Weddings & Big Parties
Whatever atmosphere and feel you want to create for your special event, exclusive use of our gorgeous estate gives you control of that. We have hosted marquee weddings for over 200 and intimate gatherings for just a dozen folk. In September 2023, Lorraine and I got married ourselves in the Mill House reception space, with 120 guests seated in the congregation. Civil, religious, and humanist services can all be held on site.
With 22 acres of grounds, fabulous views, and top class accommodation on site for up to 80 people, we believe the Ormidale House Estate must now be one of the most attractive private venues for a wedding in Scotland. We’ve hosted some really lavish wedding parties here, with top of the range marquees, amazingly lit, vintage champagnes flowing and £100 per head breakfasts. But we’ve had some very informal bashes, as well, at much lower budgets, and it can also be an incredibly cost-effective way to go about things – both for you and your guests.
We have hosted special days now for around two dozen couples, with humanist, civil, Catholic and Church of Scotland services having taken place in the house and grounds. Kilmodan Parish Church is just a couple of miles away, and is a really pretty venue for those wanting a religious ceremony in a traditional setting – but Scottish law recognizes humanist ceremonies as binding, and also allows a minister of religion to conduct the ceremony anywhere he or she likes, so you have all the flexibility in the world. Some of our couples have tied the knot in our magical woods, beside the river that flows through the estate, or even at the shore of Loch Riddon, a few hundred yards away.
You can provide your own alcohol, charge guests less than they would pay to stay at a B&B or hotel, and end up with a fantastic day, in a stunning, private, historic setting without breaking the bank. If that means you can spend more on the honeymoon and they can spend more on the wedding presents, everyone should be happy! Stella McCartney was married just after we bought Ormidale, just a few miles away at Mount Stuart on the Island of Bute. Ormidale weddings tend to come in a little under her budget, but they’ve been no less stylish, no less memorable, no less enjoyed!
Whether you take just one house, or all three, whether you want a marquee – or a giant yurt – in the garden or just to use the house itself, we can manage ceremonies and celebrations for anything from under a dozen to our new maximum number of 160 guests. We allow wedding parties for up to 80 guests in the main house and Mill House; for bigger functions we require you to provide a yurt or marquee. That can be set up either on the main lawn, or on the tennis court.
You can use any wedding co-ordinator you wish, or none. I always assume that I will spend three or four hours on the phone to most brides, answering questions and being of some use with securing local pipers, flowers, beauticians, stylists, masseuses, photographers, wedding cakes, wedding table décor, musicians etc.
Our license gives you the right to have a civil, religious, or humanist ceremony in any of the houses or in the grounds. In addition to the hire of the relevant houses at the seasonal rate for the relevant days, we charge a £1,000 wedding facility fee for any wedding party at Ormidale in a single house. When more than one house is booked the facility fee goes up to £2,000, which is the fee for a wedding for up to the 80 guests the houses hold between them. These fees apply whether you hire one house or all three, and whether it is ceremony or reception, or both, that is held at the house.
Beyond that, for bigger weddings, for between 80 and 160 people, a further charge of £1,000 is applied for hosting a marquee or yurt and all that goes with it. So, our maximum wedding facility fee of £3,000 for 160 guests is the equivalent of the mark up on a bottle of prosecco per head at most mid-range hotels. A large refundable good housekeeping deposit is taken per guest to ensure that things go smoothly and that the venue is respected by your party as a private house should be.
Corporate Events
We have hosted a score of Corporate Get-togethers, now, for companies taking Ormidale on an exclusive use basis. We have hosted Proctor & Gamble, PWC, Coca-Cola, Shell, Red Bull, RBS and Baillie Gifford amongst others. Many have become repeat customers, due to the quality of personal service and privacy they get and the uniquely “non-corporate” feel that a one-off property like Ormidale House gives.
For a board level small-group getaways, Ormidale House itself with large dining hall, beautiful drawing room and of course the billiard room with open fire - as well as 12 bedrooms suitable for adults - is often the choice. If you need more rooms you can take additional houses. Because we have so many breakout spaces for small groups, as well as the big reception spaces in Mill House and Ormidale Drawing Room, we can easily accommodate conferences for 30, 40, 50, even 60 people. Our 31 bedrooms have a total of 60 beds, bunks and sofabeds so if you have delegates who don’t mind the “bunking up / room sharing” aspect, you can bring quite a big party together.
We can organise a daily clean / room refresh, as well as all inclusive catering to ensure that your party get a fully serviced hotel experience if that is your preference. At a fraction of the usual cost of that. Stalking, fishing, golf and clay pigeon-shooting can all be arranged, along with visits to extraordinary local historic houses like Castle Stuart on Bute and Inverary Castle. We can organise a celidh, traditional music performance, bag piper, whisky tasting or wine tasting for your team.
It’s an area of the business we are keen to grow, so let us know your requirements and we will do everything we can to help.
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