Castle Wedding Venues: 10 of the Best, With Real Prices and Capacities
Getting married in a castle is more achievable than most couples assume, and most of the good ones work the same way: you hire the whole castle for a day or a weekend, and it belongs only to you and…
Getting married in a castle is more achievable than most couples assume, and most of the good ones work the same way: you hire the whole castle for a day or a weekend, and it belongs only to you and your guests. The catch is that the best ones take a single wedding at a time and book out a year or more ahead. Here are ten of the finest across Scotland, England, Ireland and France, with what each holds, what it costs, and who has married there.
A castle wedding is really a question of exclusive use. Unlike a hotel ballroom shared with strangers, most castle venues hand you the keys to the whole place: the great hall, the grounds, the bedrooms for your party. That is what you are paying for, and it is why prices are quoted as venue hire (the building, for the day or weekend) with catering and accommodation on top, rather than a simple per-head figure.
Scotland and Ireland are the deepest markets, with England close behind and France the destination-wedding favourite. The ten below span intimate tower houses to 300-guest estates. Where a venue is genuinely a place you can also just book a night, it appears in our separate guide to castles you can stay in; here the focus is the wedding.
1. Dundas Castle, Edinburgh
South Queensferry Up to 200 guests From around £5,000 hire Enquire Map
Dundas is the benchmark Scottish castle wedding: a 15th-century keep and Gothic mansion on a 400-acre estate, yet only eight miles from Edinburgh. It takes one wedding at a time on an exclusive-use basis, holds up to 200 guests, and sleeps 37 across 17 bedrooms. Venue hire runs from around £5,000 up to roughly £10,750 for a peak summer weekend.
2. Achnagairn Castle, Highlands
near Inverness Up to 160 guests From around £11,000 hire Enquire Map
A 17th-century Highland castle near Inverness, Achnagairn is built around a spectacular vaulted ballroom that seats up to 160 for the ceremony and dinner, and 200 for the evening. It is fully exclusive-use, with 24 bedrooms sleeping around 55 and self-catering 'Mini Manors' on the estate that push the sleeping capacity past 130. It is the one to look at for a big Highland wedding where everyone stays on site.
3. Borthwick Castle, Midlothian
Midlothian Intimate From around £11,000 hire Enquire Map
A 600-year-old tower house half an hour from Edinburgh, Borthwick is where Mary, Queen of Scots sheltered in 1567, and it still feels like stepping into the 15th century. Weddings here are exclusive-use and deliberately intimate, from banquets in the Great Hall lit by candlelight to small fine-dining ceremonies. This is the choice for couples who want atmosphere and history over guest numbers.
4. Peckforton Castle, Cheshire
Cheshire 165 by day, 350 evening From around £11,500 Enquire Map
A Victorian medieval-style castle in the Cheshire hills, Peckforton is one of England's busiest castle wedding venues, with room for up to 165 guests by day and 350 in the evening. All-inclusive packages start from around £11,500 for 50 daytime guests on selected dates, with Friday packages from about £14,500. It runs as a hotel too, so the whole party can stay.
5. Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire
Herefordshire Exclusive use From around £8,000 Enquire Map
A fairytale Georgian castle set in a deer park in the Malvern Hills, Eastnor is yours exclusively for the duration of your stay. It is priced by package: a classic one-day wedding starts from around £8,000 midweek (accommodation extra), rising to weekend-long 'Weekender' celebrations from around £15,000. It is the English answer to the full-weekend castle takeover.
6. Hever Castle, Kent
Kent Intimate From around £3,750 hire Enquire Map
Hever was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, which makes it one of the most romantic and most loaded wedding settings in England. Ceremonies take place in the Tudor castle and the Astor Wing, on an exclusive-use basis, with the double-moated castle and award-winning gardens as the backdrop. It runs venue-hire offers for off-peak 2026 dates, so it can be more attainable than its history suggests.
7. Luttrellstown Castle, Dublin
Dublin Up to 180 guests From around €10,000 hire Enquire Map
The most famous castle wedding venue in Ireland, Luttrellstown is where David and Victoria Beckham married in 1999.[1] It is a fully exclusive-use estate just outside Dublin, holding up to 120 in the Van Stry Ballroom or 180 with the Kentian Room added. Venue hire ranges from around €10,000 to €25,000 and up, depending on day, season and numbers.
8. Dromoland Castle, County Clare
Clare, Ireland Up to 300 guests From around €10,000 hire Enquire Map
The 16th-century ancestral home of the O'Briens, Dromoland sits on a 450-acre County Clare estate and handles the grand end of the Irish market, with intimate ceremonies in the Earl of Thomond restaurant or full celebrations for up to 300 in the Oak Room. As a five-star hotel with a golf course, it is built to host the whole guest list for the weekend.
9. Ashford Castle, County Mayo
Mayo, Ireland Grand From around €25,000 hire Enquire Map
The 800-year-old former Guinness estate on Lough Corrib, Ashford is the most lavish castle wedding in Ireland, an impeccably staffed affair in one of the world's finest hotels, complete with falconry for the guests. It is the destination wedding at its grandest, and priced to match.
10. Château de Challain, Loire Valley
Pays de la Loire, France 120+ guests From around €48,000 (weekend, 50 guests) Enquire Map
If France is the dream, Château de Challain is the dedicated fairytale wedding château: a neo-Gothic castle in the Loire with 72 acres of gardens, forest and lake, and 21 to 23 suites sleeping up to 50. It is wholly exclusive-use, with packages built around the weekend; an inclusive two-night, three-day wedding for 50 guests starts from around €48,000. It is the turn-key version of the French château wedding.
At a glance
| Castle | Region | From (hire) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dundas Castle, Edinburgh | South Queensferry | From around £5,000 hire |
| Achnagairn Castle, Highlands | near Inverness | From around £11,000 hire |
| Borthwick Castle, Midlothian | Midlothian | From around £11,000 hire |
| Peckforton Castle, Cheshire | Cheshire | From around £11,500 |
| Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire | Herefordshire | From around £8,000 |
| Hever Castle, Kent | Kent | From around £3,750 hire |
| Luttrellstown Castle, Dublin | Dublin | From around €10,000 hire |
| Dromoland Castle, County Clare | Clare, Ireland | From around €10,000 hire |
| Ashford Castle, County Mayo | Mayo, Ireland | From around €25,000 hire |
| Château de Challain, Loire Valley | Pays de la Loire, France | From around €48,000 (weekend, 50 guests) |
How to choose one
Start with three numbers: your guest count, your budget for venue hire alone, and how many of your party need to sleep on site. Those three rule most castles in or out before taste even comes into it. A 200-guest wedding needs Dundas, Peckforton or Dromoland; an intimate one is better served by Borthwick or Hever. If you want everyone under one roof for a weekend, prioritise the estates with real bedroom capacity (Achnagairn, Challain, Dromoland) over the ones that hold a big party but sleep few.
Then read the hire fee carefully, because castles quote it differently. Some include catering and coordination; most do not, and accommodation is almost always extra. The headline figure is rarely the final figure. For the romance of the buildings themselves, our roundup of the world's most beautiful fairytale castles is a good place to start a shortlist, and if the castle bug bites hard enough to think about owning one, our French château buyer's guide is the next rabbit hole.
Sources
Capacities and prices are starting figures that vary by day, season and package; confirm with each venue, linked above, before booking.
1. Luttrellstown Castle and contemporary press on the marriage of David and Victoria Beckham at the castle on 4 July 1999.