Rye, Westchester

Weddings at Whitby Castle

Whitby Castle stands in Rye, in Westchester, above Milton Harbor, and its lawn gives a ceremony a backdrop of stone towers. We have planned a wedding here designed in deep blue and white, from a bouquet of blue roses to the linen on every table, with the ceremony on the lawn in the late sun and the castle lit in blue after dark.

Guests stand and applaud as the couple walk back up the aisle on the lawn at Whitby Castle, the stone castle behind them. Black and white. — Whitby Castle. Married, and walking back up the aisle.

A castle close to the city is rare, and the lawn below its towers is a ceremony setting that needs very little added. The stone does the work, so the design can hold back outside and say more indoors, where the evening needs warmth and color.

The lawnCeremony: Guests seated on the lawn in the late sun, musicians playing, and the couple married beneath a round arch of blue and white flowers before the castle doors. A lawn ceremony needs a weather plan designed as carefully as the first, and a decision time agreed with the venue.
The terraceCocktails: Cocktails followed on the terrace, which keeps guests close to the lawn and the views while the room for dinner is prepared.
The reception roomDinner and dancing: For our wedding, round tables dressed in deep blue linen with tall white arrangements beneath hanging paper lanterns. At the end of the night, guests lined the castle doors with sparklers for the couple’s exit.

Designing for stone

Grey stone takes color well at night and swallows it by day. We chose a palette of deep blue and white that held against the castle in the afternoon, and lit the walls in blue after dark so the design carried outside.

Weather on the lawn

The ceremony on the lawn is the reason many couples choose Whitby, so the rain plan has to be a real second design indoors, not a compromise. We set the decision time days ahead and plan both versions in full.

Getting to Rye

Rye is in southern Westchester, on the Long Island Sound. Most guests come from Manhattan or stay nearby, so we plan coaches or cars for the hour of the day, and transport home at the end of the night.

The house’s own team

Whitby Castle is run with its own hospitality team and catering. We plan the menu, the service and the timing with them, and bring in the design, the music and everything else around it.

Our wedding at Whitby Castle

Anna & Dan’s Whitby Castle wedding

Whitby Castle, Rye, New York · Photography by ArtVesta Studio

Read the story: Anna & Dan's Whitby Castle wedding

The bride and groom kiss in the aisle as guests cheer, the castle behind. Black and white.

The bride walks across the lawn with a bouquet of blue roses, the stone castle behind her. — On the lawn, before the ceremony.

The groom, in a blue suit, beams as he sees the bride for the first time, her bridesmaids in gold and blush beside them. — The first look.

A circular arch of blue and white flowers on a white platform on the lawn, the castle behind under a clear blue sky. — The arch, before the guests arrive.

The couple hold hands beneath the arch of blue and white flowers before the castle's stone doorway. — The vows.

Married, the couple walk back up the aisle between cheering guests, the castle behind them. Black and white. — Married, and walking back up the aisle.

The reception room, round tables in deep blue linen with tall white arrangements beneath hanging paper lanterns. — The room, in blue and white.

Guests hold sparklers in two lines outside the castle doors, lit in blue, as the couple walk out between them. — The send-off, in sparklers.

The couple kiss in the dark beneath the castle tower, its walls lit in blue. — The castle, at night.

The engagement ring and wedding bands in pink and violet light. — The rings.

The bride stands at a tall window in her veil, one hand on the frame. Black and white. — At the window.

A round bouquet of deep blue roses beside a bouquet of white flowers. — The blue roses.

Do you plan weddings at Whitby Castle?

Yes. We have planned a wedding at Whitby Castle, told on our Whitby Castle wedding page.

Where is Whitby Castle?

In Rye, Westchester County, New York, on the Long Island Sound. It is usually about an hour’s drive from Midtown, depending on traffic.

Can the ceremony be held on the lawn?

Yes. Our couple married on the lawn beneath an arch of flowers before the castle doors, with the guests seated facing the towers.

What happens if it rains on the lawn?

We design an indoor version of the ceremony as carefully as the first, and agree the time to decide with the venue, so the choice is made calmly days before rather than on the morning.

Planning a wedding at Whitby Castle? Tell us about it.

Tell us about your wedding, and we will take it from there.