wedding guide
THE WEDDING CEREMONY
We offer the opportunity to host your actual wedding ceremony at Balbirnie. The service can be of either a religious, humanist or civil format. We can put you in contact with several Church of Scotland Ministers who will be happy to conduct the ceremony at the hotel, or indeed you may wish to opt for a civil service arranged via our local registrar’s office.
Should you opt to have the ceremony at the hotel, then a room hire charge is applicable.
For ceremonies up to 100 guests
The Long Gallery is the main ‘central’ room of the original Grade A listed 1777 house. With Georgian lunette windows, arched ceiling, and of course the trompes d’oeuil (tricks of the eye) painted into the coves of the ceiling, The Gallery is an atmospheric room which works very well indeed for ceremonies.
- Room hire charge £750.00
For ceremonies between 100 and 150 guests
The Orangery was added to Balbirnie in 1999 as part of the Millennium Extensions. With a mirrored tinted glass ceiling, floor to ceiling lunetted Georgian windows, an air of tranquillity and views out to the surrounding parkland, The Orangery also works very well for ceremonies.
- Room hire charge £850.00
Weather permitting, we can also host ceremonies in our picturesque gardens. This of course is a decision which needs to be taken on the day, and one of the above areas would have to be reserved to allow for our Scottish weather!
Alternatively, there is of course the option to have your ceremony outwith the hotel and there are a number of delightful local churches within the surrounding area, including our local Markinch village church - a very picturesque church which sits on a hillside just 5 minutes drive from here.
RECEPTION DRINKS AND PHOTOGRAPHS
We have a range of delightful rooms which can be integrated into your wedding reception, depending on your proposed guest numbers. Once we understand the requirements of your own special day, we can at the time of our initial discussions with you outline the various areas within the hotel which are available, and the best ones applicable to the size of your wedding. Generally speaking, these will incorporate our Long Gallery and Library Bar for drinks and our West Room which overlooks our gardens will also be available as a private area for you, set aside for your photo session and possibly a cake cutting toast.
MINIMUM NUMBERS/CAPACITIES FOR THE WEDDING BREAKFAST
The Wedding breakfast is served in our Ballroom. When used in association with other reception areas within the hotel, i.e. as the venue for the main banquet, there are no applicable room hire charges for The Ballroom, provided that your guest numbers fall within our minimum number requirements (see below).
The vast majority of wedding meals at Balbirnie are for between 70 to 120 daytime guests. Our absolute maximum numbers for a meal in The Ballroom are 216. For your evening reception, allowing space for a dance floor and band, we can provide physical seating for up to 180 guests. Our maximum capacity for the evening celebrations is no more than 250 guests.
Weddings at Balbirnie can take place each and every day of the week. In routine circumstances our minimum wedding numbers (for daytime adult guests) are in the region of 70 covers. On certain days throughout the year, we do have a restriction on minimum numbers attending the wedding meal, as follows:
October to AprilFridays 90 |
May to September Fridays 100 |
On these dates, if we agree to do a wedding with daytime numbers of less than the numbers stated then a surcharge prevails equivalent to £52.50 per person.
THE SELECTION OF MENUS
At an early stage, and as the menu element of the day is being considered, there is a huge choice in the selection of dishes that formulate the menu. As the arrangements evolve, the choice will be made and menu selected. For all large gatherings at Balbirnie the final selection would produce a pre-set menu, and for avoidance of doubt this means there is not a multi-choice option. The reasons behind this are varied. Importantly, our wedding menus are cosmopolitan, universally appealing, and tried and tested over the course of many special gatherings. In simplistic terms our endeavour is to ensure the highest of standard of quality and an efficiency of service. In other words, we endeavour to offer to a large banquet a similar experience to dining in our restaurant. And of course, if on the day anyone does express a wish to have something else, rare thought that is, then we are readily available to assist.
In mentioning the above we also integrate into detailed discussions the need for specialist menus to cover guests who may be vegetarians, vegan, require gluten free menus etc. And of course we are delighted to prepare a special menu for children… (usually 3 courses priced at £13.95 and consisting of melon, chicken goujons with chips and garden peas, and vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce to follow…)
In passing, should you wish to sample a selected menu, it is possible to do this on a set menu basis for a minimum of 4 people. This must be pre-arranged with the wedding co-ordinator. Sample menus are charged at full price to the main account.
THE SELECTION OF WINES
Our banqueting wine list offers a wide selection of wines at varying prices and your Wedding Co-ordinator will be pleased to elaborate and explain more fully the advantages of one wine over another. For the avoidance of doubt we do not have a facility for clients to supply wines, champagnes etc on a corkage basis.
PRICING STRUCTURE
Our pricing structure runs each year from 1 April to 31 March and there may or may not be inflationary increases from year to year depending on the prevailing economic circumstances that each of us have to contend with. The prices within this website are valid until 31 March 2009. If, for example, you are booking a wedding 2/3 years ahead of the actual day, the potential of a price increase should be encompassed when discussing the detail with our Wedding Co-ordinator.
The final pricing for many of our weddings is priced according to your specific menus and wines chosen for the day. This way, we can provide great value and tailor the pricing to your own wedding. We are always more than happy to provide an estimated quotation for your wedding, providing peace of mind.
In addition to the usual pricing structure, we also have some all inclusive packages available which relate to specific months of the year and days of the week:
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For 2008, we have a Midweek Package, available Monday to Thursdays between April to December, priced at £48.95 per person. For 2009, our Midweek package will be priced at £51.95 per person. Please email meghan@balbirnie.co.uk for further information.
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During the months of January to March each year, we offer an all–inclusive Spring Package
which is priced at £48.95 per person for 2009. Please email meghan@balbirnie.co.uk for further information.
WEDDING ACCOMMODATION RATES AT BALBIRNIE
(rates applicable until March 2009)
We are delighted to offer special wedding rates for guests attending your wedding, both for the night of your wedding and for the night before if required
ONE NIGHT ACCOMMODATION RATE
We initially set aside at a special discounted rate, 8 of our 30 bedrooms for the main bridal party. In due course we will ask the bride to provide us with the rooming list for this. Contained within this allocation are usually a Bridal four poster suite, 2 deluxe rooms and 5 standard rooms. All rates are inclusive of full Scottish breakfast and VAT. We can however book as many rooms as required at the same rates if more are needed. The current rates which prevail and are applicable on the evening of the wedding only, are as follows:
one night wedding accommodation tariff |
|
| Standard single room | £99.50 |
| Deluxe single room | £140.00 |
| Standard double/twin room | £145.00 |
| Deluxe double/twin room | £185.00 |
| Bridal Four Poster Suite | £210.00 per room, including champagne! |
Please note that your guests are also able to book directly at Balbirnie with the same special rates as detailed above, subject to availability.
TWO NIGHT ACCOMMODATION PACKAGE
A great idea especially for those travelling from afar… again subject to availability, we are also able to offer a special 2 night accommodation package for those guests wishing to arrive the night before the wedding. This rate includes dinner the night before the big day (either in the restaurant or perhaps as part of a pre-wedding dinner in one of our private rooms which you would like to arrange if you have many guests wishing to dine together), accommodation for 2 nights and breakfast on 2 mornings:
two night wedding accommodation tariff |
|
| Standard single room | £235.00 |
| Deluxe single room | £315.00 |
| Standard double/twin room | £355.00 |
| Deluxe double/twin room | £435.00 |
Please note that to avoid disappointment, we strongly advise you to book any rooms required for the night before the wedding as soon as possible.
Extra Beds in Rooms
Cots are complimentary and extra beds in rooms are charged at £20.00 per bed per night to include breakfast.
BEDROOM CHECK-IN/CHECK-OUT TIMES
Check-in time for residents is from 2.00 pm onwards. Checkout time for residents is routinely 11.00 am. Balbirnie House is unfortunately unable to provide any facilities for early check-in to bedrooms.
Please note that if for example, the bridal party is intending to get ready at Balbirnie on the morning of the wedding itself, then to guarantee access to rooms prior to 2pm they must be reserved the night before.
Due to our limited bedroom capacity, we are unable to provide changing rooms prior to 2pm.
