New York: Winter Wedding at Whitby Castle

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An enchanting winter wedding at Whitby Castle in New York

The Whitby Castle in Rye, NY is still one of the top enchanting wedding venues I get to photograph. It’s a wonderful place even to have a winter wedding, as they can handle an indoor wedding ceremony and flip the room into a wedding reception in less than an hour (during cocktail hour). I love photographing at Whitby Castle for many reasons, such as:

Iconic castle architecture inspired by the Whitby in Europe
Wonderful attentive, and kind staff working at the Whitby Castle, NY
Beautiful well, lit bridal suite
A space for the groomsmen/groom to prep downstairs
Multiple levels provide privacy for the bride/groom and the guests when needed.
Many bathrooms, including ADA, approved
Elevator between the main level and the bridal suite level
Very organized
They have a team to help decorate the ceremony/reception space that follows the couple’s requests
DELICIOUS food comes hot every time and is tasty. (I love their fish option)

The OKCupid Love Story

“We met online via OkCupid but then met in person at a bar in Bridgeport, CT, for the first time. Members, like Gabrielle Lakshmi, of the same band that performed the night we met, will also perform at our wedding. While there, we realized that we went to college together for three years and knew the same friends and professors. A pretty cool revelation, considering the size of our school (NYU). We both worked in the same building but on different floors, and my fiance/husband may have recorded my (the bride’s) undergraduate recital. We still need to determine if that happened… We decided that we weren’t ready to meet back in college, but a few years later, in 2018, it was a perfect time.”

Design: Winter Wedding at Whitby Castle

The holiday decorations are complimentary and part of the Whitby Castle aesthetic/design in December. I am sure if you requested not to have the Christmas trees and wreaths and twinkle/fairy light accents throughout, they can accommodate. For this reason, the couple planning this winter wedding decided on limited decorations since they liked the Christmas tree, candles, and fairy lights throughout.

Whitby Castle and where is it located:

330 Boston Post Rd Rye NY

Untraditional and Unique Wedding Ideas

This winter wedding at Whitby Castle had some unique and untraditional things planned. I love when my couples do untraditional things to make it their own kind of unique special day. It is BORING to me when a wedding is traditional and nothing unique to the couple. So here is some ideas that may inspire you when planning your wedding:

They hired a dog sitter to help dress, feed, and watch their dog on their wedding day. Check out the vendor: Pawfect for You
The bride had two males in her bridal party, and the groom picked a female to be included in his groom squad
The bride added a detachable train to her wedding dress for photos and the ceremony and then took it off for the reception.
The bride elected two maids of honor.
The bride wanted to have private moments with her stepdad and mother-in-law.
The first dance was between the bride and her mother, then her stepdad. The groom stepped in to dance with his mother in law too
Instead of an audience display and disrupting the dance party, the couple opted for a photographed mock cake cut during the tail end of cocktail hour.
Did you notice the cake with their dog eating it and their two cats sitting on it?
Their ceremony was a handfasting – each member of the wedding party came up to wrap their hand with a different color ribbon and then sat down in one of the first two VIP rows, this way, they can relax and watch the ceremony instead of standing up there and get uncomfortable.
Each member of the bridal party wore a different style and color dress. I AM A HUGE FAN OF THIS.