NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Tennessee castle where Taylor Swift filmed the music video for her 2008 hit song “Love Story” will soon open as a wedding and honeymoon destination, according to its owner.
Mike Freeman, the owner and creator of Castle Gwynn said the structure was built on a true love story, and it’s an experience he wants to share with others.
“It’s a dream come true, and I’ve had so many people share in the dream,” he said.
Freeman first began thinking about building a castle in 1970, as a high school student with a love for architecture. Ten years later, he acquired around 40 acres of land where he could build it.
He and his wife, Jackie, had their first date at the site of the castle in Arrington, located about 30 miles from Nashville. Then, in 1988, the couple got married and honeymooned there.
For nearly four decades, the Freemans have made various improvements to the castle that they also call home. Each tower has a winding staircase leading to multiple different rooms. In the north tower, where Freeman and his wife spend most of their time, the first floor has a foyer and kitchen with 60 brick arches made up of more than 14,000 bricks.
“Most women do a construction job on a house, six weeks to a month or two, they are out of their mind,” Freeman said. “[Jackie] has had to live with it for 38 years. Not a lot of women that could put up with that, so she is quite a remarkable person.”
Freeman said he can still point to the exact spots where Swift stood as she recorded the music video for “Love Story,” which references the unconditional love Romeo and Juliet shared.
Swiftie Nick Williams said tying the knot at the castle where the music video was filmed could be a full-circle moment for fans. Williams got engaged to his partner, Justin Miller, as “Love Story” played in the background of the pop star’s Eras Tour.
“I am just thinking of all the Swifties who have this opportunity now to get married at the castle,” Williams told Nexstar’s WKRN . “And you get engaged during ‘Love Story’ at the concert and then you get married at the ‘Love Story’ castle. What a full circle moment that is! If you are a full Swiftie, that is kind of like your dream deep down.”
The wedding venue at Castle Gwynn is still under construction, but once completed, it will feature a medieval ballroom and dining hall.
“I’ve had so many calls and so many people wanting to have their weddings here,” Freeman said. “I mean, to be able to have a wedding in a castle and then spend the first night here…that has been one of my earliest thoughts with the castle. And we are just now getting it all put together, slowly but surely.”
Freeman told WKRN that while he hopes to get the project done and open to the public by the end of the year, there is no official opening date yet.
“Creating it was been my biggest joy and being able to share it with people,” Freeman said.
Those interested in visiting the castle in the meantime can attend the annual Tennessee Renaissance Festival from May 4-27.
WKRN’s Sierra Rains contributed to this story.
