The music video for Taylor Swift's “Love Story,” released in 2008, was filmed in Castle Gwynn, and now this place is opening its magic doors for couples who are willing to get into the marriage life in a fairy-tale environment. The famous castle is located less than 40 minutes by car from Nashville. It is said to have a great picturesque backdrop, and it sure is.
The castle's owner, Mike Freeman, and his wife, Jackie, have infused their own love story into the very foundations of Castle Gwynn. The two shared their first date at the castle site and later were married there in 1988, going on to honeymoon at the same place. Over the years, their home has changed into what is now an iconic castle, a labor of love, as Mike says, testing their patience but finally bringing them closer.
There is an additional meaning for this castle to the fans of Taylor Swift: some part of her video “Love Story” is filmed here. This connection made Castle Gwynn the most romantic place in the world to propose during one of Swift's concerts, and it will soon host fan weddings, offering them that truly full-circle moment.
“I've had so many calls, and people have called, and it's just many calls of people wanting to get married here,” Freeman said. “I've always had a dream. It's always been a dream of mine, to be able to get married in a castle and have your wedding in the castle and then be able to spend the first night here.”
The castle is currently under a renovation; it will add a medieval ballroom and dining hall to its already vast quarters. The castle has a target opening to the public by the year's end, though no official date has been set.
Fans like Nick Williams, for whom the song “Love Story” had served as his engagement song during The Eras Tour, view the castle as some sort of a wedding venue within a dream. “It's like your dream deep down,” said Williams, referring to the profound connection that Swifties develop for the song and its setting.
Apart from the venue for the wedding, the magic of Castle Gwynn may be experienced by all interested in it much earlier. The annual Tennessee Renaissance Festival will begin on May 4 and last till May 27. The festival constitutes an excellent pretext to get to know the historic object, and at the same time, it lures with lots of theme entertainment.
As Castle Gwynn prepares to open its gates to lovebirds from around the world, it stands reminder to the stubbornness of love, as the saying goes, combined with an enshrinement of music eternally united in stone and song.