The majority of the weddings held here at Guthrie Castle are of a religious nature. Normally services are conducted by the Reverend 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 close 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. 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 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 the Guthrie Church, which is just a few minutes walk from the Castle or for smaller parties of up to 20 we can use our own delightful chapel within the Castle. We generally suggest the service takes place about 2pm and lasts about 20 minutes but are totally flexible in this respect and as it 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 darker.
For those who follow the Catholic faith, ceremonies are held on one of the local Catholic Churches in either, Arbroath, Montrose or Forfar – all of the which are only about 15 minutes drive from the Castle. In these instances the bridal party usually get prepared at the Castle ad then the couple make their separate ways to the church for the service returning together in the Castle’s 2008 Bentley.
