The Scottish VOWS Awards has just announced their 2018 shortlist and Winton Castle is delighted to have been nominated for its exceptional service as a wedding venue.
Now in its 14th year, VOWS is one of Scotland’s premier awards, celebrating the best customer service in the wedding industry, exceptional weddings with exceptional service. The awards are run by DC Thomson in association with 21CC Group.
“We’re delighted that Winton Castle has been nominated as an exceptional wedding venue, alongside other venues in Edinburgh and the Lothians like Prestonfield House and Dundas Castle,” says Paul Nixon, Winton’s General Manager.
“This summer has been really busy at Winton – we’ve hosted more weddings than ever before. Most of our weddings are for couples from Edinburgh, the Lothians and London. However, we’ve seen an exciting change this year with more overseas weddings from countries as diverse as Singapore, the US, Australia, Japan and Spain.
“These couples dream of getting married in a Scottish castle,” Paul continues. “They like to take advantage of what Winton offers by entertaining their guests with some of Winton’s activities – the most popular ones are highland games, falconry, clay pigeon shooting and whisky tasting.
“Overseas visitors tend to stay here for longer, spending 2 nights in the castle and often extend their visit by renting our country houses, Winton Cottage and Wintonhill Farmhouse.
“Garden weddings have also been popular this summer; a quarter of our weddings have taken advantage of the fantastic weather, holding their ceremonies in the beautiful settings of Winton’s walled and terraced gardens.”
Winton Castle’s appeal as a wedding venue may be down to its friendly, family ambience. Winton is first and foremost a family home. Despite its Scottish Renaissance grandeur, it is warm and welcoming and has a family feel, reflecting that it is still the home of Sir Francis and Lady Ogilvy. Most of the loyal Winton events team and chefs also live locally and many have worked at Winton for many years.
Paul Nixon continues: “We want every event at Winton to be as welcoming as if the event was in your own home. Naturally our décor and the fact we are still very much lived in, makes Winton the ideal grand home from home. Sir Francis himself often says that this is a castle built for entertaining!
“Winton gets under our guests’ skins. They call Winton their home, not their venue. This is evident in the numerous thank you letters we receive, often mentioning individuals by name – a true testament that our team make a lasting impression.
“One bride recently wrote to us saying:
‘From my first email exchange with Rae, her kindness, affability, flexibility and attention to detail were all put on grand display. No idea was silly, no request too grand. If we had a half-baked idea (a flag, Sonos music, a “favourite ‘berry” station for the Prosecco), she made it work. No stone was left unturned, and your team anticipated even the most minute needs of guests young and old….
‘Fay, with her kind voice and gentle take-charge approach, was nothing short of a wedding angel. She attended to the needs of our friends and family like a fairy-tale character with a magic wand! From setting up evenings in the library, replete with a warm fire, drams and prosecco, to quickly arranging last-minute transport for dozens of guests to Winton Arms after the Highland Games, she was unflappable…. EVERYONE was incredible.’”
Thanks to Mark Quinn for the photograph on Sir David’s Loch.
