Please kindly e-RSVP via this site by February 28th, 2025. We plan to send your formal invitation before the end of January. If you know that your address might change, please let us know so we don’t happen to miss you. We want you there!
We will ask that you RSVP through this site by the beginning of March. We are not doing traditional mail-in paper RSVPs. E-RSVPs won’t release until closer to January. We will also make sure you have clear guidance on how to do that on your formal invitation.
Please kindly arrive between 4:00pm - 4:15pm. This will give you enough time to find your way to the ceremony space. The ceremony will begin promptly at 4:30pm. We can’t wait to see you there!
Black tie optional. We’d love to see you dressed to the nines in tuxes and floor-length gowns, but we also warmly welcome suits and maxi dresses if preferred. We still want you to feel like you - don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.
No, we want you to wear whatever color you feel most confident in. If you’d prefer to complement the colors of the wedding, that’s fine too but definitely not required! Our wedding colors are soft hues of blue, purple, creams, and pops of lush greenery.
We're glad you asked! We will let you know on your formal invitation if you have a plus one, aka a guest, included or not. You will see your invitation addressed to the exact individuals invited - to include a guest or not. We've tried to include your plus one's name if we know their information (IE: "John Smith and Guest" or "John Smith and Jane Doe" or "The Smith Family") and this will also be reconfirmed during your e-RSVP process. While we wish we could offer a plus one for every single guest, we have to be mindful of the capacity of the space reserved.
We’d love to have your little ones! While we would love to have all of your kiddos there to celebrate, we aren't able to accommodate everyone's full immediate family. If we can accommodate your little ones, we will make sure that is clear on your unique wedding invitation (IE: The Smith Family) and your e-RSVP (all names of children invited will be listed). Can’t wait to see them!
We will have a broad range of food throughout the wedding. You can expect small bites following the ceremony during cocktail hour. Dinner will be served via stations, so pre-wedding selections are not required during rsvp. There will be both meat and vegetarian options. Cake and small late night bites will also be available following dinner. Please note in your rsvp if there are any other food sensitivities we should be aware of in your party.
Your presence is a gift! Truly! We are so privileged to have everything we need as a couple. Because of that, we are not registering for items, but instead welcoming any honeymoon contributions for our trip to Costa Rica. If you’re inclined to still bring something physical, we will have a home for cards on the wedding day.
Yes, there is parking onsite if you are staying on property. If you are not staying on property, you may want to consider using a taxi, Uber, or Lyft to avoid any visitor parking fees. The parking lot isn’t super huge so any offsite folks should highly consider a ride share service to be safe.
We will not have dedicated transportation to and from Graylyn Estate. We hope that most folks can stay at the estate with us - the big perk there - no travel to the ceremony & reception required! Well, except maybe for the walk back and forth to your room.
Sunday is the big day of course - we can’t wait to celebrate with you then. Prior to that, we will have an ice cream social the night before. The ice cream social is totally optional. We recognize some folks will only be able to attend the wedding day which is completely appreciated! More details on all related events to be shared on your formal invitation. Should you be traveling into Winston-Salem for the wedding (we are so grateful for that by the way) we encourage you to make a vacation out of your trip. Feel free to check out our "Things To Do" section on this site. This list was curated by us with our guests in mind.
Absolutely, yes! If that won’t happen to work for your travel schedule or availability, that’s completely fine. We just want extra time with our favorite people if it works out for you too. There will be separate RSVPs for the wedding day and the ice cream social.
The ice cream social, the night before our wedding day, will be held in the Mews section of the estate. We will provide you with a map in your formal invitation. The Mews is a beautiful courtyard surrounded by guest rooms. You can expect a more casual vibe focused on connecting with our loved ones before the big day. No formal dress code. We know a lot of you are traveling in, so this is a nice way to get a little more time with you.
We appreciate you being considerate of this. The venue has kindly asked that no outside food or drink is brought onto property. We will have what you need there. We got you covered!
We appreciate you coming all this way for us! We will leave the booking timeline up to you based on what makes sense for your unique situation. If you want to be super safe, we’d recommend booking as early as it makes sense for you. As a friendly reminder, most of our guests will be staying in the Mews section of the estate. We’d recommend requesting that section if you’d like to be near everyone.
We do have a small block of 10 guest rooms reserved. Graylyn does not offer a discount for room blocks so even if you don’t snag a room in the block, you’ll be getting the same rate as the reserved rooms. To reserve a room via our block, simply call into the reservation line at 336-758-2425 and request to book a room under the "Schmidt-Kissling" wedding block. There is no online code for this so you will need to call in. Our blocked rooms will be located in the Mews section of the property.
Based on our research, it should be around $279 before taxes per night. We recognize that this may not be the right fit for everyone’s needs or budget - while you’re of course welcome to stay anywhere you’d like, we encourage you to check out our “Accommodations & Travel Tips” page for other local recommendations. We’ve included a few other local hotels in the $110-150 price range per night on that page.
We will leave that up to you and your preferred plans. If you’d like to join us for the ice cream social the night before the wedding, two nights might make the most sense. If you plan to indulge in adult beverages, we might recommend booking a room for the night of the wedding for a safe spot to land for the evening. If you’re joining us more locally, and don’t plan to rent a hotel room, we appreciate you making the drive for us. We realize that this isn’t a quick drive. You are very welcome to attend the ice cream social on Saturday night as well as the wedding festivities on Sunday, but we completely understand if you have to choose one trip for the wedding only.
Actually, it is! There are select rooms that will allow your pet to stay with you. These select rooms are finite so make sure to inquiry early if that is important to you. We plan on bringing our dogs - Mushu & Mogwai. Mila, our cat, will likely stay at home to rule her palace as she pleases.
No, we actually live near Charlotte, NC. Charlotte is about an hour and a half away from Winston-Salem. While we might have found a closer venue to home in Charlotte, we fell in love with Graylyn Estate's unique charm and history. We think you will love it too!
We think you’ll love a lot of spots in North Carolina. We fell in love with this state with its diverse landscapes and friendly people. To the west you have mountains and plenty of cabin getaway options. The mountains offer so many cool hikes and niche little towns to explore. We personally love Nantahala. The NOC offers river rafting and zip lining. Plus, the grounds at NOC are drop dead stunning. Total summer camp vibes. To the east you have the beach. We haven’t been as a couple yet, but one day we plan to visit the Outer Banks. It’s a North Carolina staple! We’ve been to Wilmington and it’s utterly charming. My best friend, Keegan, and her husband, Alex, got married in Airlie Gardens. A must see if you visit Wilmington. In between those, you have several cool cities to explore. We’ve heard of people doing their own Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives tour across the state. Yum.
There are several convenience stores within a short driving distance from the venue. We will also be providing an open basket of essentials for guests like common OTC medicine, bandaids, feminine products, tissues, etc.