Blog Category: Castle Weddings

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Scottish Wedding Kilt Etiquette

So, you’re planning a wedding in Scotland (or attending one), and you plan to wear a kilt? Good choice! The wedding kilt is a staple of Scottish wedding tradition and a great way of showing your proud Scottish heritage. But there are some things to know about wearing a kilt to a wedding, and what to wear with it.

Not to worry, though! Here’s what you need to know about your wedding kilt attire before the big day!

What to wear with your wedding kilt

Formalwear

For a more formal wedding, we recommend the traditional evening attire with a Prince Charlie jacket. This highland dinner jacket comes with short tails at the back and three buttons down either side.

Along with this jacket, and your kilt, it is best to wear a three-button waistcoat, a plain shirt (normally white), and a plain bowtie (either black or matching the colour of the jacket).

Finally, to complete the formal wedding look, the Prince Charlie jacket requires a full dress sporran, the pocket that hangs outside of the kilt.

Semi-formalwear

For a semi-formal daytime wedding, you may instead opt for an Argyll jacket instead of a Prince Charlie. This would fit better with a five-button waistcoat and a wedding tie in silver-grey or matching your tartan.

To complete the semi-formal wedding look, a semi-dress sporran will do, which comes with a fur covering on the front.

Either way

Whether formal or semi-formal, you should also try to make sure the colour of your hose (socks) compliments the rest of the outfit. And remember – avoid white! Your hose should be cream, coloured or black. Whatever the colour, we recommend wearing these with traditional black ghillie brogues.

Accessories

You should also consider a few extra accessories to finish off your wedding look:

• Kilt flashes: Strips of tartan (matching your kilt) to hold up the hose and add extra decoration.
• Kilt pin: Traditionally pinned at the bottom of your kilt, in the open-fringed corner, this pin is an important part of the kilt. Some Scottish men will show off their clan heritage by wearing a pin with their clan crest.
• Sgian Dubh: A small, single-edged knife with a protective case, sheathed in your sock on the outer side of the leg (the same as your dominant hand).

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There you are – time to go shopping! Whatever you decide to wear, whether it’s for your wedding or someone else’s, we hope you feel comfortable and enjoy the day!

To find out more about creating the traditional Scottish wedding, have a read through our favourite Scottish wedding traditions.

If you’d like to have the perfect Scottish castle wedding at Barcaldine Castle, visit our Weddings page.

Do you dream of having a traditional Scottish wedding? There’s a lot to Scottish culture when it comes to getting married, and there are plenty of Scottish wedding traditions to consider …

Our Favourite Scottish Wedding Traditions

Before the Ceremony

• The bride traditionally gives the groom his wedding shirt as a gift, known as the ‘wedding sark’. In return, the groom also gifts the bride her wedding dress.
• When the bride leaves her house on the way to the wedding, she should exit with her right foot forward to prevent bad luck.
• As the bride steps into the car, her father throws a handful of coins for the children to collect. This tradition, called the ‘wedding scramble’, is believed to bring about financial good fortune.

During the Ceremony

• In the traditional ‘wedding walk’ to the church, a fiddler leads the wedding party to the church. Behind the fiddler, the groom walks with the maid of honour; behind them, the bride walks with the best man.
• Tying the knot – literally! For many years, Scottish brides and grooms would each provide something to tie together. A rope, a scarf, a piece of cloth (usually in their clan tartan), anything. During the ceremony, the couple would tie these two things together in a knot to represent their union (known as the ‘handfasting ceremony’) and then keep it after the wedding as a symbol of their marriage. Many couples have their knots framed and mounted in their homes. The ritual of handfasting is where the phrase ‘tie the knot’ originated.

After the Ceremony

• The married couple leaves the church followed by the best man and the maid of honour. Traditionally, it is lucky for the procession to cross running water twice.
• If you’re on a tight budget, you could have a ‘penny wedding’. This traditionally means the guests bring their own food and drinks to the reception, while the bride and groom spend more on the wedding cake.
• After the legal proceedings, the wedding party sip from the Scottish Quaich, or ‘loving cup’. This is a two-handled silver or pewter bowl, often inscribed with the date, that the bride fills with whisky (or, nowadays, anything else the couple prefers). Once the couple have both drunk from the Quaich with both hands, they then pass it around so that everyone can have a dram.
• Paying the piper, but not in a negative sense! In Scottish tradition, it is lucky to have a piper at your wedding, especially at the dinner after the ceremony. Bagpipes are thought to drive away evil spirits, thus protecting the newly married couple and blessing their marriage with good luck. However, you must always pay the piper for this to work. It is usually the groom who toasts the piper and pays him, in this case, with a dram of whisky from the Quaich.

Where Will Your Wedding Take Place?

If you want your beautiful Scottish wedding to take place in the perfect fairy-tale setting, we have also talked about why you should have it in a castle.

If you’d like to have the perfect Scottish castle wedding at Barcaldine Castle, visit our Weddings page.

Who doesn’t love a castle? We’ve all heard of Camelot, Castle Dracula, Sleeping Beauty’s castle, Hogwarts, and other impressive buildings of fiction. It’s always nice to visit a real castle to recreate the mystical feeling that we often associate with our favourite stories. Plus, they can teach us something about our country’s history.

There are many good reasons to visit a castle on one of your trips – but why just visit a castle when you could own one for the day? With exclusive use, you can take full advantage of the scene and truly relish the castle-y experience.

From ancient gates, to grand towers and magnificent grounds, here are our favourite reasons/excuses to indulge in your castle fantasy and experience it all to yourself, just for a bit.

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1. To get married

Perhaps the most obvious reason to rent a castle is for a wedding in the perfect setting. Since the royal wedding earlier this year, many engaged couples might be tempted with a royal wedding of their own, and the dream fairy-tale wedding is definitely a stylish way to tie the knot. Where better to do it than a place that was built to last?

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2. To party like it’s 1599

Even for those who are already married, a party to celebrate a special anniversary would be just as romantic, if not more so, and we think it’s very deserving of such a beautiful setting. Even without a special anniversary coming up, there are still special birthdays to celebrate – and who could think of a cooler birthday party? Castles could suit a bunch of different types of parties … but personally, we’re thinking of a themed murder mystery!

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3. A corporate event

Sometimes an office Christmas party isn’t a good enough thank-you for the team. And they might just need a change of scenery. So why not treat them like nobility? As well as having plenty to see and explore nearby, a castle is the ideal setting for some memorable team-building activities.

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4. To take some pics

And we don’t just mean to take your usual pics for your post-holiday slideshow or your social media. We mean that any photographer, professional or amateur, with or without a model in regal fashion, deserves a historic scene for some artsy shots. Different castle interiors can offer all kinds of scenery, from grand and elegant to rugged and medieval, so they set the tone for an array of purposes.

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5. For some killer footage

From history documentaries to medieval dramas to fantasy films, we love to watch some drama in the great hall! Even an amateur filmmaker could set their stage and shoot a scene with a stunningly realistic background.

For filming in Barcaldine Castle, find out more here.

We hope at least one of these ideas has tickled your fancy, and we hope you’ll pick The Black Castle for all your castle needs. For more information about renting here, please visit our Exclusive Use page.

Naturally, you want to feel like royalty on your wedding day.

Everyone dreams of a fairy-tale setting, and what could make it more magical than having the perfect Scottish castle wedding?

From the breath-taking scenery of the West Coast of Scotland to the elegant rooms we have to offer, Barcaldine Castle makes the perfect venue for your wedding.

Here we have 5 reasons you should choose to have a Scottish castle wedding…

1. Unforgettable wedding ceremony

Travelling from a church or registry office to the reception can take up precious time on your big day, and most function rooms can’t offer both character and luxury. The convenience of having both your ceremony and reception in a historic castle gives you the best of both worlds. No time-consuming travelling and oodles of luxury and character to admire.

2. Private and secluded

Castles were made for being private and secluded. What better way to celebrate your wedding day than to escape from the outside world and have the whole castle to yourself!

3. Wedding photos

Can you think of a better backdrop for your wedding than to have a historic Scottish castle in the background of your photos?

4. Creating history

All castles have some form of history. By marrying at one, you’re becoming a part of its history and adding to its centuries-old story of romance!

5. Feel like royalty

As it’s your wedding day you already are the centre of attention. Why not make it a day to remember by dressing like royalty, as well as feeling like it? You are in a castle after all…

Having your wedding at Barcaldine Castle

Our ceremonies take place in the Great Hall in front of the large, open log fire. However, they can also take place by the sundial outside in the garden. Both options giving you fabulous views of the surrounding area. The tall ceilings and wooden beamed roofs give the castle an atmosphere of charm and character, but what more would you expect from a Scottish castle wedding?

As we currently don’t provide in-house catering or any services of this kind, we pride ourselves on having close relationships with highly recommended suppliers. From caterers to florists to bagpipers, we are more than happy to help you plan and organise everything for your big day, ensuring a perfect Scottish castle wedding with it being everything you hoped it would be and more!

Please note: the maximum number of guests that we can seat for your wedding ceremony is 36 and we can accommodate up to 14, so, if you’re looking for an idyllic dream venue to host your intimate Scottish castle wedding, we could be just what you’re looking for!

If you would like to take a look at what our previous happy couples had to say, see our guestbook. To see what’s included in our packages, go to our Castle Weddings page. Alternatively, you can contact us.