U.S. Castle Wedding Venues for Your Fairytale Wedding

Want a real fairytale wedding, one that is complete with the castle? Check out this amazing list of castle locations in the United States that provide wedding accommodations.

Looking for castle wedding venues for your fairytale wedding? Not willing to travel abroad to experience that perfect castle wedding? Never fear! There are plenty of beautiful, romantic, and fairytale-worthy castles in the United States. Check out this list of U.S. castle wedding venues for your fairytale wedding and decide which one will best suit your needs.

OHEKA Castle Hotel & Estate, Huntington, NY

Joey Fatone wed his childhood sweetheart at the OHEKA Castle Hotel & Estate, and you’ll see why the moment you enter the gates of the French Chateau-inspired venue. The OHEKA Castle schedules only one wedding per day, so the entire venue is yours. Located just an hour from Manhattan, the OHEKA castle offers high-quality service, an exquisite formal dining room, and 32 luxurious guestrooms for you and your guests. Considered to be one of the most unforgettable wedding venues in existence, it is one of the most luxurious castle wedding venues for your fairytale wedding.

Falkenstein Castle, Burnet, TX

According to the owners of the Falkenstein Castle, plans for the castle were designed by the same architect and designer of the infamous Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, King Ludwig the II. Located 50 miles west of Austin, the Falkenstein Castle offers guests the culture and romance of the medieval time period. Between natural beauty of two State Parks and 3 of the Highland lakes, the French Gothic carved altar, and beautiful butterfly gardens, the ambience of Falkenstein Castle is practically unmatched. Rented out to only one couple a week, the Falkenstein is one of the most picturesque castle wedding venues for your fairytale wedding.

Biltmore Estate, Asheville, NC

Offering beauty, elegance, sophistication, exquisite accommodations, tailored services, and mounds of activities for you and your guests, the Biltmore Estates in Asheville, NC offers more options to brides than almost any other wedding vendor in existence. Built by George Vanderbilt in 1895, this French Chateau-inspired wedding venue offers true 19^th century style, elegance, and service to their brides. Biltmore Estates even offers carriage rides to the lovely couple on their wedding day, making the Biltmore one of the most enchanted castle wedding venues for your fairytale wedding.

Top Dos and Don’ts for Planning Your Wedding

Need a simple, straightforward approach to planning your wedding? Then take a look at these top dos and don’ts for planning your wedding.

Our top dos and don’ts for planning your wedding will help simplify your wedding planning process. They will even help you sort out the fluff from the really important stuff. Keep reading and find out what you should and shouldn’t do on your big day with our top dos and don’ts for planning your wedding.

Do: Choose a Theme

This might seem pretty self-explanatory, which might make you wonder why it made our list of top dos and don’ts for planning your wedding. The answer is simple, though. A theme will ensure a cohesive look and feel throughout your wedding decor from beginning to end. Your theme should be incorporated into every aspect of your wedding, from the ceremony to the reception. You may even want to use your theme for your honeymoon location, especially if you choose an exotic theme.

Don’t: Micromanage

This is probably the hardest rule to follow on our list of top dos and don’ts for planning your wedding. It can be hard to surrender some control on your big day and the weeks leading up to it, but giving away some control is essential to the survival of your sanity. Stress overload can create a very edgy bride and a day that is less than perfect. Remember, the most important detail of your wedding day is the beginning of your new life together.

Do: Hold Your Reception after Dark

Make your reception a night to remember by holding it after dark. The late night hours are intended only for adult guests, so you’re creating something more like a date night out for busy parents, making this rule on our list of dos and don’ts for planning your wedding a way to create a night everyone will remember. Serve drinks, food, and have lots of dancing to keep the night hoppin’. You may even consider serving a late-night “breakfast.”

Don’t: Forget the Sparkle

Forgetting the sparkle takes the magic out of your reception. This is important for all weddings, but especially when the couple is planning a nighttime reception. Holding your reception in a ballroom offers automatic sparkle, but you can also create your own with crystals and candle accents. And don’t forget—this rule on our list of dos and don’ts for planning your wedding also applies to the bride and her attire!

Five Easy Ways to Spruce Up Your Wedding Style

Do you have your ceremony and reception theme picked out but still want to spruce up your wedding decor? Check out these five easy ways to kick your wedding style up a notch.

Whether you’ve already picked up your wedding decorations and have chosen your floral arrangements or you’re just getting ready to design your wedding, try these five easy ways to spruce up your wedding style to create a wedding event they’ll never forget. These small tips can make a big difference in the overall presentation of your wedding day.

Choose matching favors—This is one of the easiest ways to spruce up your wedding style. You can really enhance your decor by selecting stylish wedding favors that complement your wedding theme or color schemes. If you pick favors that accentuate your theme, they will really stand out next to your place settings and add a unique touch to your wedding reception decor.

Add personal touches—Whether you personalize your napkins, customize your wedding favors, or create your own floral centerpieces, there are plenty of ways to add personal touches around your ceremony and reception location, and it’s an excellent way to spruce up your style.

Keep it authentic—Worn-out accents, vintage touches, and natural details are very popular right now, and using these authentic touches is a great way to spruce up your wedding style at both your ceremony and reception.

Keep it simple—There’s nothing wrong with wanting an elaborate, fancy wedding, but however you decorate, opt to keep it simple. For example, keep the elaborate details to a minimum and choose one or two main focal pieces for the ceremony and reception hall. Keeping the decor simple will make your wedding style appear elegant and attractive.

Add a little green—Never underestimate what fake foliage can do for your wedding decor. You can really amp up your wedding style by adding more foliage around the location. It makes everything feel and look lusher, more sophisticated, and overall more pulled together. Talk to your wedding coordinator or florist about available options and how you can use them to enhance your wedding style.

What are the First Steps in the Wedding Planning Process?

All of the steps in the wedding planning process cannot be summed up in a few short sentences, and not every step is cut and dry. However, the process begins with a few standard tasks. Here are the very first steps in the wedding planning process and how to go about them.

The first steps in the wedding planning process are pretty straightforward, but they are also the most crucial. Regardless of how large or small your occasion is going to be, you’ll need to have these first steps taken care of before you move on to the other essential planning tasks. You’ll find that once you have these initial steps taken care of that all of the other details will fall into place and will be easier to plan as you go.

These are the first and most important steps in the wedding planning process:

Set Your Budget—This is crucial right from the start. Discuss finances with your soon-to-be spouse and determine how much you can and are willing to spend. Also discuss whether or not any family members will be helping with the expenses.

Hire a Planner—Although this is an optional step, it’s highly recommended no matter how small your occasion will be. If you want to save money, passing on a wedding planner is not the way to do it. A wedding planner can be invaluable when it comes to putting together your occasion.

Choose a Style and Theme—Decide how formal or informal you’d like your wedding to be and then decide on a style. Pick the color schemes and the theme you’d like to use. This will set you up to choose your cake, decor, floral arrangements, and more.

Choose a Date and a Season—Sit down with your calendar and decide on a date according to the season you’d like to marry in. Remember to take the weather and holidays into account when deciding on a season.

Book Your Locations and Vendors—Your wedding planner will really help you with this step, but you can shop around for ceremony and reception locations and vendors on your own before you even hire a planner if you wish. Choose a location that can accommodate the number of guests you’d like to have and one that complements the style and formality of your elegant wedding.