Duns Castle hosts German Celebrity Wedding of the Year

Duns Castle, the hidden gem of the Scottish Borders, is well versed in hosting celebrity guests. These have included Dame Judi Dench and Sir Billy Connolly, Kristen Scott-Thomas, Joseph Fiennes and Rutger Hauer as well as the wedding of sports star Robbie Fowler.

On the 5th and 6th of September, the Castle welcomed a group of 45 international guests to celebrate what was described by the accompanying journalists as “The German Celebrity Wedding of the Year.”

This was the wedding of Germany's prominent actress, singer and presenter, Caroline Beil, and her husband, Philipp Sattler, a successful orthodontist. The couple had their hearts set on a Scottish wedding for a long time and discovered Duns Castle back in February while on a special mission to Scotland to find their wedding venue.

As is often the case in the world of show business, many celebrities prefer to celebrate their wedding in an intimate way with their closest friends, away from the public eye and below the radar of the paparazzi. It is no wonder therefore that Caroline and Philipp should have chosen Duns Castle, as the venue offers everything from beauty, nature and exclusivity to onsite accommodation, bespoke activities and absolute discretion.

"Since exclusive publishing rights had been awarded to the German social weekly Frau im Spiegel,” explains Duns Castle's Jonathan Findlay, “we have kept the exciting news to ourselves out of complete respect for the couple's wishes. We now have permission to share the news and are also hugely grateful to Philipp and Caroline, and indeed to the photographer Andreas Blumenthal and Frau im Spiegel, for these wonderful images.”

Among their guests were a number of other international celebrities, all of whom contributed towards the enjoyment and wonder of the occasion with performances of music, song and comedy.

By choice of the couple, the guests were fully immersed in Scottish culture with a kilted rehearsal dinner accompanied by a whisky tasting, Address to the Haggis, Gaelic Toast and bagpipes, as well as a tournament on the Duns Golf Course using old hickory golf clubs.

Another surprise that the Duns Castle team had to keep secret, this time from the guests themselves, was that the wedding rings would be delivered during the ceremony by an owl, much to the guests' delight and amazement.

Duns Castle, gem of the Scottish Borders, sits as the centrepiece of a beautiful 1200-acre estate, a haven of tranquillity with its own nature reserve, forest trails and extensive lawns. The property is not open to the public but is available for exclusive-use bookings such as weddings, meetings, film shoots and events.

The castle can accommodate up to 23 guests, can seat 60 for banquets and will celebrate its 700th anniversary in 2020. Additional accommodation is available for a further 33 guests among the seven holiday cottages on the estate.

The castle is fully licensed and accepts ceremonies of all faiths. The launch venue of the 2017 Scottish Borders Heritage Festival, Duns Castle Estate ended the year winning multiple awards including “Venue of the Year” and “Customer Experience of the Year” at the 2017 Scottish Event Awards and “Tourism and Hospitality Business of the Year” at the 2017 Scottish Borders Business Excellence Awards.

www.dunscastle.co.uk/news/

Image courtesy of Andreas Blumenthal, Frau im Spiegel