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.

Questions You Should Ask Your Caterer before Hiring Them

With most weddings, catering accounts for the majority of the wedding budget. Make sure you know what you’re paying for and that your reception will go off without a hitch with these important questions to ask your caterer before you hire them. 

Like all of your vendors, there are some very important questions you should ask your caterer. Some of the questions may help you in your hiring decision. Others will help you avoid any last-minute catering mishaps at your wedding. So, whether you are trying to decide which caterer to hire or just trying to make sure your catering services are planned and ready to go, these questions you should ask your caterer will keep you right on track.

The Legal Stuff

Some of the questions you should ask your caterer have to do with the legalities of their business and how they relate to your wedding. If you plan on serving alcohol, you will need to know whether or not the potential caterer has a license to serve alcoholic beverages. If not, you may have to hire separate staff to do so.

References and Portfolios

Having a catering business doesn’t necessarily mean professionalism or high quality. Take the time to check your caterer’s references. Ask them if they have a portfolio of some previously catered events. Look over their portfolio and ask them a lot of questions about the event featured so that you can get an idea as to whether or not the caterer in question can handle your wedding day needs.

Billing

Your catering bill can account for almost half of your total wedding budget, so billing questions should be on the prioritized list of questions you should ask your caterer. Some billing questions you might want to ask include:

Do you require a deposit? How much is it and when is it due?

When is the balance due? How much will it be?

Are there any cancellation fees?

How much is the cost per head? Are gratuities and taxes included?

Are tables, linens, barware, glassware, and other serving items included? How much are they if they cost extra?

Is there a cake cutting fee?

Can you offer a large-volume discount on beverage purchases?

 

Remember that these budget questions you should ask your caterer are meant to help you keep your budget under control and on track.

Bridal Vendor Shopping 101

Are you ready to start hiring your vendors for your wedding day? Here are some basic bridal vendor shopping steps you should take before signing any contracts.

Securing your bridal vendors is one of the very first steps to take when you begin planning your wedding, but it helps to acquaint yourself with some bridal vendor shopping 101 first before you sign on the dotted line. Booking vendors such as your caterer, florist, and wedding coordinator are rather large expenses, and they often require lengthy contracts that make it difficult to change or cancel once you sign the agreement. This is standard and is necessary for the vendor to run his or her business smoothly, but it also means that you need to know what you want and what you can afford before you make any contractual or financial commitments.

Keep the following bridal vendor shopping 101 in mind when you begin planning your wedding:

Ask around—One of the best ways to begin your vendor shopping process is to ask around for recommendations. Talk to other brides, bridal boutique owners, consult the BBB, and attend local bridal shows to meet potential vendors in person. Once you do your research, begin writing down each contender and make appointments with the ones you’d most like to meet with.

Get it in writing—When you meet with potential vendors, get everything in writing. Even if you’re not securing a contract, ask for a business card with an estimate number written on it, or for some sort of written correspondence that recaps the numbers and services you agreed on. This will help you keep track of your options as you begin the process of elimination and will also ensure that you are given the deal you agreed on during your initial meeting.

Know that quality costs more—Whatever you do, don’t be cheap. This doesn’t mean to choose vendors you cannot afford, but it does mean to be realistic about what your budget allows and to realize that quality typically costs more. Remember that it is not always beneficial to opt for the least expensive vendor option. Keep this bridal vendor shopping tip in mind as you begin meeting with potential vendors.

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.