“Displaced” sometimes translates to a fairytale ending!
Weddings are the stuff of which dreams are made for every grown up little girl. Ideally, the venue is chosen a year in advance and the bride and her family spend that year setting all the fun, entertaining, touching, thoughtful and beautiful details into place. Sometimes, however, things go unexpectedly awry and the bride becomes what is known in the wedding industry as ‘displaced’.
Rachel Bethmann is such a bride, having planned for her dream wedding to be held in Florida on the beaches of Pensacola. We all know what is happening in the Gulf of Mexico with the BP Oil Spill catastrophe, and how it is affecting once pristine beaches. Up until approximately six weeks prior to their wedding date of August 8th, 2010, Rachel and her fiance’ Aaron Clark (both University of Tennessee graduates) were hopeful that their particular location would escape the oil spill fallout. Unfortunately, as the spill went on longer and longer, the couple had to face the harsh fact that their dream beach wedding venue was going to have change to another location.
Fortunately, Rachel and her mother, Ginger Bethmann had made the rounds in 2009 of several bridal shows and stopped at the Castleton Farms booth to meet and chat with the various Preferred Vendors and Darla Walker, Castleton’s Executive Director. Hoping against hope that their wedding date might be available, Rachel and her mom contacted Darla and the unbelievable happened. Darla and Castleton Farms extended an unheard of kindness by offering the venue free of charge. Several of the Castleton Preferred Vendors followed suit and offered free services, while others offered services at steeply discounted prices.
Rachel and Aaron’s wedding will be set in the fairytale setting of the gracious grounds of Castleton Farms (photo gallery) the weekend of August 8th, 2010 and the theme is a vineyard summer holiday type of feel, to take advantage of some of the beachy theme of Rachel’s original plans. Perhaps one of the most touching vendor offers is that of fireworks being produced by co-owners Steve Gamble and Dana Coleman of Pyro Visions (aka Pyro Creations), free of charge. Rachel always dreamed of fireworks at her night time reception and Steve and Dave have created a spectacular display for the evening of fireworks and sky lanterns to put the perfect finishing touch on the festivities.
This is only the beginning of many special details that Darla Walker and Castleton Farms have gone beyond that proverbial extra mile to provide Rachel and Aaron with a wedding ceremony and reception to match the most wonderful daydreams of any feminine heart. Stay tuned for more details of this lovely ceremony in future blogs!
