We’ve never met a moody castle wedding we didn’t love, and Megan & Rainer’s nuptials in Charlevoix, Michigan look like they’ve come straight from central casting. Old stone walls, cottage gardens and a ruby meets gilded age palette… the gang’s all here! Bloom Floral Design infused the décor with the couple’s unique spirit, telling their story while always maintaining the integrity of the setting. We fell head over heels for the gallery from Eastlyn & Joshua, with its glamorous couple portraits and heartfelt moments, and we cannot wait for you to experience this feeling of giddiness with us as you pore over this moody castle wedding gallery below!
From the Bride, Megan: As soon as I met Rainer, I almost immediately started dreaming up our wedding day. I’m lucky that Rainer is interested in design and that our taste is so similar. As we grew in our relationship, our aesthetic grew too and that was really the driving force behind our wedding day – it had to feel like “us”. I was never the girl who had Pinterest boards filled with wedding inspiration, of course I had pinned a few favorite ideas here and there, but we really just made decisions on what felt right, and we still can’t believe it turned out as amazing as it did.
Early in our relationship, Rainer and I had attended a wedding in Charleston, South Carolina that had the most beautiful old-world, Tuscan, castle-like courtyard with climbing vines and crumbling stonework. I never forgot how beautiful it was, so I drew a lot of inspiration from that venue. I had also stumbled upon a photo online of a French castle-turned wedding venue and I absolutely loved the way they added all this new beauty (flowers, tables, chairs, lighting) into a space that looked like it was around from the beginning of time. With those two spaces in mind, I knew I had to find somewhat of a castle. Of course, French castles don’t exist in Ohio, so I searched high and low by googling “Castle Wedding Venues in the US, Midwest, Ohio, etc.”. We looked into the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, which is stunning and definitely provided inspiration, but it didn’t really feel like home. Being from Michigan, I decided to search for castles in Michigan and Castle Farms popped up. I looked at photos, watched videos, studied the map of Charlevoix, and texted Rainer freaking out saying I found our venue. We viewed only one venue in our wedding planning journey, Castle Farms, and set our date the same day. We fell in love with the privacy and beauty of the Knight’s Castle and Courtyard, and I was so happy to have a venue in my home state. It sort of felt like a full circle kind of thing.
Rainer and I aren’t the traditional “white wedding” type of people. We’re drawn to darker, cozy tones. I was browsing bridesmaid dress ideas and stumbled upon the “English Rose” color by Jenny Yoo and absolutely loved it. I thought the darker rusty red color would look beautiful with the aesthetic of the castle and it did not disappoint. I didn’t necessarily want to follow a color theme within the wedding décor and bridesmaid dresses, so instead the rusty red color was simply pulled into the napkin color and hinted in the florals. With the bones of Castle Farms being very worn and rustic, I wanted to balance it out with a lot of modern touches while having a classy feel that we would love for years to come. I avoided rustic décor and instead went for iron, glass, and gold. A lot of clean lines and simple designs. I chose black linens to keep the dark and moody feel and added pops of gold with the Chiavari chairs, chargers, table numbers, and flatware. The florals were really the element that I wanted to steal the spotlight when you walked into the room. I wanted the flowers to pop against the dark tones of the room and I almost wanted it to feel like everything had simply grown there. We were incredibly lucky to work with the owner of Bloom Floral design. I gave her my ideas, showed her an inspiration board, and she did the rest. The ceremony arch, chandelier, and head table backdrop are just a few of my favorite floral displays.
See Also
For more moody castle wedding inspiration, head to Northern Italy with us next and soak up the warm terra cotta hues in this South Tyrol wedding!
Wedding Vendors:
Photography: Eastlyn & Joshua
Video: Water & Whimsy
Venue: Castle Farms
Hair: Caidy Marie
Make-up: Toria
Floral: Bloom Floral Design
DJ: DJ Casey Rusch
Dress: Martina Liana via Whites Bridal Boutique
Decor design/rentals: 307 Rentals
Catering: Grey Gables
Wedding painter: Trisha Strickland
Photo booth: Motion Photo Booth
Cake: Simple Sweet by Jessica
Stationary designer (invites, signs, menu): On Paper Ohio
Groom suit: Tommy Hilfiger
Bride’s shoes: Forever Soles
Bridesmaid dresses: Jenny Yoo Designer via Gilded Social
Rings: The Diamond Cellar
Getting ready location: Mushroom Houses
