One year on a family visit to Asheville, Lizzie Whitcher fell in love with Biltmore—so much so that she studied floriculture at Texas A&M with hopes of eventually working at the estate. Soon after, she made that dream a reality. In addition to managing decor for events, her team of 10 designers directs the installation of more than 100 trees, hundreds of thousands of lights, and thousands of feet of garland for Christmas at Biltmore. “It’s rare to be able to say that you’re doing the job you dreamed of having forever ago,” she says. “I feel very lucky.”
Blue (Spruce) Christmas
“George Vanderbilt moved into the house in October 1895. It was still under construction, but his focus was already on inviting his family for Christmas. We don’t have any historic decorations, but we cherish documentation that we do have and use it to make history come alive. For example, when the young son of an employee was fetching a Christmas tree, he accidentally cut down one of Mr. Vanderbilt’s prized blue spruces. When the horrified employee confessed, Mr. Vanderbilt graciously forgave the boy and said he hoped they would enjoy it. Most of the trees we decorate are Fraser firs, but we always put a blue spruce in George’s bedroom.”…