I just came across this contest: Enter to Win a Castle Getaway, so I wanted to send it to all of you, my cherished subscribers. I hope you find time to enter. It’s a cool opportunity to tour two of Doylestown’s unique castles and stay overnight at a nearby Inn.

If you’ve ever wondered what modern-day people do with historic castles, allow me to share how one of my design couples showcased Fonthill in Doylestown, PA.

First, a little history

Fonthill Castle was the home of archaeologist and tile maker Henry Chapman Mercer. It was built between 1908 and 1912, and it’s an early example of poured-in-place concrete and features 44 rooms, over 200 windows, 18 fireplaces, 10 bathrooms, and one powder room.

Henry was a proponent of the American Arts and Crafts movement and as part of his philanthropy, he built The Moravian Tile Works on his Fonthill estate. Moravian tiles are handmade ceramic tiles featuring intricate designs inspired by ancient and historical themes. Here is an example of one. If you tour Fonthill you will see that Henry used his Moravian tiles everywhere when building his home. They cover ceilings, floors, and just about every square inch of this castle inside and out.

Castles Today

Special events like fundraisers, beer festivals, and weddings love the modern-day Fonthill Castle in Doylestown, PA. It’s a popular venue choice among those seeking a unique, historical building with a specific artistic flair.

Here is how one engaged couple decided to celebrate this castle.

A castle-inspired wedding invitation

Stephanie & Clayton chose Fonthill for their wedding venue a few years ago and hired me to design their invitation suite. This was a unique opportunity to build a concept around an artistic castle known for its clay tiles and yes, the groom’s name was Clay so the project was lots of fun.

The concept & Design

We hired a watercolor artist to paint a Mercer Tile-like cover depicting Fonthill Castle nestled among the many places Stephanie and Clayton had traveled. I had the opportunity to write some interesting headlines while building the stationery suite. “The Art of Marriage” was the main headline and “Start with a Good Clay” kicked off their story. The mini-book invitation creatively told their love story and culminated by inviting guests to the affair.

Carry it all through

To carry the concept through the entire event, I commissioned time with local tile artist, Katia McGuirk to help us create the wedding favors. The three of us worked side-by-side with Katia and designed, pressed, glazed, and fired an assortment of clay pendants, each depicting one of Stephanie and Clayton’s previous vacations. The clay pendants were used as favors, and each table featured the story of a particular vacation. We created a rubber stamp of each vacation icon and they were used to mark the table cards as well as all the place cards at the entrance.

Programs

The wedding programs were also unusual. We designed large, round, double-sided cards, and attached dangling love notes. “The Marriage” side outlined the ceremony details while “The Art” outlined the participants. It was an unexpected design that mimicked the round favor tiles and intrigued guests.

Enter to win

So now you no longer need to wonder what people sometimes do in and around modern-day Castles. If you choose one for your next big event, I recommend going with the castle’s cool vibe and designing your event accordingly. I hope you win this Castle getaway, and if you do please drop me a line. Good Luck!