It’s been a busy – if rather wet – summer, but now that the swallows are leaving our shores (at a rate of 3,500 an hour, according to the bird observatory at Portland Bill) I’ve had time to look back over the wedding ceremonies I’ve conducted this year and I’m not entirely surprised to find that I’ve done more at Dundas Castle than anywhere else.

Why is Dundas so popular? Well, it’s true that there’s nowhere else quite like their mediaeval keep, but I’ve a suspicion the real reason is something else entirely. I think it’s this pen.

Every marriage schedule has to be signed, with a fountain pen, using black, indelible ink. Technically, it’s the responsibility of the celebrant, but Dundas leave nothing to chance. They give every couple their own Dundas Castle fountain pen, and it’s waiting there for them in the chamber off the chapel where the signing takes place.

The following day, when the couple leave, the staff not only give them their pen as a souvenir of the wedding, but better still, they return the signed Marriage Schedule to the Registry Office in South Queensferry.

Class.