Some venues look the part. Some venues actually are the part. Whitekirk Hill near North Berwick sits firmly in the second category — a purpose-built events space perched at the top of a hill with views across East Lothian and the Firth of Forth that stop you mid-setup and make you appreciate the job.

I was booked by Ashleigh and Joe to provide their wedding DJ and ceilidh calling services, and what followed was one of those nights that reminds you why getting the balance right — between ceilidh energy, disco momentum, and simply reading the room — matters so much.

The First Dance — Donna Summer Sets the Tone

Ashleigh and Joe chose Last Dance by Donna Summer as their first dance — a brilliant choice that I don’t hear nearly enough. The slow, intimate opening gave them their moment together on the floor, and then the track does exactly what you want a first dance to do: it builds. As the tempo lifted, guests flooded onto the floor and the party was already in full swing before the song had even finished. It set the energy for the whole evening perfectly.

Ceilidh Time — The Gay Gordons and the Orcadian Strip the Willow

After the first dance, we moved into two ceilidh dances that I think work brilliantly together for a wedding crowd. If you’re planning a wedding ceilidh, read on.

The Gay Gordons is always where I like to start. It’s accessible, it keeps couples together, and even complete beginners can pick it up within the first eight bars. For a room with a large number of English guests — as Whitekirk Hill had that night — it’s the perfect introduction to Scottish country dancing. Everyone was eager, everyone gave it a go, and the floor was full of people who’d never done it before and looked like they’d been doing it for years.

The Orcadian Strip the Willow followed, and this is where things really took off. The spinning, the energy, the noise — it’s the dance that tends to produce the best photographs and the most memorable moments of any wedding ceilidh. Last night was no exception. The guests were fantastic: enthusiastic, willing, and — crucially — they listened to the instructions, which makes everything run smoothly and means everyone actually enjoys themselves.

A Hot Summer Night — and a Venue That Knows It

Here’s something worth knowing about Whitekirk Hill if you’re considering it as a wedding venue: it sits right at the top of a hill, and any breeze in the surrounding area is amplified significantly up there. On a cold Scottish night, that’s something to plan for. But that night wasn’t a cold Scottish night.

It was genuinely, gloriously hot. The ceilidh dancing — which on a typical Scottish evening is a brilliant way to warm up a room — did its usual job of generating enormous amounts of body heat. The result was that after two dances, practically the entire wedding party flooded outside to enjoy the evening sun and the cooling breeze on the hilltop. I can’t blame them. It was a beautiful evening, the views were stunning.

Northern Soul to Bridge the Gap

With the room largely outdoors, I kept things ticking over inside with a set of Northern Soul — music that rewards the dancers who stayed inside and kept moving. It held the room nicely until the main group returned after 10pm, arriving back indoors bursting with energy and clearly ready to dance.

The Evening Disco — A Floor That Didn’t Empty

From 10pm onward, the dancefloor barely cleared. The mirror ball cluster at Whitekirk Hill is genuinely one of the best features of the room — there must be fifteen or more of them at varying heights, and when the lighting is right they turn the whole ceiling into something magical.

The Finish — Loch Lomond and a Room Full of Warmth

The evening built beautifully through to the final songs. We ended with Loch Lomond — the only way a Scottish wedding should end — with the whole room singing along, arms around each other, in that wonderful collective state that only happens at the best wedding nights.

Followed by a selection of personal tracks chosen by Ashleigh and Joe — that final stretch is always the bit I enjoy most. The room knows the night is ending, everyone’s on the floor, and there’s a warmth in the air that you can’t manufacture. You just have to serve it.

Congratulations to Ashleigh and Joe. It was a brilliant night, and Whitekirk Hill is a genuinely special venue.

Frequently Asked Questions