LexTalk

Planning a wedding can feel like a whirlwind – between venues, dates, and endless decisions, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But for me, the journey to finding our wedding venue was more like a rollercoaster ride. After getting engaged this past January at Disneyland (yes, right in front of the castle!), with the help of my fiancé’s three kids who kept it all a wonderful surprise, I was on cloud nine. It was the perfect day. My dreams were coming true, and I couldn’t wait to marry the love of my life, Tony.

But once the engagement celebrations ended, we hit the ground running, ready to plan our big day. We started locally, looking at venues nearby, but quickly realized that adventure awaited us beyond out small town. We had no idea what we were up against. The first venue we signed seemed perfect- until the vendor costs piled up, and we realized it was way out of budget. That sent us back to the drawing board.

Then we found what seemed like a dream come true: a gorgeous venue on the ocean with all-inclusive packages that checked all of our boxes. We were thrilled – until we weren’t. After a 45-minute zoom call, we discovered they’d mistakenly double-booked our wedding date. So, reluctantly, we chose a backup date. But again, before we could even sign the contract, the venue booked that one day. We couldn’t believe it – how was this happening? All we wanted was to marry each other, but the universe seemed to have other plans.

Frustrated and feeling let down, we kept searching. Finally, we stumbled across Mt. Woodson Castle in Ramona, California. From the moment I saw it, I felt drawn to the place. It wasn’t just the castle’s fairytale charm that caught my attention, though. It was the windmill attached to it. Odd, right? But it reminded me of an old lighthouse trinket my mom used to own, and even though a windmill isn’t quite the same as a lighthouse, something about it felt like a sign- a little nudge from my mom who has passed. I like to think she’d approve of the place.

After taking the virtual tour, watching TikTok videos, and reading endless reviews, we knew this one was the one. We reached out, and finally, some good news: our date was available! Everything seemed to fall into place. The wedding planner has been amazing, and planning became fun again, not just stressful.

But then, the real surprise came. One of my bridesmaids sent me a YouTube link and asked, “Did you know your venue is haunted?” Wait, what? Haunted? I had no clue! I clicked on the link and watched the news segment about Mt. Woodson Castle’s history and the rumors of the spirits wandering its halls. I couldn’t help but laugh – of course it’s haunted! But honestly, I’m not mad about it. It almost feels like this venue was meant to be, like all the setbacks with the other places were leading us to this magical (and apparently spooky) castle.

And in a strange way, it makes me feel like my mom has been guiding us this whole time. Maybe all those venue mishaps were her way of steering us to a place she knew we would love. We haven’t visited the castle in person yet, but next month, we’ll finally get to walk the grounds and attend our food tasting. I’m excited, not just to experience the venue in real life, but to see if I get any vibes from the castle’s supposed “inhabitants.”

I’m not too worried, though. The castle plays host to weddings every weekend, so how scary could it be? I hope the spirits are kind, but more importantly, I hope my mom will be there with me in spirit, making sure everything goes just as it’s meant to.

Because after all, this is my fairytale wedding – haunted or not.