Castle Wedding in North Carolina

This castle wedding was absolutely GORGEOUS!!! The entire day was so intentional, so colorful, and so perfect. It all turned out absolutely gorgeous!!!

Riley and Ed’s love story started off as just knowing of each other in mention by mutual friends which eventually led to flirty staring contests across the room at parties. Finally they were both at the same party for New Years Eve, where they shared their first kiss. After the New Year, Riley went to college and they lost touch. A while later, Riley and Ed were both at a mutual friend’s wedding and reconnected that night. As Riley said, “It was an immediate flame”. Shortly after the wedding, they went on their first official date – which lasted the entire day between drinking coffee, eating sushi, seeing a movie, and going on a walk together. The rest is history – with the couple bonding over nature, dogs (Riley even said, “My dog fell in love with Ed almost immediately”) horror movies, board games, and fantasy/sci-fi.

Let’s talk about the Graylyn Estate. This stunning venue – a literal castle!! – was absolutely stunning!!! Every turn had my jaw on the floor: the brick castle, a gorgeous staircase, beautiful gardens with a koi pond, a cozy upscale dining area, and an indoor pool used as a dance floor. There’s so much space to get ready, to have an outdoor ceremony, and to have an indoor/outdoor reception. Talk about the DREAM castle wedding!!

Ed got ready in the lower level where he got hang out with his wedding party and get ready in with a bar to hang out at, a game room (with a pool table, Pac Man, a poker table, and more), and a TV room to watch any sports games! Riley got ready on the main level in a big room to get ready in with a gorgeous view of a courtyard that’s blocked off from guests seeing her while getting ready.

The ceremony was so intentional and so beautiful during this castle wedding! They ceremony was held outdoors in the shade with water and lemonade cups for guests to have as they were walking in. They had a close friend officiate the wedding, who was able to make some inside jokes and share some personal stories about Riley and Ed’s love story. Riley and Ed couldn’t take their eyes off each other during the ceremony, and told such sweet vows to one another.

Their wedding party – 11 people – was such a fun group!! Riley had 5 people in her wedding party while Ed had 5 people plus the officiant. Red, who was Riley’s Best Person, was so attentive in making sure her dress was perfect during the ceremony and during photos. Both Red and Matthew (Ed’s Best Man) gave such amazing speeches during the reception by really highlighting how meaningful their friendship’s were. It was so special to witness it all!! I also loved how the entire wedding party wore black; it was so classy looking and looked really cool against the brick castle!!

The evening started with a cocktail hour in the garden by the koi pond by the castle. Drinks and appetizers were served while the guests were able to talk and hang out. While this was going on, I took Riley and Ed’s couple portraits during this time, while also prioritizing getting them back to cocktail hour to spend some quality time with their guests before the dinner started! The couple portraits also allowed them to spend some solo time with just the two of them for a hot sec and celebrate having just become a married couple.

The reception officially started with Riley and Ed’s first dance, which was so emotional for both of them. Afterwards, Riley had a father/daughter dance, Ed had a mother/son dance, and Riley did a mother/daughter dance. Alllll these parent dances were so emotional and so special to witness the parent/kid love. The guests had their flashlight on on their phones to add to the mood too, which was really fun!

The rest of the reception was SO FUN! I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people on the dance floor – all thanks to the amazing DJ!! XPress DJ did such a great job interacting with the guests – they played a shoe game, had guests do a scavenger hunt, led a giant group photo, and just played really hype songs for everyone to dance to.

Some things I never wanna forget from their day:

• The literal castle wedding Riley and Ed had
• The wedding party in all black. I lovedddd how classy it looked!!
• The simple and pretty bouquet!!!
• Riley having both a father/daughter dance and a mother/daughter dance :’)
• Having a dessert table instead of a cake
• Riley and Ed both tearing up while their Best Man and Best Person gave speeches
• How interactive @xpressdjs were with everyone – playing games, getting a group photo, etc.
• Their friend officiating and making a bunch of inside jokes
• Riley and Ed’s first dance with the most dreamy lighting + how emotional they were during it 🥲
• How crowded and how fun the dance floor was all night !!
• The emotional first dances with each other and with their parents

Overall it was the most beautiful day celebrating this couple at the prettiest location!!! So lucky to have gotten to work with Riley and Ed who were so laidback and so fun to celebrate!

WEDDING VENDORS

Venue: Graylyn Estate | @graylynestate
Photographer: Emily Morgan Photos, LLC | @emilymorganphotos_ (me!)
DJ: XPress DJs | @djdrewofficial / @xpressdjs
Florist: The Skinny Vase | @theskinnyvase
Videographer: Films by Felix | @films.by.felix

Wedding Photographer

Are you interested in me photographing your wedding?

Well hey there – if you didn’t know me already, I’m Emily! I’m a California and Destination wedding and elopement photographer based in Southern California. I spend a lot of time photographing adventure elopements of rad couples around the world. I love all things elopements, being out on the water, outdoor adventure, and am truly so grateful that I get to call this my job!!! 

If you’re looking for a photographer for your wedding who will:

• Photograph your beautiful wedding ceremony and activities through storytelling photos that you can look back on for the rest of your life
• Help you come up with your dream wedding day and itinerary
• Help you find activities in the area to make your wedding intentional, unique, and memorable

…then I’m your person!!!

Visit my website to learn more about me, get to know my approach to photography, and then reach out to me if you think we are a good fit. I cannot wait to hear from you and photograph your dream wedding!!