Pratis Barns Continues Growth With Major Wedding Venue Award

Pratis Barns, the family run, luxury events venue based near Leven, has won the Fife & Tayside Venues award at the prestigious Your Scottish Wedding Awards (YSWA) which took place in November. Their commitment to sustainability and dedication to their guests won over the judges to beat the other nominees in their category.

Nicola and Patrick Gilmour, owners of Pratis Barns had one simple goal when they purchased the venue in 2019: to make weddings easier to manage for their couples and create a venue where much of the service was provided ‘in-house’.

The pandemic lockdowns threw the venue into closure, but this gave them the opportunity to begin some extensive renovations and breathe life into the house that stood next to the barns. Now, it is available as part of the hire of the venue for your wedding, as well as being a stand-alone exclusive use property available to hire throughout the year for private and corporate opportunities. All catering at the venue and house is carried out by Patrick and his award-winning catering team.

The Gilmour’s are determined to ensure that the venue is as sustainable as possible – with past couples donating wedding decorations and props that can be re-used by upcoming weddings to save money and to avoid creating more waste. This allows couples to achieve their dream wedding without having to compromise on price.

The YSWA judges agreed that the whole Pratis Barns team showed continued dedication to their wedding couples and that “the owners continue to invest within their venue”. Patrick and Nicola are delighted with the recognition as they always want to stay one step ahead and show clients that they are continuously improving and adding value to the venue offering. 

Nicola explained, “It’s a very busy market, especially barn venues, so for us to be able to offer so much in-house and have a clear point of difference, we hope gives us a good foundation for the future. The award really is recognition from our industry leaders that we’re doing the right thing at Pratis and gives us the confidence to keep going.” Patrick was also conscious of how important the whole team at Pratis are, saying “It’s great for all of the team to get this accolade. We are a team and without them we definitely wouldn't have been able to achieve this. Everyone understands our vision for the venue and it’s exciting thinking about where we might be able to take this next.” 

As a client of Business Gateway Fife, Patrick and Nicola have received much support and guidance from Business Adviser, Alasdair Busby who commented, “It’s been a pleasure to work with such a committed, dynamic and enthusiastic couple. In addition to Business Gateway Fife support through Expert Help and Fife Investment Fund, I have worked with them on strategy and contingency planning for several years.  This award is due recognition for their passion and utter commitment to make everything perfect for weddings and events – many congratulations!”.

The final weeks of 2023 will see Pratis Barns open its doors to welcome guests from the local community and beyond for their ‘Pratis Presents’ events, including a Hogmanay Party on 31st December.

Whether thinking of starting a business or looking to grow or sustain an existing business, contact Business Gateway Fife on 01592 858333 for a variety of advice and support or visit www.businessgatewayfife.com