It was a beautiful setting and in addition to our work, we wanted to show our readers particularily those that may be interested in a Castle Wedding what a beautiful wedding venue this would be! We have developed a list of pro's and con's of which you can imagine, the con list was very short.
The impression the hotel gave as we drove up the mountain was in a word - dramatic. I will not soon forget the towering castle walls as we drove up the lane. The castle itself looked larger than the mountains that stood behind it! What a first impression. There were a few limousines in the valet parking as we pulled up and the valet's tended to us immediately, despite the busy hustle around us.
We noted the beautiful buildings surrounding the castle and a sweet little courtyard facing the castle. No shortage of outdoor wedding shots here!
Inside, the impression was just as great...warm chandelier lighting in the lobby, grand staircases, marble and warm woods, beautiful furniture and antique artwork on the walls. We were greeted by a very friendly woman in customer service who gave us a gorgeous room on the top tower on the 9th floor. What an incredible view from every window!
We started out by just walking around, taking in all that was around us and realized the impossibility of this. This hotel was so huge, it even offered a bowling alley in addition to the 15 restaurants and shopping on the floor level!
Our photo shoot was so successful, and to note, it is very difficult to take a poor shot in this place night or day. We were surrounded by so much beauty, (this same thought occurs for our weddings) making it easy to capture such a gorgeous setting.
One room in particular that we enjoyed shooting in was Mount Stephens Hall. Numerous weddings are held here and we found that it had a "King Arthur" feel to it - perhaps because of the thrones, fireplaces and armour standing at attention! We loved the light in this room - the east facing wall had stained glass windows overlooking the courtyard and mountains. We found it a very unique and beautiful room and we knew our bridal couples would absolutely love it!
Our work was done, but we decided to stay and enjoy it just a little longer. We went to the spa, did a little shopping, ate incredibly well in a few of the restaurants, got to know the working staff just a little with the result was the same everywhere we went - everything was beyond what we expected.
Here is our list of Pro's and Con's:
Pro's:
We truly appreciated the effort that was put into the little things, like the Fairmont robe and the couture toiletries which are a standard in every room.
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! There is no such thing as a 'bad shot' here.
The food was so divine, I just can't express this enough. It was very tough on the waistline, I must say!
There is so much to do here. Your guests will never be bored - lounges, a bowling alley, spa, 15 restaurants, shopping and Banff itself is a 3 minute drive, 10 minute walk.
Customer service will not let you down - ever!
Con's:
Anything worth something, costs something and this holds true here. If you want that Castle Wedding, you will have it, but at a very large price. To give you an idea, we attended a buffet meal at one of the more casual restaurants and it was $80 per person, not including drinks.
We were pleased with the results of our work here, moreso with the impression this place left with us. We look forward to returning for our summer weddings! Visit our website and we will see you next week!
