Airth Castle: Couple can continue to look forward to their wedding as Polmont hotel steps in after original venue's closure

Lisa Scott and Scott Thompson, who live in Portsmouth, were due to get married at Airth Castle in April, but when the hotel’s operating company was placed into voluntary liquidation on Tuesday, with the venue ceasing trading and all staff being made redundant, the couple were uncertain if their big day would be going ahead.

However, thanks to the team at the Inchyra Hotel & Spa, they have been able to relocate their celebrations to the Polmont venue and can continue to look forward to their big day on the same date as originally planned.

Lisa, 28, said: “I would just like to express my gratitude to the Inchyra Hotel & Spa for their professionalism in helping me to secure my wedding venue. After hearing the upsetting news that my original venue had closed with only four weeks to go, I was really fearful of what we could do to turn it around.

“Since my first point of contact, our new wedding co-ordinator Fiona has been amazing at doing everything possible to make sure our day could go ahead with a package tailored to what we had originally planned. It has been a seamless process with excellent communication and reassurance.”

The team at the Inchyra are using their extensive expertise in event planning to make the relocation effortless for couples, like Lisa and Scott, 31, whose big days have been impacted by the Airth Castle closure.

They are prioritising those who are most immediately affected and the venue, part of the Macdonald Hotels & Resorts group, is now making additional wedding coordinators available to help other couples who have been impacted by the closure.

Staff are doing their best to bring as much of each couple’s original day to life as possible, including mirroring the menu options, sourcing decor that matches their vision and replicating their original events package.

Fiona Stark, specialist events and wedding coordinator at the Inchyra, said: “Having worked in the industry for over 30 years, I know how stressful it can be for couples to have their wedding plans changed in such a massive way at such short notice. We are fully committed to doing everything we can to help couples relocate their wedding in its entirety to our venue.”

The Inchyra is just one of a number of local venues who are offering assistance to those impacted by the closure of the Airth hotel. Others include Beancross Farm and Grange Manor Hotel.

Airth Castle’s operating company, Airth Castle Hotel and Spa, was placed in voluntary liquidation earlier this week.

The owners of the property, Airth Castle Ltd, said it would not be sold as a result of the operating company’s insolvency. It said the Covid pandemic had a major financial impact on the operating company as the hotel was forced to close for an extended period. The company has also struggled with increased energy and supplier costs.