuss the options available. She was incredibly friendly and helpful; I was pleasantly surprised that there were many different packages that the venue offered and a lot of flexibility within that to get the effect we were after. We decided to go visit and Sarah was very accommodating to get us in at a time that worked for us as we weren't local to the area. When we arrived we were just blown away by how spectacular the castle and the surrounding landscape is while also being incredibly easy to get to! Sarah and Lynne (wedding co-ordinator) were there to greet us on the day and take us through everything. Both were incredibly friendly and helpful, answering our many (many!) questions.
We ended up going with the "All Taken Care Of" package and added on falconry, a Ceilidh band and fireworks. The package really lived up to the name; the team at Auchen Castle booked us in with their recommended suppliers (food, flowers, cake, make-up, hair, stationary, band, piper, pastor etc) and made sure we had all their contact details so we could get in touch as soon as we wanted to discuss what we were after. Every single supplier delivered an impeccable standard and was even better than we could have imagined.
Paula (the pastor) really made everything feel personable and made us both feel so relaxed throughout; our guests spoke of how genuine and charismatic she is which added to the emotion of the ceremony.
The flowers were breath taking and were even better than we had envisioned; we took some home with us after the ceremony and so glad we did, the smell in our home was intoxicating in the best way possible.
The table plan and place settings were perfect – we could even see that the fonts that they had used for the table plan had incorporated our wedding theme which was unexpected and brilliant.
The cake was just perfect; the team at had reached out to our flower supplier so they could include some for the cake decoration which was just wonderful. The cake was incredibly tasty and exactly how we’d asked for it.
For the hair and make-up I had Gaynor and Charlotte who did fantastic jobs. My bridesmaids, mother-in-law and I received many compliments on the day. I showed Gaynor a few ideas I’d had on hairstyles for the bridesmaids and myself and she did not disappoint. She really listened and added her own finesse to it - there wasn’t a hair out of place the whole day! Gaynor was also incredibly kind, positive and genuine which made the whole experience even more enjoyable and we are hugely grateful. For the make-up, I often don’t wear much and have never had my make-up done professionally before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Charlotte offered a lot of advice on the style to go with and I was pleasantly surprised that it lasted the whole day and night (and that’s even after busting some moves out in the evening).
We had Callum on the bagpipes – just wow. It gave us goose bumps hearing him play and the way he personalised to songs and anthems we loved was just that extra magic touch. My husband is Italian and we had many guests from Italy attending our big day - Callum played the Italian national anthem for them – it was really appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed by all.
The falconry was just magic! Pita, a beautiful barn owl, was our ringbearer for the ceremony. She was so well behaved and our guests were both massively and pleasantly surprised in the ceremony. Georgia, the falconer, had also brought her pet hawk, Bowie, for a display after the ceremony. Our guests had a wonderful time during this and were really glad to have the opportunity to get to know Georgia and learn more about the birds of prey.
The Ceilidh band was out of this world – it was so good to see our friends and family enjoy and get up on their feet – even those that I know are not ones for dancing. It really helped bring everyone together. The music was so well played, and I know the direction must have been really challenging given the language barriers but was really well handled so our compliments and gratitude to them.
Mark, the DJ, did a great job reaching those dancing feet – it has to be said that we’d supplied a rather hefty playlist, but he executed which songs to prioritise brilliantly, and our guests enjoyed their special shout out requests. The finale of the set was also well executed, there were songs that brought everyone together regardless of whether they met before or spoke the same language. It was just wonderful to behold.
The team at Auchen Castle also recommended our photographer, Vicki, from Willow and Wilde. We are so glad we went with the recommendation. Vicki was so friendly, funny and professional. The photos we've received are just beautiful!
The food was absolutely exquisite! The presentation and the flavour were just phenomenal and enjoyed by all, the adaptations to canapes and the buffet to cater to our vegan and vegetarian guests were both appreciated and really well executed. Massive kudos to the chef and everyone who helped serve. One of our vegan guests said it was the best wedding food she has ever had the delight to have. We had a BBQ the night before the ceremony for guests that were staying in the castle that night which was incredible! Not to mention the breakfasts each day were also absolutely amazing. We had had a food tasting prior to the big day to test out the wedding breakfast we had suggested but we hadn't tried everything else so we weren’t entirely sure what to expect but they definitely did not disappoint.
It was the most spectacular day, and we didn’t want it to end. We have had so many compliments on everything, both on the day itself and still getting comments on it now. The organisation of the day by Sarah, Lynne and Fiona (wedding manager) was just phenomenal, everything went so smoothly and we could really trust that they had everything in order so we could focus on enjoying our day. We also owe a big thanks to another member of staff, Ellen, for helping to bridge the communication gaps with English and Italian guests. It was a massive bonus that we hadn't planned for.
All in all, we are so so glad we chose to have our wedding at Auchen Castle and can't recommend it enough to other couples looking for a Wedding venue. It's a beautiful place, with an amazing group of people and just the perfect execution of a wedding ceremony, party and all the extra bits either side. We will definitely be going back to visit!