The last phase of our Epic Swedish adventure is the most interesting one of all. Our amazing experience of a White Tie Wedding in a 500 year old Swedish Castle! But first, we needed to get to the castle and get everything ready for the wedding!
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| Trollenäs Slott |
My friends spared no expense when it came to their wedding plans! The bride to be had a decadent gown from Pronovias, with a 4 foot train, intricate veil, Swarovski jewels and so much more - so of course it couldn't just be any regular wedding in a church!
We embarked on our trip to the
Trollenäs Slott Castle which was a couple hours drive away. We ram-packed 3 cars full of people and wedding stuff, and myself and 2 other bridesmaids were buried under the wedding dress in the back seat of one car. So over mounds of fluffy cloth I caught a glimpse of some cool landmarks on the way...like this gigantic CHAIR in the middle of nowhere!
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| Giant Chair |
You'll also see an old windmill, as well as amazing Renewable Energy projects that they embarked on with new, sleek, huge windmills lined up along the countryside. This provides countless power for a multitude of people in the country. Again, go Sweden!
We finally arrived at the castle at night, and we didn't get to see the full grandeur of it because it was SO dark outside...we were literally in the middle of nowhere! Some of us were left behind as they needed to make a second trip for more stuff. We didn't even realise what that meant until 4 of us - 3 women and one man - were alone in this eerily quiet, antique, ornate and slightly disturbing space. Our fears started playing tricks on us and I for one was not ok with the numerous oil paintings of strangers that lined the walls, with black eyes looking right. at. you.
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| Ornate everywhere! |
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| The sitting room in the Castle |
We had a lot of preparations to see about before we went to bed, so we stayed up late folding napkins, setting tables and doing a numerous list of things in preparation for the big day. We had the most disturbing yet hilarious night that night, because the silly fears we had became contagious and the more we joked about ghosts and mysteries in the ancient building, the more nervous we got. By the time we were getting ready to go to bed we were having a little meeting on the landing of our floor to discuss where our muster point would be if anything weird happened to any one of us! I foolishly went downstairs to another girl's room to give her something she forgot upstairs and when I found myself alone on the ground floor with everyone else in another part of the castle, I freaked out and sprinted upstairs like the Devil himself was behind me. When I burst into the door that led to the landing where everyone else was, I freaked everyone else out and even made a big Greek man jump like a puppet on strings when he saw me. Unforgettable.
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| The fruits of our labour |
For the most part we slept ok and woke up early the next day to prepare for the wedding! We awoke to a beautiful breakfast in a cottage on the grounds of the castle, with meats and cheeses etc. Then we needed to get cracking with everything we still had to get done! We still had to prepare some parts of the decorating for the wedding, and as the MOH and lead designer for most of the printed wedding items, I was super busy. Then after the hard labour prep was done, the girls had to go get themselves spruced up and the men were sent to the kitchens of all places to help with the prep going on there before they got into their suits.
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| Wedding Day Breakfast |
Time flew by while we got ready, and it was a mad rush for us to get ourselves prettied up and help the bride into her gown!
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| We did each other's nails as we took turns getting ready |
Eventually we succeeded and before we knew it guests were arriving and it was time to walk with our beloved friend down the aisle!
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| The romantic weddng aisle |
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| It literally took all of our hands to get her ready |
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| The guys looking too dapper and too relaxed |
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| Guests arriving |
The wedding was in a word, magical. We lined up alongside the chapel of the Castle, and then we slowly made our way to the entrance. The wind was blowing crisp and strong, and I felt like I was going to be swept away in the moment emotionally and literally! The bride looked ravishing nonetheless, and we went through the unique ceremony without a hitch. The bride and groom truly looked like royalty! The next phase was the fun part...food, drinks, magic and dancing (see next post).
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| Bride to Be and Father |
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| Walking up the aisle |
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| Royal Bride and Groom |
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| Happy Bride and Groom! |
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| Another bride and groom to be |
