Aldourie Castle is a castle destination wedding venue in Dores, United Kingdom, hosting up to 100 guests (Aisle estimate), where a wedding for 80 guests costs about £40,000 (our estimate), reached from Inverness (INV), About 30 minutes by car.
Aldourie Castle
Aldourie is the only castle standing on the shore of Loch Ness, a 300-year-old baronial pile on 500 acres of gardens, woodland and wildflower meadow, restored by the Wildland team who run the Highland estates around it.
About Aldourie Castle
Aldourie is the only castle standing on the shore of Loch Ness, a 300-year-old baronial pile on 500 acres of gardens, woodland and wildflower meadow, restored by the Wildland team who run the Highland estates around it.
It is not a hotel.
You take the whole castle, fully staffed, with chefs cooking three meals a day from the walled garden, and it becomes your family home for the length of the booking.
Twelve en-suite bedrooms sleep 24 in the castle, and four estate cottages take another 22, so a party of about 46 sleeps on the land.
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Capacity, rooms and facilities
Money
- A wedding for 80 guests
- About £40,000, rooms extraAisle estimate
- Price
- £15,000 to £30,000 for the whole property, per nightAisle estimate
Getting there
- Nearest airport
- INV, 30 min by carAisle estimate
The spaces
- Setting
- CountrysideAisle estimate
Venue highlights
- The only castle on the shore of Loch Ness, 500 private acres
- Whole-castle hire, fully staffed, with chefs and full board
- 12 en-suite bedrooms sleep 24; estate cottages take 22 more
- The Steadings courtyard for larger dinners and dancing
A sample wedding weekend
See the day-by-day outline+
Use this as a starting point and adapt it to your bookings and guests.
- 17:00Arrival at the castle, drinks by the loch, dinner cooked in-house
- 14:00Ceremony on the lawn above Loch Ness or in the drawing room
- 16:00Reception in the walled garden
- 19:30Dinner and a ceilidh in the Steadings
- 10:00Loch swim, boat trip and a long breakfast before departures
Costs and booking details
- Getting there
- INV · about 30 min by carAisle estimate
Guests fly into Inverness.
Questions about the venue
How many guests can marry at Aldourie Castle?+
The castle suits weddings of roughly 30 to 50 guests where the whole party sleeps on the estate. Larger counts are possible using the Steadings and a marquee on the lawn, with guests staying in Inverness, half an hour away.
What does Aldourie Castle cost?+
Letting agents publish rates from about £33,000 including VAT per night with a three-night minimum, covering the castle, its staff and full board for up to 24 people. Wedding-specific pricing is quoted by the estate on enquiry.
Is it a hotel?+
No. Aldourie is private-hire only, so there is no room-by-room booking and no other guests in the building. The castle comes fully staffed, with housekeeping, chefs and estate staff for the whole stay.
How many people can sleep on the estate?+
Twenty-four in the castle across 12 en-suite bedrooms, and about 22 more in the four estate cottages, so roughly 46 in total. Everyone else stays in Inverness or Dores, ten to thirty minutes away.
When is the best time of year?+
May to September gives the long Highland evenings, with light past ten o’clock at midsummer. Winter bookings work for smaller parties who want fires and short days, but expect rain and dark by four in December.
How do guests get there?+
Inverness airport is about 30 minutes by car, with direct flights from London, Amsterdam and Dublin. The Caledonian Sleeper runs overnight from London Euston to Inverness, which is a better arrival than it sounds.
Could this be your venue?
Ask about pricing and availability for the month you have in mind. You do not need a fixed date.
Still deciding? Elena is Aisle’s AI wedding planner. Give her a month and a guest count and she will forecast the budget, work out how your guests would travel, and put a first plan on paper. No account needed.
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Sources and booking notes
Confirm your dates, guest numbers, room arrangements and inclusions with the venue before booking. An enquiry does not reserve a date. Figures labelled Aisle estimate are modelled from regional rates and public sources; they are not venue quotes.