Dundas Castle is a wedding venue on the outskirts of Edinburgh. Here at Pulse Wedding Band, we’re always pleased to take a wedding booking for this venue, so we’ll share our impressions.
A few of us have personally been to Dundas Castle as guests and we’ve played as the wedding band here a few times now too, so we feel like we’ve got a pretty good measure of the place by now. Any time we’ve been we’ve always liked it.
First of all, visually, this is a stunning venue. It’s been there since the 15th century, and although parts of it are more modern, you certainly get that impression of history and grandeur when you drive up. The grounds feel as though they must be massive as you feel like you drive for ages after you leave the main road and enter the castle gates, though it’s hard to tell on the way in as the driveway is lined with immaculately trimmed hedges.
If you’re booking the place for your whole wedding, the service is held in the Great Hall within the ‘Auld Keep’, an old tower which I think is part of the original building. The way up to the ceremony room is via a winding staircase up 2 floors I believe. The room itself probably holds in the region of about 70 – 80 people and is everything you would expect in an ancient tower in an ancient castle. Larger groups are accommodated by way of a video link to a downstairs room for the overspill.
During the afternoon drinks reception we were taken through to the main area of the castle itself, which has several stunningly decorated rooms, all sweeping staircases, wood panelled walls, antique clocks and suits of armour. One of the stand-out reasons for brides and grooms booking this place must be the variety of fantastic scenes in which to take photos. It must be a photographer’s dream!
The wedding breakfast and reception are held in a marquee off to the side of the main castle building complex, through when I say marquee, I don’t mean a traditional marquee. This is a proper structure with solid walls (glass on 2 sides) and looks like it’s there for the duration. Not a tent peg to be seen. This is more like a permanent outbuilding than a makeshift tent. The glass sides are a bonus if the couple have ordered fireworks, and it’s cold or wet outside as they allow a great view over the grounds and gold course without going outside if you don’t want to. The marquee is pretty huge, with a bar area when you first enter, then heading through into the main arena. The wedding I was at probably had tables for around 120, though it felt really well spaced out so I’d reckon there would be room for nearer 200 guests if tables were pulled closer together.
From the band’s perspective, I’m always pleased to see a proper stage in a wedding venue, Dundas has this. It’s a nice size too, we are a fairly big band, 7 piece with 3 part horn section. Although we’ve fitted into many a tight space, that’s not an issue here as we can fit comfortably on it with a bit to spare. It’s a good sized dance floor too, with plenty of room for the photographer or videographer to move around to get the perfect angles for your first dance, and for your guests to throw some shapes around later on!
Finally I’d like to mention the staff. Sometimes you go to a venue and it’s clear the staff actually know what they’re doing, seem in control and really care about the job they’re doing. This was the case at Dundas, the managers on duty at night always seem in control and the whole thing runs like clockwork. They serve the buffet at the time they say they will and it’s always tasty.
Overall Dundas Castle is a very attractive, spacious, well run venue that has become one of our favourites on the wedding scene in recent years. We’ve enjoyed playing there, we’ve always had great nights and we’ll continue to look forward to performing at weddings there in future.
You can see more about Dundas Castle here
