Dreaming of a castle wedding, but don’t want to travel abroad to say ‘I do’?

North Carolina’s Castle Ladyhawke is an authentic reproduction of a Scottish border castle. Its sprawling 60 acres surrounded by panoramic mountain views will create a magical backdrop for you and your ‘prince’ (as well as all your guests).

The venue, which overlooks the Tuckasegee River Valley, only books one event a day, so when you have your wedding at the Castle Ladyhawke you can enjoy all the facility’s majestic amenities to yourself – the on-site catering services, the expansive lawns and gardens, the Great Room for the ceremony (situated in the entrance of the castle), the master bridal suite, the pub, and so much more.

The facility’s helpful and experienced staff has helped couples create their dream wedding for years, and they can bring your wedding vision to life, from “once upon a time” to “happily ever after.”

The picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains are an ideal setting for a beautiful wedding, but what will really put things over the top is exchanging vows at the Castle Ladyhawke. Your guests will be talking about your castle wedding for years to come!

For more info go to weddings at Castle Ladyhawke.

Photo Three, Four, Five, Seven: Aaron Imaging; Photo Six: Nick Breedlove Photography

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Love the idea of a castle wedding? You’ll love this week’s blog posts!

Tomorrow we’re going to let you know about a fantastic castle wedding venue located in the southern U.S.

If a castle wedding in Scotland is more your style, make sure you check out Tuesday’s blog post by writer Jennifer Cox. Jenn is going to tell you all about the rules and regs for having a destination wedding in Scotland.

And you won’t want to miss Wednesday and Thursday’s posts; we’ll be highlighting two fantastic real destination weddings in Scotland by Scottish wedding photographer Margaret McAtier.

Photo: Sneak peek of Reisha and Scott’s destination wedding in Scotland shot by Margaret McAtier.

I love the watercolor illustrations of Nicole Wong. I am lucky to have one of her original ACEO’s in my collection. This  one is still for sale.

Happy Friday!!

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.  ~e.e. cummings

There’s a lot of pressure out there in blogland to live up to a certain aesthetic ideal when it comes to weddings. And sometimes all of these pretty images can cast a spell. Pretty soon you don’t know if the wedding you’re creating is something that you really want – or something you’ve been seduced into having.

I encourage you to think about your wedding. Find a quiet space and reflect on the things that matter to you. How can you incorporate the things that make you UNIQUE as a couple?

Darin and I will be celebrating nine years this year. We planned our Big Day before wedding blogs existed. Hence, we weren’t subjected to thousands of images of picture perfect weddings, which in a way, was a blessing. We had our own blank canvas. The elements in our wedding truly came from the heart.

We DIYed (there was no term DIY wedding back then!) just about everything but the food and music. My sister in law made the invitations. She also helped me, my mother and maid of honour make the bouquets and centerpieces. I made handmade soap and CD’s for wedding favors.

We chose a venue that had the most meaning to us (our backyard) and we had live Scottish and Irish bands because we love Celtic music. Our getaway car was a vintage rolls because we loved the idea of an old car. That was before vintage was the biggest buzzword going.

We did not feel pressure to live up to the latest, greatest real wedding. Our wedding was authentically us.

There are many great things about wedding blogs. They are a source of great information and inspiration. They can save brides time, money and headaches. But they can also hypnotize.

Stay awake on your wedding journey. Enjoy the sights along the way, but stay true to your own path.

One of my favourite books in high school was F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.

The Great Gatsby is more than a great story – it offers a fascinating glimpse into the roaring twenties and prohibition era – which make it an incredible source of inspiration for a vintage wedding!

As I was searching for images on The Great Gatsby themed weddings to share with you, I stumbled up the Art Deco Society of Oakland, Calfornia. Every year for the past 26 years the society has hosted the Gatsby Summer Afternoon, an event that pretty much blew my mind. I swear I would travel across the country to experience it just once!

“The  Gatsby Summer Afternoon lets several hundred aficionados of the 1920s and 30s step back to a time when elegance was a way of life and the Charleston and fox trot were all the rage.This is not a spectator event. From 1-6pm the panoramic Dunsmuir {an 1899 neoclassical revival mansion} front lawn becomes a stage on which all participants picnic, dance and sip champagne, reminiscent of a scene from The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous novel of 1925 …. With everyone attending this event in period fashions, the effect is stunning! Many guests bring period-perfect picnics, with settings from elaborate spreads, complete with silver, crystal, linens and china, to simple wicker baskets on vintage print tablecloths.”

Can you imagine?

As one participate wrote:

“People take this day seriously. Quite damn seriously. I like to think of this day as Burning Man for those who bathe and prefer a strong cocktail over sand and hallucinogens,”  says Mena, whose experience is featured on Nested.

In fact, if you read Mena’s story, preparing a picnic for the Gatbsy Summer Afternoon didn’t sound all that much different from planning a small, outdoor wedding reception. Here are some photos from her picnic:

{Below: She purchased authentic vintage soda labels on Etsy, and filled her own bottles with beverages that matched the labels.}

Hmm… I wonder if they’ve had any weddings on site at the Gatsby Summer Afternoon?

First Photo: Gatsby themed wedding shot by Josh Goleman; Second, Third, Forth Photo: Nested

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