There is something about getting married in a castle that makes the whole idea of a wedding feel a little more extraordinary.
Perhaps it is the architecture, the gardens, the turrets and towers, the sweeping views or simply the fact that you get to say we’re getting married in a castle and actually mean it.
But not all castle wedding venues are the same.
Some are made for grand celebrations with a substantial guest list. Some are steeped in royal and Tudor stories. Some sit in the middle of a capital city, with a skyline stretching out beneath them. And some are much smaller, more relaxed places where the castle itself becomes your home for a few days and your wedding can be as intimate as you want it to be.
So if you’re dreaming about a castle wedding in England or Scotland, here are four very different places worth putting on your list.
1. Augill Castle, Cumbria – for a small wedding that feels completely yours
If your idea of a castle wedding is less 300 guests and a ballroom and more the people we actually love, a beautiful setting and a whole weekend together, Augill Castle is a rather different proposition.
Set in the Eden Valley near Kirkby Stephen, Augill is a castle wedding venue in Cumbria with the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales within easy reach. It is particularly well suited to couples looking for small wedding venues in Cumbria, intimate castle weddings, weddings for two and exclusive-use weddings
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And small really is part of the point here.
Augill’s wedding options range from just the two of you through to celebrations for up to 12, exclusive use for 20, and larger celebrations with up to 40 people inside the castle or up to 120 in the garden. There are also 10 bedrooms and suites, so your wedding can become much more than a ceremony and a meal: it can be several days spent together in the countryside with the people closest to you.
An intimate castle wedding rather than a huge castle wedding
There is a particular appeal to a small wedding.
You don’t need to fill a huge room to make it feel like a celebration. You don’t need to invite people you haven’t spoken to for ten years because the venue has a minimum number. And you don’t necessarily need to spend the whole day moving between different parts of a large wedding estate.
At Augill, the emphasis is on small and beautiful, with intimacy and privacy at the heart of the experience. For couples who want to elope, there is a Just The Two Of Us option designed specifically around the idea of slipping away together and getting married without the stress of a large wedding.
Then there is the Perfect Day option for couples who want an intimate wedding with their closest people without necessarily taking on a full exclusive-use celebration.
And if what you really want is to disappear into a castle with your favourite people for a couple of days, the exclusive option lets you take over the castle and make it yours.
That makes Augill particularly interesting if you’re searching for an intimate wedding venue in Cumbria, a small castle wedding venue in England, a Lake District wedding venue, a Yorkshire Dales wedding venue or somewhere for a UK elopement.
A wedding weekend in the Eden Valley
The location is part of the appeal.
Augill sits in the Eden Valley, close to Kirkby Stephen and within reach of both the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales. That makes it a lovely option for couples who don’t want the wedding to exist in isolation from everything else.
Your guests can arrive, settle in, explore the castle and countryside, have dinner together, celebrate the wedding and then wake up the next morning without having to immediately pile into cars and head home.
For outdoorsy couples, there is also plenty to do beyond the castle, from countryside walks to exploring the wider landscapes of Cumbria and the Yorkshire Dales. The wider area is particularly well placed for walking, with the Coast to Coast route passing through this part of northern England.
That makes Augill a good fit for a couple who wants their wedding to feel more like a proper escape than a one-day event.
A castle where the wedding doesn’t have to look like everyone else’s
This is perhaps where Augill differs most from the grander castle wedding venues on this list.
The idea isn’t to recreate somebody else’s perfect wedding.
You can have an elopement. You can have 12 people. You can have 40. You can take exclusive use of the castle. You can make it a weekend. You can have a wedding that is relaxed, personal and very much your own.
And because the accommodation is part of the experience, your wedding party can actually spend time together rather than disappearing into separate hotels once the ceremony is over.
For couples searching for small wedding venues in Cumbria, that combination of castle, accommodation, countryside and flexibility is hard to replicate.
Best for: couples who want a small, intimate or flexible castle wedding; elopements; exclusive-use weddings; wedding weekends; and anyone who would rather have 20 brilliant people than 120 people they barely know.
Explore weddings at Augill Castle
2. Leeds Castle, Kent – for the grand English castle wedding
If Augill is the castle wedding where you gather your favourite people around you, Leeds Castle is the version where you can turn the scale up.
Set in the Kent countryside near Maidstone, Leeds Castle is one of England’s most instantly recognisable castle wedding settings, rising from the water and surrounded by extensive grounds.
It is a venue for couples who want the drama of a classic English castle wedding, with grand rooms, impressive gardens and the ability to host a much larger celebration.
Leeds Castle offers several different wedding settings across the estate, including the Castle itself, Battel Hall, Maiden’s Tower and Fairfax Barn, meaning couples aren’t limited to one particular style of celebration.
A proper castle wedding in Kent
The Castle itself is the obvious choice for couples who have always pictured a grand castle wedding.
The current Castle wedding package accommodates up to 100 guests for the ceremony, 100 for the wedding breakfast and 120 for the evening reception, while Fairfax Hall can accommodate larger evening celebrations.
The setting is designed for the full castle experience: guests arriving with the castle and moat as the backdrop, ceremonies in the Castle, a wedding breakfast in the state rooms and the opportunity to retire to one of the Castle bedrooms afterwards.
There are also Castle State bedrooms and Battlement bedrooms for overnight stays, giving couples the opportunity to extend the experience beyond the wedding day itself.
More than one way to get married at Leeds Castle
One of the advantages of Leeds Castle is the choice.
The Castle provides the traditional grand setting, while Battel Hall offers a more intimate option. Maiden’s Tower has its own character, and Fairfax Barn provides something altogether more relaxed and rustic.
There are also outdoor wedding options for larger celebrations, with the estate able to host substantial marquee receptions in its grounds.
So while the name Leeds Castle wedding might conjure up one very particular image, there is actually quite a lot of flexibility in the different venues.
A Kent wedding with a sense of occasion
Leeds Castle is particularly suited to couples who want the wedding to feel like a significant occasion – the sort of day where guests arrive and immediately know they are somewhere special.
The castle, moat, gardens and architecture give photographers plenty to work with, while the estate itself provides a substantial backdrop for photographs and celebrations.
It is also a good choice for couples whose guest list is larger and who want the classic elements of a traditional castle wedding: ceremony, drinks reception, formal wedding breakfast, evening party and accommodation.
Where Augill’s appeal is partly its smaller scale and home-from-home atmosphere, Leeds Castle is about the spectacle of getting married in one of England’s great castle settings.
Best for: couples wanting a traditional English castle wedding, larger guest numbers, grand surroundings, impressive photography and a Kent countryside setting.
3. Edinburgh Castle, Scotland – for an iconic city-and-castle wedding
Then there is Edinburgh Castle, which offers something neither a rural Kent castle nor a countryside castle in Cumbria can quite replicate.
This is a castle wedding in the heart of Scotland’s capital, perched above Edinburgh with the city and wider landscape stretching out below.
If you want your wedding photographs to say Scotland without needing a caption, this is a fairly compelling place to do it.
Edinburgh Castle offers a choice of wedding spaces, from the tiny St Margaret’s Chapel – the oldest building in the castle – to larger rooms capable of hosting substantial celebrations. The castle can host both ceremonies and receptions, meaning couples can keep their wedding celebrations within the same extraordinary setting.
From a tiny chapel to a major celebration
What makes Edinburgh Castle particularly interesting is the contrast between its spaces.
St Margaret’s Chapel is tiny and intimate, offering a very different experience from the grander Queen Anne Building, where ceremonies can accommodate up to 120 guests and receptions up to 170.
The Jacobite Room can host up to 100 guests for dinner and up to 150 for an evening reception.
That means Edinburgh Castle can work for couples who want something relatively simple as well as those looking for a much larger celebration.
It is not, however, a traditional countryside wedding venue.
You’re getting married above one of Europe’s most recognisable capital cities, with Edinburgh itself becoming part of the experience.
A wedding with Scotland all around you
For couples travelling from elsewhere in the UK or overseas, that city location can be a real advantage.
Guests can turn the wedding into a proper trip to Edinburgh, with the castle providing the dramatic centrepiece and the city offering restaurants, bars, architecture, culture and sightseeing immediately outside the venue.
The castle itself also offers views across the city and towards the Firth of Forth, giving the wedding a sense of place that is very different from a rural estate.
There is even the possibility of arranging a private viewing of Britain’s oldest Crown jewels for wedding guests, adding another distinctly Edinburgh element to the occasion.
One practical point is worth knowing if Edinburgh Castle is on your shortlist: weddings cannot be held there from 1 June to 30 September, so couples considering a summer wedding need to factor that seasonal restriction into their planning.
The castle wedding for the city lovers
Edinburgh Castle is therefore a particularly strong choice if you’re looking for a Scottish castle wedding venue, an iconic wedding setting or a destination wedding where guests can combine the celebration with a city break.
It is less about disappearing into the countryside and more about putting your wedding right in the middle of one of Britain’s most atmospheric cities.
Best for: couples who want a Scottish castle wedding, dramatic city views, an iconic setting, destination weddings and a celebration with Edinburgh itself on the doorstep.
4. Hever Castle, Kent – for romance, Tudor character and beautiful gardens
f Leeds Castle is the grand Kent castle wedding and Edinburgh Castle is the iconic Scottish option, Hever Castle brings something more intimate and romantic to the mix.
Set in 125 acres of Kent countryside, Hever is particularly famous for its connection with Anne Boleyn, and the castle’s Tudor character gives weddings here an entirely different atmosphere.
But the really interesting thing about a Hever Castle wedding is that couples aren’t restricted to marrying inside the castle itself.
There are several different wedding settings across the estate, including the Castle, the Astor Wing and the Italian Garden, so couples can choose whether their day is more Tudor, country-house or garden focused.
A romantic Tudor castle wedding
The Castle itself provides the obvious fairytale backdrop, with ceremonies held in the Inner Hall and wedding breakfasts in the Great Hall or Tudor Suite.
The Inner Hall can accommodate up to 60 guests, while the Great Hall can host up to 40 for a wedding breakfast. Evening receptions can then move to the Moat Restaurant, a stretch tent, tipi or, on selected dates, the Guthrie Pavilion.
That transition from castle to evening celebration is part of what makes Hever appealing.
Rather than spending the entire day in one room, the wedding can move through different parts of the estate, with the castle and moat becoming part of the experience.
For couples who love architectural details, Tudor interiors and atmospheric wedding photographs, there is plenty here to work with.
Or choose a country-house wedding
The Astor Wing offers something softer.
Commissioned by William Waldorf Astor in 1903 and designed in Tudor style, the Edwardian wing combines oak panelling, ornate fireplaces, antique furnishings and views across the castle and formal lawns.
It is available as an exclusive-use wedding venue, with ceremonies in the Tudor Suite Sitting Room and celebrations extending into the surrounding spaces and lawns.
That makes Hever particularly useful for couples who like the idea of a castle wedding but aren’t necessarily looking for a grand castle ceremony.
And then there is the garden wedding
For couples who love gardens as much as castles, the Italian Garden is arguably the most distinctive option.
The garden was designed to display William Waldorf Astor’s collection of Italian sculpture, and the wedding setting makes use of the lakeside Loggia for the ceremony before moving to the Guthrie Pavilion for the wedding breakfast and evening reception.
The Italian Garden wedding can accommodate up to 180 guests for the ceremony and wedding breakfast, with evening receptions for up to 220.
So although Hever is an obvious choice for a romantic castle wedding, it can also work beautifully for couples who really want an English garden wedding venue with the castle as the backdrop.
A castle wedding with plenty of choice
This is perhaps Hever’s biggest attraction.
You can have the castle. You can have the Astor Wing. You can have the Italian Garden. You can choose something more intimate or something considerably larger.
There are also selected dates when couples can marry during the daytime while the estate is closed to the public, creating a more private experience than the usual evening castle ceremony arrangements.
For couples searching for romantic wedding venues in Kent, Tudor wedding venues, castle wedding venues in England or a venue with exceptional gardens and photography opportunities, Hever is a particularly strong contender.
Best for: romantic couples, Tudor fans, garden lovers, Kent weddings, couples wanting multiple venue styles and anyone who wants their wedding photographs to have an unmistakably English feel.
So, which castle wedding venue is right for you?
The best castle wedding venue isn’t necessarily the biggest, grandest or most famous.
It is the one that works for your guest list, your style and the sort of wedding experience you actually want.
Want a small castle wedding?
Look carefully at the numbers.
A venue may describe itself as suitable for intimate weddings but still be primarily designed around a much larger celebration.
If you genuinely want a wedding for two, 10, 20 or 30 people, look for a venue where smaller numbers are part of its offering rather than simply something it can accommodate.
Augill Castle is particularly strong here, with weddings ranging from an elopement for two through to celebrations for 12, exclusive use for 20 and larger weddings of up to 40 inside the castle.
Want a big castle wedding?
If you’re planning a larger guest list, Leeds Castle, Edinburgh Castle and Hever Castle all offer spaces capable of accommodating substantial celebrations.
Leeds Castle’s main Castle wedding package accommodates up to 100 for the ceremony and wedding breakfast and 120 for the evening reception.
Edinburgh Castle’s Queen Anne Building can host up to 120 for a ceremony and 170 for a reception.
And Hever’s Italian Garden can accommodate up to 180 for the ceremony and wedding breakfast, with evening receptions for up to 220.
Want everyone to stay together?
This is one of the questions couples often don’t ask early enough.
A wedding is very different when everyone stays in one place.
Instead of the ceremony finishing and everyone scattering to different hotels, you can turn the occasion into a proper wedding weekend.
Augill is particularly suited to this kind of celebration, with 10 bedrooms and suites and exclusive-use options that allow the castle to become your base for the wedding.
Leeds Castle also offers overnight accommodation in Castle State and Battlement bedrooms, while Hever offers accommodation as part of its wider estate.
Want a destination wedding?
Think about what your guests can do when they’re not at the wedding.
Edinburgh Castle has the obvious advantage of putting your guests in the middle of a capital city.
Augill offers the opposite: countryside, walking and easy access to the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales.
Leeds Castle offers a Kent countryside setting, while Hever gives guests gardens, countryside and the wider attractions of Kent.
A wedding becomes much more memorable when guests feel as though they’ve actually gone somewhere for it.
Want a wedding that feels personal?
This is where the size and personality of the venue really matter.
If you have 20 guests, you don’t necessarily want to feel like you’re occupying one tiny corner of a venue designed for 200.
And if you have 150 guests, you need somewhere that can comfortably accommodate everyone without compromising the experience.
The right castle is therefore not simply the one that looks best in photographs.
It is the one that fits the wedding you actually want to have.
Four castles, four very different wedding experiences
There isn’t one definition of a castle wedding.
At Leeds Castle, it can mean grand rooms, Kent countryside, substantial guest numbers and the full-scale English castle experience.
At Edinburgh Castle, it can mean marrying above one of Britain’s great cities, with Scotland’s capital and dramatic views providing the backdrop.
At Hever Castle, it can mean Tudor interiors, romantic gardens, the moat and a choice between castle, country-house and garden settings.
And at Augill Castle, it can mean something considerably smaller: two people disappearing to the countryside, 12 of your favourite people around a table, 20 guests taking over the castle, or a larger celebration that still feels personal.
That’s perhaps the most important thing to remember when looking at castle wedding venues in England and Scotland.
You don’t have to have the biggest wedding to have the biggest feeling.
Sometimes the most memorable castle wedding is simply the one where everyone you love is there, nobody is rushing off anywhere and, for a couple of days, the castle really does feel like yours.
Frequently Asked Questions About Castle Weddings
What is the best castle wedding venue in England?
There isn’t one answer because the best castle wedding venue depends on the size and style of your wedding. Leeds Castle is well suited to larger, grander celebrations; Hever Castle offers Tudor character and extensive gardens; and Augill Castle is particularly suited to couples looking for smaller, more intimate or flexible castle weddings.
Can you have a small wedding in a castle?
Absolutely. Some castle wedding venues are particularly well suited to intimate celebrations. Augill Castle offers an elopement option for two, as well as weddings for up to 12 and exclusive-use options for smaller groups.
Can you elope in a castle in England?
Some castle wedding venues offer elopement or very small wedding packages, although it is important to check the venue’s current arrangements and legal ceremony requirements. Augill Castle specifically offers a Just The Two Of Us elopement option.
Can you have an exclusive-use castle wedding?
Yes. Exclusive-use arrangements vary considerably between venues, so couples should check exactly what is included, how many guests can stay, how long they have the venue and whether the whole property is genuinely private.
Augill Castle offers exclusive wedding hire, while Leeds Castle and Hever Castle also have exclusive-use wedding options.
Are castle weddings only suitable for large weddings?
Not at all. One of the biggest misconceptions about castle weddings is that you need a huge guest list. Some castles cater for larger celebrations, while others are much better suited to small weddings and elopements. The important thing is choosing a castle where the scale works for your guest list.
Where can I have a castle wedding in the Lake District?
Augill Castle is in the Eden Valley in Cumbria, within reach of the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales, making it an option for couples looking for a castle wedding venue in Cumbria with access to the landscapes of northern England.
What should I consider when choosing a castle wedding venue?
Start with guest numbers, accommodation, whether you want exclusive use, the ceremony and reception spaces, how flexible the venue is, location, photography opportunities and what your guests can do during a wedding weekend.
Most importantly, think about how you want the wedding to feel.
A castle can be grand, formal and spectacular. It can be intimate, relaxed and personal. It can be a city wedding, a countryside escape or a weekend away with your favourite people.
The right venue is the one that gives you the version you actually want.
