BRASELTON'S CHATEAU ELAN IN MIDDLE GEORGIA, Pederzani Photography

Chateau Elan

I fell in love the moment we turned the corner...and saw the most stately building of Chateau Elan, in Braselton, Ga.
May 17th, was our  35th wedding anniversary so we decided to take a road trip north of Atlanta to visit the vineyards of Chateau Elan and sample it's wine. We took the, Wine Makers Tour, and learned about its historical beginnings to its current renovations. Afterward, we lunched at, Paddy's Irish Pub around the corner. It had a very authentic rugged look inside, giving you the feeling of being in Ireland. The food was delicious with large servings, more than enough to eat. I had Fish and Chips, yum. Don had, Bangers and Mash. He didn't like the bangers; that's an acquired taste.
We stayed till evening and caught the sun setting behind the steep angled roof line of the building creating a beautiful silhouette. Of course the sculptured maiden, at the entrance of the building, stomping grapes in the fountain, was the focal of many images; along with acres of the vineyard's flowing lines, all leading back to that magnificent French mansion; everywhere surrounding it were rows after rows of neatly trimmed grape vines, bursting of new growth with the tiniest green clusters of baby grapes.

We roamed around the grounds, visiting the spa and slipping inside the grand hotel. The french inspired   decor was truly divine, down to the lit fireplace. I didn't want to leave. I could have curled up on any chair parked by that fireplace and just sipped wine and daydreamed.
Chateau Elan is enchanting. Just 40 miles north of Atlanta, will make the most satisfying road trip for anyone attending a wedding event in these picturesque hills.  Your guests will feel pampered just by its elegance. The choices awaiting you are many; choose from several interior venues, or experience outdoor catering with sunset, stars, moon and wine.
Dare I say, ciao or, Au revoir!

 

 

 








 


  

 


Chateau Elan Resort






Sunset at Chateau Elan

MACON GEORGIA - Old Historical Churches

Being new to Georgia is exciting. The annual activities that await us are being sought after with much anticipation, so imagine our disappointment when we arrived at Macon's Cherry Blossom Festival to find it rained out before we could even park our car. And the, Spirit Walk at the Riverside Cemetery, also close due to the weather; what else was there to do and see we thought as we drove around; wait was it this I see! A huge church on a hill with two towering steeples reaching tall into the sky. Quickly I grabbed my camera and even before my husband brought the car to a complete stop I was opening door and bounding out ready to get the shot of that architectural beauty, even as the mist turned into heavier raindrops I ran as close as I could to fill up my lens. I even questioned myself for packing only the 50mm to keep my camera lite. Now I'm not one to bring my photography gear into bad weather, but this...this was exceptional, this was something that made my eyes light up and actually made me giddy! I didn't know what church it was, but beautiful doesn't even describe it, more like stunning, gorgeous, magnificent are better words to describe it's Gothic charm.

So, just for this blog, I googled, 'historic churches in Macon', and the first search brought up, St. Joseph's Catholic Church on Poplar St. That's it! This is the one, and here's how it's described;  This historic church has Romanesque Neo-gothic architecture with twin spires topped with crosses that measure 200 feet in height. Graced with 60 stained glass windows which teach the story of Salvation, a white Carrara marbled alter and pulpit, lighted vigil candles and an organ with 1,000 pipes.  

Now I didn't go inside, we were driving, but I would love to see the inside sometime and take more pictures. 
Here's a link to the website with a picture of it's interior, absolutely beautiful. http://www.stjosephmacon.com.
I hope you enjoy looking at this magnificent building as much as I do. 

Ciao, Simply Dorine Atlanta and Macon, Georgia Wedding Photographer.