In early November, we spent a weekend at the Biltmore. At the time, I thought we were just going there to tour the house and the grounds while all of the Christmas decor was up, but Andrew had other plans in mind. Andrew actually proposed that weekend at the Biltmore!
The whole weekend was magical and I wanted to share some photos of the Biltmore at Christmas time that we took before & after becoming fiancés 😊 and share some of our favorite Asheville spots!
We drove in after work Friday night. Once we were checked into our hotel we headed out for dinner. One of our favorite spots in Asheville is White Labs Kitchen & Tap. Among their wide selection of brews, they have delicious wood-fire pizza. Since we already had reservations for Saturday night elsewhere, I knew I wanted to grab dinner at White Labs on Friday. We were starrrvvvinngg so I didn’t snag a picture of the pizza before demolishing it, but here is a photo of me being weird.
The next morning we were up and out early to grab a quick breakfast and then headed to the Biltmore. Parking can be a tad confusing at first, but I definitely recommend parking in a lot that has a shuttle to bring you to the house. They drop off and pick up right in front of the house and then the only trekking you have to do is the exciting kind while taking in the scenery or decor of the house.
We walked through the rose garden, the greenhouse, and then made our way down a few trails that circled around a pond. The time of year that you are there will obviously dictate what’s in bloom, but for Christmas, they fill the greenhouse with poinsettias that are absolutely breathtaking.
After the garden tour, we moseyed through the shops & grabbed some cookies to snack on. We bought some bottle of the Biltmore’s Christmas wine to take home. Its a red blend that we thought you could only buy at the Biltmore, turns out it was in our local grocery store all of November & December lol.
At this point, I thought it was time to head back to the hotel to change for dinner, but this is when Andrew proposed and had a photoshoot scheduled.
The photoshoot lasted an hour and a half and then we went back to the hotel to change. We had reservations for dinner at the Grove Park Inn at Vue 1913. Vue 1913 describes itself as a Brasserie-inspired hotel kitchen. I’ve never sat at a brassiere in France, although one day I hope I do, but this upscale and elegant restaurant was a little more dressy than what I imagine a brassiere in France would be.
Upscale or casual, the service was outstanding and the food was beyond words amazing. We sipped on red wine and giggled over the day. I had a perfectly medium-rare filet mignon and Andrew had the elk tenderloin. Please don’t judge my food photography off of this photo, it was dark in there, I had had a few glasses of wine at this point, & I was love-drunk on the day 🤪
After dinner, we rushed back to the hotel to change into comfy clothes and then hurried back to Biltmore for our candlelit tour of the house. I don’t know if it was the wine or just the effects of the day, but we flew through this tour. We felt like kids skipping around from room to room. The Biltmore is beautifully decorated and ornate all of the time, but adding Christmas decorations to it just made it all the more breathtaking and amazing. I think just the sheer size of the house and the number of trees, lights, and ornaments makes it all the more impressive. If you adore Christmas lights, Biltmore at Christmas time is definitely for you.
The next morning I had a terrible migraine from all the wine (totally worth it though), but we stopped in at Mayfel’s. We had yummy beignets and coffee. I had shrimp & grits and Andrew had french toast.
The Biltmore & Asheville will always hold such a special place in our hearts. We can’t wait for our next trip there 😊
Always,
