This took a while...
I'd originally imagined getting married in Glasgow uni chapel - seeing as we both met at the university. But neither of us were particularly keen on any reception venues in Glasgow. Gerard really wanted to get married somewhere that would mean a weekend away for our guests so that the celebrations could be extended somewhat and everyone could enjoy a bit of a holiday feeling at our wedding. But we still wanted the wedding to be in Scotland. Gerard suggested Aviemore - a village that means a lot to both us as we go there every year. The hotel that we first wanted to look at wasn't available on day that we suggested. We instead arranged to view the MacDonald hotel a few days after Christmas. That morning we were up early to prepare for the long drive. Rhona decided to come with us - the journey not putting her off giving her opinion on the venue.
We had a fantastic lunch in our favourite place - The Mountain cafe in Aviemore- before meeting with the venue's wedding co-ordinator. Unfortunately none of us were blown away by what the hotel had to offer. Mum was very keen that we have a look around at a few more venues before making any decisions, and suggested popping in to the Dunkeld Hilton on the way back down the road. It was then that I remembered that there is an impressive looking hotel at the top of a hill along the A9 (this was the limit of my knowledge of the place at the time). Mum told me this was the Atholl Palace in Pitlochry, about an hour from Aviemore and not out of the way at all to nip in and take a look. We phoned first and were told that the wedding co-ordinator wasn't working that evening but that we were welcome to come and have a look anyway.
We drove up the long winding driveway and were gobsmacked when we reached the front of the hotel - it was absolutely stunning. Before even getting inside Rhona turned to me and said, "If you don't get married here I will!" I knew it had the seal of approval then. Her opinion of the previous hotel had centred around her dislike of the carpet in their ballroom.
We were blown away by the Atholl Palace, and although Dunkeld was nice it was very much overshadowed. They would also only have been able to accommodate us in a marquee, which wasn't something we were willing to consider. The next morning we rang Megan, the wedding co-ordinator. When she said they were not available on our chosen date my heart sank. However she did suggest another weekend not long after - the first bank holiday weekend in May. We agreed this could be a possibility and we arranged to drive up again a few hours later to be shown around properly.
We settled on a package that will include reception drinks and canapes in a beautiful room overlooking the Glen, a four course dinner in the Atholl suite ballroom and drinks for dinner and the toast as well as an evening buffet. We also persuaded the venue to decorate the suite with fairy lights and throw in the chair covers to make the room look extra special.
I'd originally imagined getting married in Glasgow uni chapel - seeing as we both met at the university. But neither of us were particularly keen on any reception venues in Glasgow. Gerard really wanted to get married somewhere that would mean a weekend away for our guests so that the celebrations could be extended somewhat and everyone could enjoy a bit of a holiday feeling at our wedding. But we still wanted the wedding to be in Scotland. Gerard suggested Aviemore - a village that means a lot to both us as we go there every year. The hotel that we first wanted to look at wasn't available on day that we suggested. We instead arranged to view the MacDonald hotel a few days after Christmas. That morning we were up early to prepare for the long drive. Rhona decided to come with us - the journey not putting her off giving her opinion on the venue.
We had a fantastic lunch in our favourite place - The Mountain cafe in Aviemore- before meeting with the venue's wedding co-ordinator. Unfortunately none of us were blown away by what the hotel had to offer. Mum was very keen that we have a look around at a few more venues before making any decisions, and suggested popping in to the Dunkeld Hilton on the way back down the road. It was then that I remembered that there is an impressive looking hotel at the top of a hill along the A9 (this was the limit of my knowledge of the place at the time). Mum told me this was the Atholl Palace in Pitlochry, about an hour from Aviemore and not out of the way at all to nip in and take a look. We phoned first and were told that the wedding co-ordinator wasn't working that evening but that we were welcome to come and have a look anyway.
We drove up the long winding driveway and were gobsmacked when we reached the front of the hotel - it was absolutely stunning. Before even getting inside Rhona turned to me and said, "If you don't get married here I will!" I knew it had the seal of approval then. Her opinion of the previous hotel had centred around her dislike of the carpet in their ballroom.
We were blown away by the Atholl Palace, and although Dunkeld was nice it was very much overshadowed. They would also only have been able to accommodate us in a marquee, which wasn't something we were willing to consider. The next morning we rang Megan, the wedding co-ordinator. When she said they were not available on our chosen date my heart sank. However she did suggest another weekend not long after - the first bank holiday weekend in May. We agreed this could be a possibility and we arranged to drive up again a few hours later to be shown around properly.
We settled on a package that will include reception drinks and canapes in a beautiful room overlooking the Glen, a four course dinner in the Atholl suite ballroom and drinks for dinner and the toast as well as an evening buffet. We also persuaded the venue to decorate the suite with fairy lights and throw in the chair covers to make the room look extra special.
