However, when we spoke with our officiant on the phone, we tasked her with finding a spot for us after she understood what we wanted. She came through with flying colors. She found a beautiful, private home with a stone circle in the back yard. It is in a small town next to Asheville called Leicester. And lucky for us, the owners rent out the space for daytime events. The pictures we saw on the web were gorgeous!
The stone circle
I would even be ok getting married in the mist.
The deer are definitely welcome to attend the ceremony.
So, after seeing these lovely pictures on the internet, I knew I wanted to see it in person. I got in touch with the owner, and she agreed I could come that weekend (the weekend before Thanksgiving). Awesome, an impromptu weekend in Asheville! I was excited, and Cliff was happy about it too.
Money is obviously a factor right now since we need to save some to finance this wedding. I had to find a hotel where we could stay for not too much money. After perusing Trip Advisor for a while, I saw that the Red Roof Inn West got some great reviews. And it wasn't that expensive (around $50/night). So, I made a reservation for 2 nights at the Red Roof Inn.
After securing Jade's sisterly help in watching our animals, we left after work on Friday afternoon for our 2-day mini-vacation. There was a lot to do. We wanted to see the place, speak with the tattoo artist and possibly meet with our officiant. Plus, there was lots of delicious beer and food to be had. So much to do, so little time.
We arrived in Asheville late Friday night. We went out for a late night snack and drink, then hit the bed. By the way, the Red Roof Inn West was awesome! The rooms were very clean and comfortable. I believe they have recently gone through a renovation or room update. At any rate, for the price, we could not have been more pleased.
Saturday was a gorgeous day. I couldn't have picked a better day to go see the location. There was an event later in the afternoon, but the owner, Theresa, agreed to meet us at 11 a.m. to show us the property. As if the Red Roof Inn West wasn't already on my "must revisit" list, we realized that it was one stoplight up from the main highway we had to travel to go to the house. After a scenic journey (which took us down a road called "Gilbert St."; gotta be a sign, right?), we got to the house. The website didn't really show any pictures of the house, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The outside is beautiful.
I'm loving the stone facade.
We met Theresa, and she is such a lovely, warm, welcoming woman. She listened to us gush on and on about what we wanted, and her love of rocks made me feel that we are indeed meant to be married there. After a quick tour of the house, we eagerly went outside to the stone circle to get a feel for the space. We took some pictures and made a few plans of how the ceremony will go.
The flat stone is the middle of the circle.
We did a couple shots by the stone so we could plan our photos.
We liked this rock because of the mountains in the background. Now, how can we get rid of the house behind Cliff's head?
All we needed was a different angle.
So, after seeing the ground and making our plans, we knew we wanted to have our wedding at Brittany's Mountain Retreat. The nice thing is that we'll have access to the house as well as the grounds. That was something I worried about with Chimney Rock. On the off chance that inclement weather happens, I don't want to be getting married in the rain. So, our plan B should something be off on April 9 is to get married in the living room of the house in front of the stone fireplace.
I love the cozy feel of the inside as well.
So, our impromptu trip to Asheville was a success. We found the location, and we got to speak with the tattoo artist about our joint tattoo idea. The only downside was that we didn't get to meet our officiant, Michelle. But hopefully there will be another opportunity in the future (at least before we get married).
Cheers from Asheville!
No comments:
Post a Comment