Religious Wedding Services
The majority of the weddings held here at Guthrie Castle are of a religious nature. Normally services are conducted by the Rev. Brian Ramsey who is the resident Church of Scotland Minister of Guthrie Parish. If for some reason Brian is unavailable on the date you wish to get married he has a number of colleagues who can stand in for him. On some occasions couples have a Minister in the family or as a clsoe friend who conduct the service.
There is no requirement to travel to Scotland to meet the Minister prior to your wedding, although some couples do arrange to pop in and see him if they come to visit the castle - Brian lives across the road from our East gate. Most couples normally make contact via email or phone to discuss the style of ceremony they would like - whether they would like hymns or readings etc. There is no requirement to be a Member of the Church of Scotland, in fact we often conduct “mixed faith” ceremonies here. There is however a requirement to register your marriage with the local registrar’s office who will issue you with your Marriage Schedule which you must bring along to the castle on your wedding day.
Services are normally conducted outside at the top of our “Wedding Aisle” in the Walled Garden. Alternatively they can be held in Guthrie Church, which is just a few minutes walk from the castle or for smaller parties of up to 30 we can use our own delightful chapel within the castle.
A simple service lasts about 20 minutes, longer of course if there are readings or hymns for which in the past music has been provided by string quartets, harpists, electronic organs or CD players.
We generally suggest the service takes place about 3pm but are totally flexible in this respect and as it is your day, we will respect your wishes and do our best to conduct the service at other times if you desire, especially in the Winter months when photographs need to be taken before it gets dark for instance.
For those who follow the Cathlolic faith, ceremonies are held in one of the local Catholic churches in either, Arbroath, Montrose or Forfar - all of which are only about 15 minutes drive from the castle. In these instances the bridal party usually get prepared at the castle and then the couple make their seperate ways to the church for the service returning together in the castle’s Bentley.
