Castle Green Weddings are unique and recognisable. When you look at the photos you can tell right away where it was done. There is no such a place like that. In this article I’ll share my experience and tips on how to have the best wedding at this venue.
If you’re looking for the perfect place to celebrate a wedding in Southern California, you should pay attention to Castle Green’s incredible beauty. Once visited here, you will love with all your soul its architecture, style and green territory.
Table of Contents
Introduction.
Castle Green is not just an event venue. It is a National Historic Landmark of Pasadena Architecture. After all, it was built in 1898 and for its century-old existence became a legendary place.
The current Castle Green building was the second building in the prominent Hotel Green complex. It was at one time a favorite holiday destination for rich and famous people. It was erected a year later than the hotel building. Thanks to this, a majestic bridge appeared in the architectural ensemble, which became the highlight of this place. Bridge connects individual buildings into a single complex. Castle Green combines several architectural styles. It is a mixture of Moorish, Spanish and Victorian elements. Here you will see many arches, balconies, domes and verandas. The combination of refractory materials such as brick, concrete and red roof tiles helped the building perfectly maintain its appearance.
The territory of the complex is quite spacious and green. With a small pond and water lilies.
The interior amazes with its beauty, atmosphere and small detail. Interior equipped with antique furniture and fittings, windows are framed with red velvet, which emphasizes the Moorish spirit. Vintage stairs with wrought iron handrails deserve special attention. In a word, the place is very atmospheric.
It is worth noting that Castle Green is common movie location.
How to get there
Castle Green is located in Pasadena, California, 19 km from Los Angeles. The complex is located next to Central Park at the intersection of Reymond and Green Street. It is very easy to get here by any means of transport.
Parking for Castle Green Weddings
I recommend using the following services. For parking your guests cars, there are two indoor car grounds next to Castle Green:
School House Parking Structure
33 E Green St, Pasadena, CA 91105
Del Mar Station Parking
230 S. Raymond Ave, Pasadena, CA 91105
The first 90 minutes of parking is provided for free, and then you will need to pay no more than $6 per car.
Getting ready
Castle Green’s interior is so rich in detail and décor that the place is just a photographer’s paradise. For the getting ready shots of the bride and groom suitable spacious turkish room and grand salon (sunroom). These halls are filled with exclusive antique furniture, mirrors, beautiful curtains. There is plenty of space for the photos of wedding dress, shoes and accessories. And your wedding rings are sure to find their photo zone on antique tables and dressers.
There is enough room for bridesmaids to participate in the morning getting ready shots.
I want to note another space in the complex, which is ideal for getting ready photos. This is a small cozy room on the ground floor near the large pavilion (ballroom). This is a bright room with a large mirror in the floor.
Location for the first look
This is the most touching moment when a groom sees his bride for the first time in a gorgeous wedding dress with sparkling eyes and a charming smile. Such moments must necessarily be captured in the photo. The most popular location for shooting the first look is a large lobby. It is one of the halls in Castle Green. Its feature is a wide swivel staircase. In addition, suspended massive chandeliers, and a large black grand piano is a great addition and attribute for the photo. Often, a charming bride goes down the stairs, where an equally handsome groom awaits her.
Another location is a light-filled corridor on the legendary bridge.
Locations for photoshoots
What impresses me as a photographer with Castle green is the many different locations for photography:
- This is a beautiful green landscape on the territory of the complex; majestic magnolias;
- Central entrance to Castle Green. These are massive carved doors made from natural solid mahogany. Perfect as a background for single photos of a bride or groom.
- Entering the Castle Green complex, you find yourself in the lobby – a large and spacious room. Here it is great to shoot both group shots and photos of the bride and groom. A big black piano – a highlight of the interior will fit perfectly as an attribute for shooting. A well-lit staircase will also serve as a location for photos of both the couple and all guests.
- Photo on the roof of the castle. Brides love this location very much, the photos here are incredibly romantic. Here you will see a round altar with a red roof and many columns. On clear sunny days, the rooftop offers incredible views of Pasadena. But this area is most beautiful at sunset, when warm red sun rays flood the entire space.
- The next location is a green patio that turns into a long terrace. And here, too, along the entire length of the veranda, there are wide columns;
- The staircase is a favorite spot for photographs. The geometry of the stairs allow you to be very creative in a very limited space. You can do all kinds of angles here: from below, top view, between the handrails.
- Moorish (Turkish) hall – a room in the Moorish style, with antique furniture and fittings; everything is gorgeous in this room: expensive heavy curtains, volumetric mirrors, unique lamps and many other things that will perfectly highlight your love story. By the way, I like this room for group shots of the wedding party.
Family photos
For family photos you will need a lot of space and, preferably, that this place should be in the shade. Fortunately, the Castle Green complex has a lovely green area with tall and split trees. Huge tree trunks serve as a kind of background. And lush crowns create a wonderful scattered light. This allows you to line up relatives in the best possible angle and capture a striking event. You can also take group photos in the lobby. The footage looks great when a couple in love descends the stairs to the guests gathered below.
The ceremony
The Castle Green weddings ceremony takes place in the courtyard of the complex. There are several options for arranging seats and wedding arch.
In the first and most popular case, the background is the bridge. At its base, an arch is installed and the ceremony takes place against the bridge. It is very beautiful and, in that case, you will not need to use additional decor at all.
In the second case, the bridge remains on the left side of the guests, and the ceremonial arch is set against the background of magnolias and other greenery. Both options are good, but I personally prefer the first one because the beauty of bridge architecture needs to be used as efficiently as possible.
If we talk about capacity, the courtyard accommodates up to 200 seats, and the main hall allows you to accommodate up to 300 people.
A special atmosphere and tenderness is added by a cute pond with blooming lilies.
Reception
The evening takes place in the main hall – the Ballroom. It is a spacious, bright room with high ceilings. Another highlight of this hall are 9 large panoramic windows. Thanks to them, the hall looks very elegant. Also there are columns that zoning the room on the dining area and a place for dancing. This is very convenient, because the more space, the freer both the newlyweds and the guests themselves feel. Calmly you can accommodate up to two hundred people. You can easily accommodate up to two hundred people. With a buffet version of the event, even more – up to 300 guests!
In addition to amazing hanging chandeliers, the ceiling is decorated with an airy white veil that creates a delicate, festive atmosphere.
The option of holding a reception in the courtyard of the complex is also available. In this case, 300 seats are available at the tables. Ceremonyplaced just on the green lawn and everything is taking place in the open air!
Venue has the ability to organize a separate bar with the installation of a wedding cake and a candy bar. For this, a green patio is provided – a playground on the street, or a room on the ground floor called the Sun Room.
In the evening, the beauty of the complex is emphasized by the numerous lights and illumination of the bridge. Everything looks fabulously beautiful.
Final thoughts
Castle Green weddings are simply unforgettable. Amazing architecture, many outdoor locations, several rooms, antique furniture and a beautiful green landscape. This venue is suitable for small intimate weddings as well as for large 250+ guests weddings. It’s definitely worth checking out.
VENDOR CREDITSCEREMONY & RECEPTION Castle Green
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERSergey Green
WEDDING PLANNERRock N’ Events
RECEPTION CATERINGLittle Lily’s Kitchen
VIDEOGRAPHYAlumiq
LIGHTING DESIGNSnapstation Events
FLORISTRust & Flourish
HAIR AND MAKEUPGrace Lin
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