12 Aberdeenshire Wedding Venues I Love... And a Few I’d Love to Photograph Next

An Aberdeenshire wedding photographer’s guide to some of the area’s most characterful wedding venues

Aberdeenshire has a brilliant mix of wedding venues.

There are grand country houses, converted steadings, castles, hotels, barns and private estates, all within a relatively small part of Scotland. And while couples are often looking at things like guest numbers, bedrooms and menus, I inevitably look at venues slightly differently.

As a wedding photographer, I’m noticing the light, the backgrounds, where people naturally gather, what happens if it rains, whether there are good indoor options and how easily we can get variety without disappearing away from the wedding for an hour.

Most importantly, I’m looking for places where a wedding can actually happen.

The best photographs rarely come from standing in the most impressive bit of a venue and posing for twenty minutes. They come from people laughing outside with a drink, someone crying during the speeches, a child running across the lawn, a packed dancefloor, beautiful evening light or something completely ridiculous happening that nobody planned.

So this isn’t a ranking of the “best wedding venues in Aberdeenshire”.

Some of these venues I’ve photographed several times. Some I’ve worked at once. And a few are places I haven’t photographed yet but would genuinely love to have appear in my diary.

Here are twelve that are currently on my radar.

1. Logie Country House, Inverurie

Photographed: several times

Logie Country House is one of those venues I know well enough now that I already have a mental map of where I want to go depending on the weather, the season and the couple.

And there is a lot to work with.

Logie is a historic country house near Inverurie, surrounded by woodland and countryside with views towards Bennachie and the River Urie. The house is hired on an exclusive-use basis, with accommodation, courtyards and its own ballroom, so it has much more of a private-house-party feeling than a conventional hotel wedding.

From a photography point of view, that is probably its biggest strength.

People settle in.

They aren't constantly moving between public hotel areas or wondering who else is around. Guests are staying together, wandering through the house, spilling out into the courtyard and generally treating it as home for the wedding.

That creates photographs.

There are plenty of obvious portrait locations, but I particularly like venues where I don't need to drag a couple halfway across an estate to make something interesting. At Logie you can move from the house to the courtyard, woodland, river and open landscape without losing large chunks of the day.

And if we get dramatic skies over Bennachie, even better.

Photographer's best quality: variety without needing to leave the wedding behind.

2. Schivas Steading, Ellon

Photographed

Schivas Steading is very different from Logie, which is exactly why I like having both in this list.

The venue combines old stone, huge glass sections and open Aberdeenshire countryside. It manages to feel modern while still having enough texture and character to stop it becoming too polished or clinical.

When I photographed Nicole and Zara's wedding there, the whole place suited the day perfectly: emotional, loud, funny, stylish and slightly chaotic in the best possible way. There were dogs, confetti, singing waiters and a dancefloor that was very much being used.

Schivas works particularly well photographically because you can change the entire feel of an image simply by turning around.

You have stone, contemporary architecture, huge windows and countryside all sitting together.

For couples who want something relaxed but still beautiful, it offers that middle ground between a formal country house and a rustic barn.

Photographer's best quality: lots of contrasting backgrounds within a very small area.

3. Maryculter House, Aberdeen

Photographed

Maryculter House has a completely different atmosphere again.

Set beside the River Dee, it has centuries of history behind it, old stone, period interiors, mature grounds and the remains of the old chapel nearby.

It photographs very Scottish without needing to force anything.

There is depth and texture everywhere, which I love because it means portraits can feel atmospheric without needing lots of props or elaborate staging.

My Maryculter wedding also gave us beautiful golden light later in the day, and this is one of those venues where going outside for ten minutes at the right point in the evening can completely change the look of a gallery.

But importantly, it isn't entirely dependent on sunshine.

Historic interiors and good window light matter enormously in Scotland, because occasionally the weather does remember where we live.

Photographer's best quality: atmosphere indoors and outdoors, so poor weather doesn't remove all the photographic options.

4. Meldrum House, Oldmeldrum

Photographed

Meldrum House is the more polished end of the Aberdeenshire country-house wedding spectrum.

The estate covers around 240 acres and combines the historic Manor House with parkland, more contemporary spaces and the ballroom.

For me, one of its strongest features photographically is simply the amount of room available.

A large wedding needs space.

You need places for people to gather, disappear, come back together, have drinks, get ready and move between different stages of the day without everything happening in the same corner.

At Meldrum House you can create traditional portraits if that is what a couple wants, but there is also plenty of opportunity to step away from that and make something more contemporary.

Large grounds also mean I can work with whatever the weather and light decide to do rather than having one fixed portrait location.

Photographer's best quality: scale and flexibility, particularly for bigger weddings.

5. Thainstone House, Inverurie

Photographed

Thainstone House suits a wedding with a more classic feel.

The house gives you grand rooms, traditional interiors, large windows and surrounding grounds, and when I photographed Mark and Claire there it suited the elegance of their wedding beautifully.

From a photography perspective, I like venues that give me a completely different visual language indoors.

Not every gallery should look like it was photographed in a converted barn.

At Thainstone, darker wood, period details, window light and traditional architecture can produce something richer and slightly more timeless.

That contrast becomes especially useful during autumn and winter weddings when the interiors become much more important.

Photographer's best quality: strong traditional interiors as well as usable grounds.

6. Elsick House, near Aberdeen

Photographed

Elsick is another venue I’ve had the advantage of seeing under very different conditions.

I’ve photographed a gorgeous outdoor ceremony there, but I’ve also worked there when the weather wasn't quite so cooperative.

And that matters.

You only really learn a venue once you've seen what happens when the original plan disappears.

Elsick is an exclusive-use historic house with gardens and beautifully restored interiors, and it has enough character inside that a wet wedding does not suddenly become a photographic problem.

When the weather is good, the lawn and grounds are lovely.

When it isn't, the house still gives us somewhere interesting to work.

For me that makes a venue genuinely versatile rather than simply pretty on a sunny brochure day.

Photographer's best quality: it still works when Scotland gives you four seasons before lunch.

7. Coos' Cathedral, Aboyne

Photographed

Coos' Cathedral might be one of the easiest venues on this list to recognise from a photograph.

It was originally built in 1889 as a grand cattle steading and is now used as a wedding and events venue on the Aboyne Castle Estate. The huge stone structure, arches and windows make it completely different from a hotel or traditional manor house.

I photographed Andrea and Stephen's wedding there, which included sunshine, a shotgun, a groom hiding behind a tree and some genuinely brilliant evening portraits.

So yes, it suited me rather well.

What I particularly like about Coos' Cathedral is scale.

There are enormous architectural elements, but you can also move into the surrounding landscape and make very small, intimate photographs.

That contrast gives a wedding gallery a sense of place without every image screaming LOOK AT THE VENUE.

Photographer's best quality: huge visual character and a backdrop that doesn't look like every other wedding venue.

8. Raemoir House, Banchory

Photographed

Raemoir is another proper country-house wedding venue, but it has a slightly different feel from the others on this list.

The house has a number of interconnected rooms across its south-facing side, including rooms with large windows, wood panelling and an original ballroom, alongside extensive grounds.

I photographed Jade and Kyle's wedding there, and it was exactly the kind of day I enjoy: beautiful setting, lots of personality and one hell of a party.

The strength of somewhere like Raemoir is that it can carry the quieter parts of the day and the madness later on.

The house works beautifully for prep and portraits, but once everybody relaxes and the party starts, it doesn't feel precious.

That balance suits the way I photograph weddings. I want the beautiful photograph, obviously. But I also want the photograph of whatever your friends are doing five minutes later.

Photographer's best quality: elegant enough for beautiful portraits but relaxed enough for a proper party.

And the venues I want in the diary…

There are also a few Aberdeenshire venues that I haven't photographed yet.

That doesn't make me nervous about photographing them, quite the opposite.

I actually really enjoy arriving somewhere new.

You look harder.

You notice the way light falls into rooms, the little corners other people might walk past, where the landscape opens up and how guests use the venue once the day gets going.

So if you're getting married at one of these, consider this my very unsubtle hint.

9. Netherdale House, Turriff

Very much on the wish list

Netherdale House is probably the venue on this list I am most curious about.

It is a Georgian mansion overlooking the River Deveron, with the house, surrounding countryside and a converted barn called The Hooley. There is also the wonderfully named Sitooterie, with its own bar, covered seating, patio and firepit.

From a photography point of view, it sounds almost purpose-built for the way I like to work.

You have a grand staircase and elegant house if you want that look, but you've also got the river, woodland, barn, outside spaces and places where people can actually hang out rather than simply stand around waiting for the next formal part of the wedding.

The Hooley itself has Victorian-style panelling, wagon-wheel chandeliers and a fairy-light canopy, which should give the evening photographs a completely different feel from the Georgian house.

That kind of contrast is exactly what creates a varied wedding gallery.

And because Netherdale sits near Turriff, it is also properly within my home territory.

So, Netherdale couples: hello. 👋

Photographer's best quality: Georgian elegance + rustic party space + River Deveron landscape all in the same venue.

10. Aswanley, near Huntly

On the wish list

Aswanley is ridiculously close to me, so this one really should happen eventually.

The estate sits near Huntly in the Deveron Valley and combines a historic fortified house and gardens with a large Victorian barn. Weddings have exclusive use, and the barn is made up of a number of interconnected rooms with a central fireplace room.

This is exactly the type of venue I tend to be drawn to.

There is history and a properly Scottish landscape, but the reception space can be styled around the couple rather than dictating exactly what the wedding has to look like.

Photographically, I'm especially interested in venues where there is some separation between spaces.

It gives the day movement.

People flow from ceremony to drinks to dinner to dancing, and every part looks slightly different. That is much more interesting to photograph than spending ten hours in one large function room.

Photographer's best quality: historic estate outside, flexible barn celebration inside.

11. House of Elrick, Newmachar

On the wish list

House of Elrick has recently become much more interesting to me as a wedding venue.

It is a restored historic estate with the Georgian house, woodland, gardens and a rustic garden marquee. The marquee can open onto a private patio and pergola, while the walled garden offers another potential ceremony and portrait space.

The estate is offered for exclusive-use wedding weekends, with accommodation in the house and Coach House.

From my perspective, the interesting bit is the mix.

You have elegant interiors without being trapped inside a formal hotel, and then a marquee and garden that can feel much more relaxed later in the day.

I also like venues where golden-hour photographs are easy.

If everyone is already outside with drinks and I can steal a couple away for five minutes rather than staging a full expedition, everybody wins.

Photographer's best quality: elegant house, woodland and a relaxed garden reception all within one private estate.

12. The Barn at Barra Castle, Inverurie

Also on the wish list

The Barn at Barra Castle is another one that feels like it would fit my photography really well.

It sits on a 700-acre farm and combines the historic castle and gardens with a purpose-built barn looking towards Bennachie. The venue offers both indoor and outdoor ceremony options and is exclusive-use for the wedding day.

The obvious attraction photographically is that view.

Bennachie is one of those landscapes that immediately places a photograph in Aberdeenshire.

But I wouldn't want a Barra wedding gallery to become fifty versions of the same mountain photograph.

The interesting challenge would be mixing the landscape with the people, using the barn, gardens and indoor spaces, and then letting the view appear when it genuinely adds something.

That's generally how I prefer to photograph venues.

You should know where you got married when you look through the gallery, but the venue shouldn't become more important than the wedding.

Photographer's best quality: a genuinely Aberdeenshire landscape combined with a modern purpose-built celebration space.

What I actually look for in an Aberdeenshire wedding venue

A venue doesn't need to have a castle, a mountain or 200 acres for me to enjoy photographing it.

There are a few things that make a much bigger difference.

Good light helps. Big windows, interesting directional light and spaces that aren't entirely dependent on overhead lighting give me much more freedom, particularly during bridal prep and winter weddings.

Indoor options matter. This is Scotland. If your photographer only has one plan and that plan requires a sunset, we may have a problem.

I like venues where guests naturally gather. Courtyards, bars, patios, fires, gardens and smaller sitting rooms create interaction. Interaction creates photographs.

Variety is brilliant, but distance isn't. A huge estate is lovely, but I don't want to take you away from your own wedding for 45 minutes just to reach the one famous viewpoint. The strongest venues give us several different looks within a short walk.

And finally, personality matters more than perfection.

A beautiful venue is wonderful, but the people are still the wedding.

Give me an emotional ceremony, guests who are ready to celebrate, decent light and a couple willing to have a little fun, and we'll make photographs anywhere.

Getting married at one of these Aberdeenshire wedding venues?

If you're planning a wedding at Logie Country House, Schivas Steading, Maryculter House, Meldrum House, Thainstone House, Elsick House, Coos' Cathedral or Raemoir House, I've already photographed there and know the venue from behind the camera.

And if you're getting married at Netherdale House, Aswanley, House of Elrick or Barra Castle…

Even better.

They're firmly on my photography wish list.

Tell me where you're getting married, what you're planning and, most importantly, whether your guests are likely to behave themselves.

Although preferably not too much.

Annie Rees Photography

Aberdeenshire wedding photographer

For the real ones.