Family Trip to Chihuly at Biltmore Estate
We spent Sunday of Labor Day weekend at Biltmore Estate to see the Chihuly exhibit that's currently on display now through October 7, 2018. Mike's mom was in town and we made a complete day of it! We started in the gardens, wandering through the Conservatory where we found our first Chihuly installation in the most vibrant reds and oranges right outside the doors. Every single piece just blew my mind in terms of color, shape, construction, size, and fragility.
Harlow loved the rainbow arrangement of the sculptures underneath the covered walkway beneath the South Terrace (I'm sure there's an official name for it but I can't find it). She wanted to take a picture with Tiana by the green sculptures since they matched Tiana's dress!
The Italian gardens are where the exhibit really turns up a notch. They're filled with the most colorful orbs floating on top of the water. The orange and white koi fish darting around between them made it even more enchanting!
We finished our self-guided tour through the gardens on the front lawn where I think the most impressive installation sits. It reminded me of Medusa with all the coils and spirals. I just sat there in awe thinking of the skill it takes to not only create this masterpiece but also to construct it. What a steady hand! It's absolutely mesmerizing in person!
I would absolutely love to go back and see the exhibit lit up in the evenings during their Chihuly Nights event. Everyone who's been says it's just jaw-dropping and even better than during the day. I say if you can go at night you should try but the bottom line is you should go period, day or night. It's amazing!
We spent the rest of our day enjoying a short picnic by the lagoon and grabbing lunch at Antler Village where we took Harlow to see the train exhibit again and the petting zoo. She just loves the baby goats and chicks and remembers their names! (If you're local to Asheville and have kids I highly recommend getting an annual pass so you can go anytime. There are so many ways to have fun on the Estate anytime of year. We waited until they went on sale and we've gotten our money's worth many times over in less than a year.)
Last we went up to the Inn on Biltmore Estate where we got married to reminisce about our wedding day with Mike's mom. She hadn't been back since our wedding so it was really fun to share in the memories again and to take Harlow out on to the grass where we said our vows. I'm such a sap for those kinds of things.
For those wondering I got my dress this summer from Vici. It's currently sold out but I found several identical dresses and even some with different colors on eBay that are brand new! I'm wearing a small and it's plenty roomy.
My dress did have some defects in the fabric/dye towards the bottom of the dress that aren't very noticeable. Not many but a couple small ones, like the size of a small thread. Between the pleats, rich colors, and floating movement of the dress they don't show up at all. This dress is SO perfect for family photos, maternity portraits, or any fun styled shoot you come up with!
You can shop my dress HERE and HERE (this one is originally from Lulus).
Thanks for stopping by The Tony Townie today! Always means so much that you would take the time to spend a few minutes here with me on the blog. Hope you're looking forward to a lovely weekend -- maybe spent on Biltmore Estate to see the Chihuly exhibit!
Be back next week with some fun new recipe, fashion, and beauty posts!
xxBrooke