Tag: destination wedding

Wedding Champagne Toast Castle Farms The Weber Photographers

Champagne Toasts!

Written by Karrie Mueller on December 17, 2018. Posted in Blog, Real Castle Wedding, Wedding Tips & Trends, Weddings. No Comments on Champagne Toasts!

Champagne toasts are a great way to include all of your friends and family at your wedding, with your favorite bubbly in everyone’s hand!

1918 Cellars offers two stunning options to suit your needs:

Visionary – A semi-dry sparkling wine made of 100% Michigan Chardonnay grapes. Its balanced flavor of acidity and sweetness makes it a great choice to please everyone’s taste buds.

Wedding Drinks Northern MI Wedding Venue Castle Farms Classic Photographers

1918 Cellars Chardonnay Wine Wedding Toast The Weber Photographers

1918 Chardonnay Bottle Close Up Castle Farms Jason Switzer Photography

Reflection – A brut sparkling wine, that is dry yet fruit forward with its pallet of cherry and orange peel on the finish. Its rosé tone adds a pop of color to your champagne toast, and can compliment your wedding colors.

Champange Close Up Castle Farms MI Wedding Lux Light Photography

Champagne Glass Seating Chart Castle Farms Lux Light Photography

1918 Cellars Charlevoix MI Castle Farms The Weber Photographers

To mix things up a little more for your toasts (or even feature as your signature drink at the bar), try using our sparkling wines in the following cocktails:

French 75 with our Visionary sparkling wine – these are elegant, refreshing and easy to make! Combine ½ oz lemon juice, 1 oz gin, and 2 dashes of simple syrup in a mixer with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a champagne glass. Top with two ounces of Visionary Sparkling wine, and garnish with a twist of lemon peel.

Christmosa with our Reflection brut rosé – perfect for a little more festive winter cocktail! In a glass pitcher, combine 1 cup diced grannysmith apples, 1 cup halved green grapes, 1 cup fresh whole cranberries, and 1 cup pomegranate seeds. Add 1 cup sparkling grape juice, and a bottle of Reflection brut rosé. Serve in a couple cocktail glasses and voila! This colorful concoction is sure to be a crowd pleaser!

Christmosa with 1918 Cellars Reflection brut rosé The Weber Photographers

1918 Cellars Castle Farms Wedding Bar The Weber Photographers

Wedding Signature Drink Castle Farms The Weber Photographers

Keep in mind all alcohol should only be poured by a licensed bartender, but having the champagne glasses presented in a grand display can add something extra to the space! You could have the glasses displayed on a two-level table, or if you’re daring, in a champagne tower. Another classy option is to have your champagne or signature drink served by your bartenders and wait staff either during dinner or just before toasts are to begin. Whichever presentation you decide on, the most important thing is giving a “cheers” and celebrating alongside the people that are important to you on your big day!

Bride and Groom Castle Farms Wedding Northern Art Photography

1918 Cellars Champagne Wedding Tales Castle Farms

Wedding Toast Castle Farms MI Northern Art Photography

To order one of these select 1918 Cellars sparkling wines for your wedding, please contact Angela Sauve at 231-237-0884 ex.225 at Castle Farms, or email angela@castlefarms.com

Beth Joy Photography Castle Farms Michigan Fall Wedding

Wedding Decor DIY Ideas

Written by Karrie Mueller on November 15, 2018. Posted in Blog, Wedding Decor, Wedding Tips & Trends, Weddings. No Comments on Wedding Decor DIY Ideas

Do you enjoy finding new uses for old pieces? Or getting creative with DIY projects? Do you like saving money? Here at Castle Farms, we love seeing what our couples can be creative with! A great way to incorporate this concept at your wedding is to use items that you would normally recycle as your wedding décor! Here are some insightful suggestions:

Find some old picture frames, and paint them to be all one color. Smaller frames work great as table number holders, larger frames work great for reception signage or photo booth props!

Mason jars or other jars are also great for a wedding décor idea. Use them as vases for flowers, tip jars for your bartenders, put fairy lights inside them for an alternative to candles, or even to hold candy for your candy bar.

Have an old basket or container laying around? Find some ribbon and tie a cute sign to it, and now you have a container for favors, desserts, etc. This works great for coozies or flip flops!

All these simple ideas will save you money and help give old things a new purpose! Plus, you’ll have some quality time while you’re DIYing together, and can focus on celebrating when it comes to the big day!

Ceremony Music-What to Know

Written by Karrie Mueller on September 11, 2018. Posted in Ask the Coordinators, Blog, Wedding Tips & Trends. No Comments on Ceremony Music-What to Know

Although we set the mood pretty well as the backdrop for your ceremony, music is also a very impactful way to help a memory last and live on. With the flexibility that we offer, choosing your musicians or narrowing down your playlist also brings questions about how this all comes together in the first place. Although the options for song choices, bands and DJ’s are seemingly endless, we have only two basic options to talk about today that will help you better decide if live or recorded music is best for you.

The first option-which tends to be the more popular option-would be to create a playlist on your phone and have us run the music for your ceremony. Your reservation includes an Assistant Venue Coordinator that will be an extra set of hands for your Venue Coordinator. This is who we have run our sound system for your ceremony. Our sound system covers the use of our lapel microphone (your officiant will probably wear this), the handheld microphone (for any readings/speeches), and our personal favorite, a smart phone (one you would provide) with a playlist downloaded to your phone via Spotify or iTunes. While we cannot mix songs or repeat certain sections, we can smoothly fade the music in and out as each group of attendants process down the aisle. Choosing pre-recorded music is great for couples who have dependable songs that would be difficult for live musicians to reproduce and for those looking to keep costs at a minimum.

If live musicians are more your style, your musicians will be required to bring in all of their own equipment (instruments, cords, speakers, microphones, etc.). We will provide them with the electrical outlets and a game-plan for their set-up location based on your ceremony sketch which is part of your Set-Up Packet. This is a stunning option to elevate the overall vibe for your ceremony and to keep the entertainment factor at a maximum for your guests. Be sure to check in on the Entertainment section of our Preferred Service Providers list for some incredible live musician options!

Having a Band at Your Wedding?

Written by Karrie Mueller on July 11, 2018. Posted in Ask the Coordinators, Blog, Wedding Tips & Trends, Wedding Vendors, Weddings. No Comments on Having a Band at Your Wedding?

Here’s some things to know if you’re having a band come to the Castle for your wedding!

We love the DJs on our Preferred Service Provider list but if you are looking to switch things up, there is nothing like a great live band to get your crowd of guests excited and join the dance floor. A good band will know how to get a “feel” of the room and select music accordingly, plus they may interact with the guests on the dance floor to give everyone an awesome experience.

Many times the band will ask you a lot of questions pertaining to the layout of the stage and the outlets they would be using. Our coordinators are always a good person for your band to reach out to but we thought it would also be helpful to share that information with you here!

The dimensions of the stages in our rooms are 16’x8′. We have two 20amp outlets on separate circuits right next to stage and there are also several other outlets throughout the room if they feel they need more power. We find that most often the outlets by the stage are plenty to hold the power that they need.

We highly suggest having your band reach out to a coordinator to go over the details so you aren’t bogged down. We are happy to talk or meet with any of your vendors that require a bit more explanation.

What to Know About Linens

Written by Karrie Mueller on May 1, 2018. Posted in Ask the Coordinators, Blog, Decor Ideas, Table Design, Wedding Decor, Wedding Tips & Trends, Weddings. No Comments on What to Know About Linens

(This blog was written in 2018. In-house specialty linen rentals are no longer available. Contact a Team Member for vendor recommendations.)

Don’t forget about linens!

Let’s talk about linens because they are an important part of your wedding day. They not only protect your guests and furniture from stains and spills, but they also act as decorative elements that help bring your overall look together.

If you have a few selections in mind, but want to match them with dress fabric or centerpiece flowers before placing an order, we can have physical fabric swatches mailed directly to you. We also have swatches available at Castle Farms, which you can look over during a meeting with a Venue Coordinator.

When you have a few selections in mind, contact the Castle Farms Venue Coordinators and we can put together a linen proposal with pricing. The information we will need is your desired selections (we can do multiple proposals, if you have a few linens in mind and want to see how they compare), and estimated guest/table count. We will also need to know what size linen you are looking for (floor length, overlay, runner, etc). If you are unsure of what size you would like, or want pricing information on different options, we can run proposals with different size combinations as well.

Once you have decided on your linen style, size and quantity, we will submit a formal order with our supplier which will lock in the pricing and we add the order to your account. Your linen order count can still change throughout your planning, as you begin getting RSVP’s and determining all of the tables you will need. A final quantity order will be needed 2 weeks prior to your wedding, and payment for the rental balance will be due 1 week prior to your wedding.

As a reminder, Castle Farms provides with your reservation white floor-length linens and white overlays on round guest tables, and white overlays with white table skirting on side tables such as the head table, gift table, and seating card table. You then have numerous options to add specialty linens! Gather ideas and inspiration, and reach out to our Venue Coordinators to help plan through the available choices!

What to Expect the Day Before Your Wedding

Written by Karrie Mueller on March 5, 2018. Posted in Ask the Coordinators, Blog, Wedding Tips & Trends, Weddings. No Comments on What to Expect the Day Before Your Wedding

So much planning goes into the wedding day, from the guest list to the decorations to the timeline, many couples overlook planning for the day before the wedding. It’s also an important day to consider! You want to put thought into what happens leading up to the wedding so that you can avoid any added stress and make the most of your wedding weekend with friends and family. A lot of wedding professionals advise to allow enough time and preparation for the day of the wedding to be able to go through the day at a relaxed pace, and you want to do that for the day before the wedding as well. So what should you expect for the day before the wedding?

Rehearsal:
Your ceremony rehearsal at Castle Farms will be scheduled 2 months prior to your wedding. The rehearsal is always scheduled for the day before the wedding, unless you have another request, and the time depends on our event schedule. While there are many activities you can plan to do around the rehearsal, such as a round of golf or a trip to the nail salon, we’ll give a few suggestions on how to work out the logistics depending on what time your rehearsal is scheduled for.

Most often, your wedding party attendants will be arriving to Charlevoix the day before the wedding and will need to check into their hotel room. Typical hotel check in times are between 2pm and 4pm. If your rehearsal is scheduled earlier in the day, such as 12pm or 1pm, you and your attendants can come run through rehearsal prior to checking into hotels. Rehearsals last about 45 minutes, so once rehearsal is finished everyone can get checked into their hotels and unpack for the weekend. Since you’ll have the afternoon to fill prior to a rehearsal dinner, you could plan an activity for the wedding party to do together, or everyone can take some time to check out what downtown Charlevoix has to offer – boutique shops, picturesque beaches, and neat eateries. Either way, it’ll give everyone plenty of time to get dressed up and ready for rehearsal dinner. If a later rehearsal is scheduled, such as 3pm or 4pm, you can swap the order of your day. Use the morning and afternoon for activities or relaxing around town. After getting ready and heading to Castle Farms for rehearsal, go for a pre-dinner activity or cocktail, and then right into rehearsal dinner.

Check out Charlevoix online to see all of the activities available to make the most of your wedding weekend up north.

Venue Decorating and Wedding Preparations:
Any DIY projects or decorations that need to be acquired should be finished well before the day before the wedding, if possible. It’s an added stress to an already busy weekend to be finishing last minute projects for the big day. If you do have items that could not be assembled beforehand, such as favors including food items, recruit your wedding party team to help! Many hands make light work.

Your reception space at Castle Farms is available to decorate starting at 10am on your wedding day. If there is not an event reserved the day before, which we confirm when we are 2 months out from your wedding day, we allow you to decorate the day before the wedding. If this option is available to you, you will want to factor some decorating time into your plans for the day. Since you’ll have rehearsal and rehearsal dinner to work around, decorating could work best in the morning before other activities, or later in the afternoon after any morning plans. With a later rehearsal time, it works well to plan morning activities, then decorate in the early afternoon and go right into rehearsal. With an earlier rehearsal, use the morning to decorate, then after rehearsal continue on with any activities before dinner.

The day before the wedding is all about what works for you! While we listed suggestions for timeline planning and order of events, it is up to you and what you have planned, and if you find another order works well, that’s great! Our main piece of advice: treat the entire weekend like the wedding day – allow enough time to relax, soak up the moments, cherish your time with everyone and have fun.