Promises in the Peacock Lounge.
The Fox & Willow is a gastropub on Carrick Road in Ayr, in what it calls the leafy suburbs of the town. It isn't a wedding venue the way a hotel is, and its website doesn't sell wedding packages. What it has is a handful of rooms you can take over for yourselves, and in February 2026 I led a vow renewal in one of them: the Peacock Lounge, on the ground floor.
Three rooms of your own
The Fox has three private function areas. The Peacock Lounge is the one with the personality: deep blue walls, a huge painted peacock, a string of glowing globe lights, patterned banquettes and a neon sign. The pub describes it as having a clubby atmosphere. For exclusive use it asks for a minimum of 30 guests, and it takes up to 55 for a buffet or drinks, or 32 for a sit-down set menu.
The Aviary, tucked away on the top floor, is a private dining room for up to 22, with no lift. The Terrace is heated, with a retractable roof and windows, looking out over the beer garden, and bookable exclusively for up to 50. I've only stood up in the Peacock Lounge, so if either of the others appeals, go and see it at the time of day you're planning.
A vow renewal, close up
It was a Saturday afternoon at the end of February. There was no grand entrance: the couple gathered with their family and friends, and when the time came, the background music went off and we began. We did a ring warming, where the rings travel round the room from hand to hand and pick up everyone's good wishes on the way, then a handfasting, and at the end the couple signed a keepsake certificate. In a room like the Peacock Lounge, with everyone close together, a ring warming works well, because the rings never have far to go.
What I'd check first
It's a working pub, so start with the sound. Ask for the background music to go off at your start time, and agree who's doing it. The lounge's booking brochure says you can play your own music through the room's sound system, so if you want a track for your entrance or your signing, bring it on a phone and test it before anyone arrives.
Next, timings. The pub takes food orders within half an hour of your booking time, so tell them how long your ceremony will run and build it into the booking, rather than squeezing it in before the starters. And decorations: the Fox allows free-standing decorations, but no table confetti, banners or anything stuck to the walls, so plan around that.
Weddings, too
A vow renewal carries no legal paperwork. A wedding does, and as a Humanist Society Scotland celebrant I can legally marry you in a room like this, as long as the Fox is happy to have you. I look after every legal word of it, and I write every ceremony from scratch. I'm a humanist wedding celebrant covering Ayrshire, and my Ayrshire wedding celebrant page has more on the area. Everyone is welcome at my ceremonies, and my LGBTQ+ weddings page says more about that. If you've been married a while and want to say it all again, start with my page on vow renewals.
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More Ayrshire venues I know inside out: Fairfield House, Ayr · Brig o' Doon House · Adamton House · Enterkine House · Piersland House · The Gailes Hotel