Alcohol is probably at the center of most peoples first question, right? Well, the answer is “yes and no.” Simply put, there is NOT going to be an open bar. But that doesn’t mean we’re leaving everyone hanging. What the castle offers is cases of beers/ciders that can be bought for the reception so our guests can enjoy them at no cost. Our plan is to get a couple of cases of beer and a couple of cases of cider so people have options. These options should be displayed on a board in the pub so you know what to order. If you want something besides these free options or if we run out, you’ll just have to order off the pub menu and pay for your drink. The good news is that you won’t need cash; any drinks ordered can just be charged to your room and payed for upon checkout. So if you want the specialty “butterbeer” the castle offers, you will have to get that yourself.

Actually, almost ALL meals will be provided for the whole weekend. You will get dinner Friday (pizza) and Saturday (buffet style). You will get breakfast Saturday and Sunday, just make sure you sign up for a breakfast shift in the lobby the night before. The only meal you’ll really have to provide for yourself is lunch on Saturday. There are some recommended options outside the castle, but the castle does have the pub with some great food options for lunch. Natalie highly recommends the tomato-basil soup. Oh, and did we mention that you get FREE fountain drinks all weekend? Because that’s one of Dylan’s favorite things about this venue.

Some pretty fun ones. Our favorite: the scavenger hunts. You can find them in the lobby and there are 4 of them. They take you around the castle grounds chasing clues and trying to figure out the answers. When you’re done, you take them to the lobby and tell the castle staff, who will quiz you on the right answers. If you pass, you can get your hands on some pretty cool stickers. Warning: they get pretty tough. Besides those, the castle provides tons of board games that you can take back to your room or play in the pub. And next to the pub you’ll find a library of DVDs (yes, DVDs, not blu-rays, it is a castle folks, they might be a little old fashioned) that you can take back to your room and watch. Just remember to turn in any board games or DVDs to the lobby before you leave. We’re also having a bonfire Friday night where we’re making s’mores. This isn’t a required event, except for the wedding party. We have a little something planned for them there.

Not sure if anyone was asking this, but we thought it was worth mentioning. Cell service is not great around the castle. Natalie and I had different levels of success, so it probably depends on the provider, but it’s worth noting that you may not have great service. Also, Wi-Fi is really only available inside the castle itself. You won’t be able to reach it on the grounds. So, for example, if you need to pull up something on Google Maps because you want to go out for lunch, you’ll want to head inside the castle to do that before you head out.