Not every couple can say they built the chapel they were married in, but for Tracey and Rob Beaton it was all in a days’ work.
And not a week after saying “I do”, they were back to it, hosting another happy duo in their Perthshire castle.
Tracey and Rob have spent millions of pounds and thousands of hours renovating Culdees Castle, just outside Muthill, since buying the dilapidated near-ruin in 2019.
Now, the pair are set to host wedding parties on a near-weekly basis, with the venue-diary’s wedding season quickly filling up as far ahead as 2027.
The castle will also play host to American and Arab tourists looking for a historic hide-away, after Culdees was named as part of Gleneagles’ “glorious playground”.
Culdees Castle wedding bells
Last August, Rob and Tracey tied the knot in the castle chapel, which features a number of original and new stain-glass windows, and a mosaic tile floor painstakingly built bit-by-bit after the ceramics were found in a mound of rubble.
The venues’ popularity has risen in the five years since they bought a house and castle for around £730,000.
Channel 4 are set to release the second series of Renovation Nation, which the couple feature prominently in, this July.
And luxury resort Gleneagles has chosen Culdees to be part of their “glorious playground”, which Tracey said would see more American and Arab tourists visit than ever.
They will host a number of events over the coming months too, with a wedding open day in July and a candlelight night in October.
Tracey said: “We got married last August, we were the first to get married in our newly renovated chapel.
“Robert proposed, it was part of series one and we wanted to be the first to be married in it.
“There have been a few marriages in the grounds, but we were the first to get married in the renovated chapel.
“Series two follows our journey as we renovated the chapel and the rest of that part of the castle.
“We had to completely restore the floor. And the roof.
“It has taken 14 months. It was a pretty epic renovation.
She added: “When we first moved in, I was clearing out the scullery and found thousands of mosaic tiles.
“I sifted through tonnes of rubble and mess and was able to reassemble the pieces.
“I kept the pieces for three years, in the hope I could one day use them.
“And when we were doing up the chapel, I was able to relay them on the floor.
Bookings for 2025, 2026 and 2027 already
Couples looking for their own highland (Perthshire) fling have fallen in love with Culdees too.
Tracey added: “We have been so busy these past few years. We couldn’t get away for a honeymoon last summer because we had weddings booked in.
“The weekend right after our ceremony, we had another couple in getting married.”
The chapel sits 50, which means Tracey and Rob are having to build an external pavilion to accommodate larger groups.
This will allow them to provide seating and cater for up to 200 guests at a time, Tracey explained.
“Our pavilion can be used for lots of other events too,” she added.
“There is a picnic lawn, and the pavilion will have a roof (soft fabric).
“2025, 2026 and 2027 are already busy.
“We won’t be taking any time off in summer, as we host these weddings.
“In fact, in 2025, we will host two weddings in the one week.”
Work cut out
And with plans to host music events, outdoor kitchen parties and public tours, the couple will have their work cut out for them.
The 19th century building was recently taken off the buildings-at-risk register, but the pair concede a lot more work needs to be done to restore it in full.
Rob still works in IT, when he is not fixing floors and patching 200-year-old roofs.
And Tracey is still having to dig in with the restoration, carefully balancing the need for preservation with the requirements of running a modern-day business.
There work is being admired by other renovators, with the castle being cited now as an example to follow in restoration.
“Where it can be repaired or restored, it will be,” Tracey said.
“We will try and not put in anything ‘new’ unless of course it is absolutely necessary.”
