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The Graystone Inn has become a favorite place for weddings and other special events. The inn can easily accommodate a wedding ceremony/reception for up to 150 people. If a large event is not your style, then the Graystone also offers smaller events and elopement packages. |
By Tom Crosby
(January 2009) In 1905, construction began
on a seven-bedroom, three-story gray stone, neo-classical revival style home in Wilmington, NC for Elizabeth Bridgers, the widow of railroad magnate Preston L. Bridges.
Artisans from New York and Europe were brought to Wilmington to work on the house, which was completed in 1906.
Today, after several significant and historically accurate renovations, the Bridgers Mansion, has been transformed into the Graystone Inn, a classic bed and breakfast that has been a AAA Four Diamond rated accommodation since 1999.
The Graystone Inn is located in the heart of the city's impressive National Registry Historic District, and within three blocks of the Riverfront, a bustling area of restaurants, unique shops and art galleries. Parking for the inn is on street and free and there is limited parking for six cars in the inn’s wide driveway. Parking in the Riverfront area of Wilmington can be difficult, but because of the inn’s excellent location within walking distance to everything, guests can park their cars at the inn and never have to move them.
Crepe myrtles, sago palms, azaleas, ferns, ivy, camellias, roses and a variety of seasonal flowers embrace the small lawn bisected by a stone walkway in front of the inn’s entrance. The limestone walls of the inn were hewn in Indiana, dressed in South Carolina and shipped to Wilmington on the railroad created by the Bridgers family.
Four three-story high Corinthian columns beneath a pair of fluttering flags (US and North Carolina) provide the first glimpse of the turn of the century grandeur and elegance you will find after passing through the front door. Visitors ring the outside doorbell to be personally greeted and let into the inn’s foyer, which has original white carrera marble walls and an original Terrazzo floor. Through the foyer's interior door, a hand-carved oak Grand Renaissance style staircase holds center stage as the magnificence of the home's huge grand lobby with its decorative wood and plaster moldings and 14-foot high ceiling takes hold. On the right are two rooms - one a sitting room, the other the dining room. On the left is a large drawing room with couches, chairs and a finely tuned grand piano. A chest-high desk serves as the check-in desk. Beneath the center staircase and hidden behind a door is the inn’s beverage center where guests can help themselves to coffee, tea, hot chocolate, soft drinks and snacks whenever they want.
Behind the drawing room is the library with dark Honduran mahogany paneling, upholstered chairs and sofas, a chess set, games, books and personal items collected by hosts and owners Richard and Marcia Moore. A door from the library leads to the covered veranda and private brick patio and garden – a wonderful place to relax with early morning coffee or a good book. With complimentary wine served at 6:00 each evening, the library is often the social heart for the inn's guests.
The dining room serves as a morning gathering place as guests find their way to this grand room between 8:30 am and 9 a.m. A huge polished wood rectangular table and two additional smaller tables are beautifully set with fine china, silver flatware, crystal goblets, and linen napkins with napkin rings. Rich and Marcia, both attorneys in a former life, greet their guests each morning and show them to a large table loaded with fruit, coffee cakes, pastry, yogurt, cereal and an interesting collection of black and herbal teas. But don’t fill up on the starters because there is more to come. Rich and Marcia begin by serving coffee and juice to each guest and then disappear from the dinning room to let their guests chat while they prepare a fruit course and a main dish. Fruit courses such as poached pears with a wine-pear reduction along with main dishes such as the key-lime cream, stuffed French toast with key-lime curd sauce reflect Rich’s culinary training at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts in Boston, MA, experience as a professional chef, and Marcia’s enthusiasm for finding, creating and cooking interesting breakfast dishes.
Each of the nine guest rooms located on the second and third floors (stairway only, no elevator) has been furnished with a distinctive style and color scheme using period furnishings and window treatments. Seven of the nine guest rooms have fireplaces with decorative mantles, although the only fireplace that currently works is the wood-burning one in the library. All guest rooms have private, updated bathrooms in a variety of styles. Some of the bathrooms have claw foot tubs and pedestal sinks reminiscent of the Victorian era while others have glass enclosed showers and champagne tubs reflecting a more contemporary style. Bathroom soaps, bath gels, and shampoos are from the Gilchrist & Soames London Collection. Other bathroom amenities include robes, shower caps, shoeshine cloths, make-up removers and sewing kits.
Throughout the inn, guests will find interesting antiques and some original chandeliers and wall sconces. Each guest room has a unique bed with wonderfully comfortable custom-made mattresses and 500 thread count cotton sheets. Pillows are fluffy alternative down. I could go on and on about describing the beautifully decorated guest rooms, but the spoken word does not do justice to the beauty and elegance of this inn. I encourage you to visit the Graystone Inn’s web site at www.graystoneinn.com to view the individual rooms.
The Graystone Inn, with its neo-classical exterior and elegant interior, makes a natural setting for movies and television. Eight major motion pictures have used the inn as a set including “Rambling Rose”, “Billy Bathgate”, and “The List”. Television productions include “Matlock”, “Dawson’s Creek”, and currently, “One Tree Hill” and “Little Britain USA”.
The Graystone Inn has become a favorite place for weddings and other special events, and because of the personal involvement and attention to detail of Rich, Marcia and the inn’s event planner, Joanne, they frequently receive thank-you notes from the brides and grooms who have been fortunate enough to secure the inn for their weddings. The inn can easily accommodate a wedding ceremony/reception for up to 150 people. But if a large wedding is not in your plans, the inn also does smaller events. “No wedding is too small”, says Marcia, “in fact we have a very popular elopement package on our web site and Rich and I have been honored to act as witnesses for some of the small weddings.” (Updated January 2009)
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