Alnwick Castle is a castle destination wedding venue in Alnwick, United Kingdom, hosting 180 at dinner, where a wedding for 80 guests costs about £30,000 (our estimate), reached from Newcastle (NCL), About 45 minutes by car.
Alnwick Castle
Alnwick is the second largest inhabited castle in England and has been the Percy family seat for more than 700 years.
About Alnwick Castle
Alnwick is the second largest inhabited castle in England and has been the Percy family seat for more than 700 years.
Most visitors know it from film: Hogwarts in the first two Harry Potter films, Brancaster Castle in Downton Abbey.
For weddings the castle licenses three settings.
The Guest Hall, with carved stone archways and a beamed roof, takes ceremonies of up to 200 and wedding breakfasts of 160.
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Capacity, rooms and facilities
Capacity
- Seated dinner
- 180 guests
The ceremony
- Outdoor ceremony
- Yes
Money
- A wedding for 80 guests
- About £30,000, rooms extraAisle estimate
- Price
- From £180 per head
House rules
- Weddings held
- All year
Getting there
- Nearest airport
- NCL, 45 min by carAisle estimate
- Parking
- Yes
The spaces
- Setting
- Countryside, historic, formalAisle estimate
Venue highlights
- Second largest inhabited castle in England, Percy seat for 700 years
- Guest Hall takes 200 for a ceremony and 160 for the wedding breakfast
- Hulne Abbey, a 13th-century ruin, holds a marquee for up to 500
- Published hire from about £3,500 midweek to £5,000 at weekends
A sample wedding weekend
See the day-by-day outline+
Use this as a starting point and adapt it to your bookings and guests.
- 19:00Welcome dinner in Alnwick, five minutes from the gates
- 13:30Ceremony in the Guest Hall or at Hulne Abbey
- 15:00Drinks in the castle courtyard, photographs on the battlements
- 18:30Wedding breakfast in the Guest Hall, dancing after
- 11:00Brunch, then Bamburgh beach twenty minutes up the coast
Costs and booking details
- Getting there
- NCL · about 45 min by carAisle estimate
Guests fly into Newcastle.
Questions about the venue
How many guests can Alnwick Castle hold?+
The Guest Hall takes up to 200 for a ceremony and up to 160 for a seated wedding breakfast. Hulne Abbey in the park takes a marquee or tipi for as many as 500, which is far beyond what the castle rooms themselves hold.
What does a wedding at Alnwick Castle cost?+
Published spring and summer hire runs about £3,500 from Monday to Thursday, £4,000 on a Friday and £5,000 on a Saturday or Sunday, with catering quoted from around £180 per person on top of the hire.
Which spaces are licensed for civil ceremonies?+
The Guest Hall, Hulne Abbey and Friars Well are licensed. Hulne Abbey is only available from March to September, so a winter wedding here means the Guest Hall rather than the ruin in the park.
Can guests stay at the castle?+
No. The castle is still the family’s home and has no guest rooms, so wedding parties stay in Alnwick town, a five-minute drive away, or on the Northumberland coast at Bamburgh, Beadnell and Seahouses.
How do guests get to Northumberland?+
Newcastle airport is about 45 minutes by car. Alnmouth station is ten minutes from the castle, with East Coast trains from London King’s Cross in roughly three and a half hours and from Edinburgh in an hour.
When is the best time of year?+
May to September, both for the weather and because Hulne Abbey only opens in that window. Northumberland is bright and cold in spring and dark by four in midwinter, so a January date is an indoor day.
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.
Sources for individual venue facts
Seated dinner: 180 guests
“The Guest Hall accommodates up to 180 guests for banquet dining and 102 guests in a cabaret layout, with flexible arrangements available throughout your wedding celebrations.”
Read the source for seated dinnerOutdoor ceremony: Yes
“From intimate outdoor ceremonies within the romantic ruins of Hulne Priory to elegant wedding breakfasts in the magnificent Guest Hall, every part of the experience feels unforgettable.”
Read the source for outdoor ceremonyPrice: From £180 per head
“Prices from £180.00 per person.”
Read the source for priceWeddings held: All year
“Weddings at Alnwick Castle are available throughout the year and can be tailored to suit your vision, your numbers, and your budget.”
Read the source for weddings heldParking: Yes
“We share coach parking facilities with The Alnwick Garden and groups can enjoy free parking for the duration of their visit.”
Read the source for parking