supplier spotlight –  Meet ALEXANDER HOUSE

22 July 2018
exclusive use wedding venue

THE SCOTTISH WEDDING VENUE THAT HAS IT ALL

And when we say all, we mean Alexander House has it all. Stunning surroundings? It’s set high on the gorgeous slopes of the Ochils, overlooking the Valley of Strathearn and beyond to the Scottish Highlands. A gorgeous country house that can serve as a getaway for an intimate wedding? It sleeps 21 people in beautiful rooms. Immaculate grounds where you can have a belter of a yurt wedding? You bet your bottom dollar it’s got that (I mean, just feast your peepers on that rolling greenery). With a focus on romantic but fun weddings, Alexander House is a dream wedding location – it even ticks all the boring but necessary boxes too, like being less than an hour from Edinburgh, Glasgow AND Dundee. Literally, can it get any better?!

WHO ARE YOU + WHERE ARE YOU BASED?

Hi! I’m Jo, I’m the owner at Alexander House, just one of the team here who make our wedding venue, holiday home, and glamping yurts work.

DESCRIBE YOUR WORKPLACE.

Alexander House has got to be one of the most amazing places to work in the whole of Scotland. Every time you look up and out of the window there is something else moving in the landscape, whether its the train on the main line to the North in the distance, or the sheep in the fields in front of us, or the clouds scudding across Ben Vorlich in the distance…. or even seeing the rain come towards us so you can get the washing in off the line! (Theres’a good 10 minutes warning…)

WHERE/HOW DID IT ALL BEGIN?

We bought the site for Alexander House way back in 2007, and it was the place where I used to go as a teenager to just get away from it all (like teenagers do need to now and again!). There was an old ruin that just couldn’t be saved, so we built the new Alexander House on the same site, completing the house in 2009.

FAVOURITE WORK TO DATE?

Our favourite weddings are the wee ones – where the wedding party have the wedding in the house, with up to 25 guests, just relaxing and all being together for a weekend of celebrations.

WHO/WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

The landscape inspires everything we do here at Alexander House. You cannot help but notice the red squirrels playing in the pines, the buzzards and red kites wheeling overhead, or the house martins buzzing about in the window eaves nesting. The seasons are much more visible here than elsewhere, and each one is unique and worth celebrating – deep snow in winter, followed by lime greens in spring, lazy summer days and the crisp bright frosts of autumn….

DESCRIBE YOUR TYPICAL DAY

There is absolutely no typical day here! We could be doing anything from a photoshoot for a glossy magazine, to cleaning any of our 13 toilets (glamorous!). to welcoming our guests, or lighting their wood burning hot tubs in advance of their arrival with us….. to gathering the outdoor furniture that’s blown down the hill in a Scottish Hooley…..!

WHERE’S YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE TO GO?

Well, there are just too many, but for a really special annual treat, me and my other half go to The Andrew Fairlie Restaurant at Gleneagles Hotel (2* Michelin). For a really fabulous day out, we walk to the top of Craig Rossie, our nearest large hill, just along the way, or take the dog along the drove road to Glendevon for pub lunch at the Tormaukin Inn, past the amazing Greenknowes wind turbines on the back hill. Or, further afield, hop on the train into Glasgow or Edinburgh (first class on the 10.13 London train they even give you breakfast!), and the other end of the spectrum – canyoning or kayaking up by Pitlochry!

FAVOURITE WEDDING SUPPLIER?

We are spoilt for choice at Alexander House, but we love Mark Wild and Eilidh Robertson‘s photography. We also think that Serena McIvor does the most wonderful wee wedding meals…and and and…!

TRENDS YOU HOPE TO SEE THIS SEASON…

This season we hope to see a trend away from the big scary weddings to the smaller, intimate and bespoke ones… your nearest and dearest in a really lovely place, with really lovely things…

BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’VE BEEN GIVEN?

Say yes, and think about how to do it afterwards!

OR

Don’t panic – just move faster!