May is traditionally the start of peak wedding season, after all, the weather is likely to be warm, sometimes even warm enough to be married outdoors, California-style.

Many of our visitors will have noticed that Paxton House is increasingly a popular wedding venue, inviting couples into our special world to ‘tie the knot’ on the England Scotland border. The graceful classical house is a romantic place not just because of its beauty as a setting and the way a bride looks climbing the steps of the portico but because the house itself was inspired by love when young Patrick Home of Billie fell in love with Prussian heiress, Sophie de Brandt. For nature lovers, the banks of the river Tweed where the green riverside meets the blue water, have an irresistible informal romance of their own where dappled shadows pattern the ground and you feel as if time has stopped.

There have been some changes in the way couples marry in the past few years. Bridebook report the latest in wedding habits for 2024 and marrying outdoors seems to be top of the list. At Paxton, we can certainly confirm that our brides and grooms are enthusiastically embracing some of the variety that we offer. Our dedicated wedding planning team really enjoy reflecting each bride’s individuality and happily embrace unusual choices.  Dogs – or even alpacas –  at the centre of the guest list are no surprise to them and Paxton House is the only place we know where you can include Celtic marriage traditions in your ceremony and even exchange vows on the water in a traditional Tweed coble. The increase in bookings for our small Victorian boathouse on the river speaks to a move towards smaller, more intimate weddings with rustic charm. Outdoor weddings are also being held on the spacious lawns on the Garden Front of Paxton House. Don’t worry, we offset the risk of Britain’s notoriously fickle weather turning against you with a backup arrangement in the marquee. The marquee is cleverly sited so that guests can have drinks on the lawns that overlook the Union Chain Bridge  and works as a stand alone venue or more often as the relaxed party space for a wedding that starts in the grandeur of the main house.  We’ve just posted a new video on our weddings page, kindly provided by one of last year’s happy couples, that should really inspire anyone looking for the perfect historic house wedding venue.

Something we love about weddings held at Paxton House is that, very often, the house and grounds become a part of the lives of our couples. If you start your life together by staging a proposal or getting married in the grounds at Paxton (or both), it seems that returning on anniversaries or to introduce the house to your children is an important part of your continuing romance. Those long term relationships are very special to us.

We are looking forward to a busy wedding season and we believe that Paxton House is the perfect place to celebrate love this summer.

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