Courtesy the Biltmore Company
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.”
Courtesy the Biltmore Company
Where It All Begins
“While Christmas is still up, we start planning for the next year. We decorate more than 40 different spaces, and we create a new experience every year. After plans are approved, we pull out the bins of decorations. If several designers want the same ornaments, I have to negotiate—or get more. This year the Tapestry Gallery will have a Noah’s Ark theme, so we’ll need more animal ornaments.”
Dreamy Themes
“This year I’m decorating the Banquet Hall. It has a 70-foot ceiling and will have a 30-foot tree, but my goal is to make it feel cozy. I’ll be using lots of nuts and holly inspired by a carving over the mantle. Other fun themes will be a Starry Night in Bethlehem, a German holiday market, an Asian tree with Chinese lanterns and dragons, and a blue-and-white Delftware tree inspired by the Vanderbilt family’s ties to the Netherlands.”
Courtesy the Biltmore Company
Behind the Scenes
“It takes us six weeks to decorate for the holidays. We refresh live greenery and flowers every week or two, and the Banquet Hall tree is switched out midseason. The electrical side is the hardest thing. We set lots of complicated timers. Also, there’s the challenge of working in a historical setting. We can’t just pop in a nail when we wantThi to hang a garland. To avoid insects that could eat books in the library, we freeze high-risk items like fabric or paper for two weeks before bringing them into the house. It’s a labor of love.”
This article appears in the Fall 2025 issue of Southbound.
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Betsy Riley
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