Matt got Marie’d!

On Saturday, October 18th, we celebrated the journey of love with Matt and Marie, a couple who has been together for an impressive eight years. Matt, being an active duty Marine pilot, was forced to spend countless amounts of time away from his love. All the way across the country in fact. The two finally now are able to join together, on the same coast, for one of the first times in their eight years of dating. It was worth the wait since now they’re husband and wife!

Marie definitely knew how to make Matt and the other groomsmen happy.  Waiting in the “man’s cave” was a tower of beers displayed on an end table.  The men had to practice the “sword” ending to this military ceremony.  Unfortunately, I had to miss the ceremony and was only able to photograph the rehearsal. 

The couple started their day with a traditional Marine Corps sword ceremony. Six of the couple’s friends showcased their duty by welcoming Marie into their marine family. They continued to celebrate the joining of THREE families as they danced the night away under a bistro lit Sperry tent. DJ Bob Mednikov kept the crowd alive and happy. It was hard to get people OFF of the dance floor! Besides the bistro lighting under the tent they also hung some over the cocktail area on the East lawn.  At night this provided such a lovely lit area to hang out under while enjoying a nice glass of wine or a cigar.

One thing certainly grabbed everyone’s attention towards the end of the night; the cutting of the cake! Of course, no cake knife or server was needed. A sword would do!

Congratulations to Matt and Marie! We wish you a safe travel out to California as you start your new life together!

Special thanks to our vendors for making this day so great: Angelica with Keswick Vineyards, Day of Coordination. Catering, Southern Inn Catering. Desserts, Southern Inn & Albemarle Baking Company. Ceremony Music, Linden Trio. DJ, Bob Mednikov with AAA Disc Jockeys. Photographer, Don Mears Photography. Videographer, Michael Eller with Monachetti Weddings. Hair and Makeup, Studio FBJ. Florist, Southern Blooms. Transportation, A Goff Limousine & Bus Company.  Tent lighting, Skyline Tent Company.

Oct 29, 2015 at 4:12 PM Permalink

A Cats Wedding?????

It was such a pleasure to host Jordan & Chris’s wedding at Keswick Vineyards on Friday, October 16th.  Jordan is a cat lover.  That is probably an understatement.  Her love for cats was everywhere except for the ceremony location but that was only because Scraps, Keswick Vineyards cat, wouldn’t cooperate.  Nothing would have made Jordan happier then to have Scraps crash her wedding.  Unfortunately, Scraps just watched from the distance.  Perhaps it was the cat theme wedding cake or all the cat pictures that adorned each guest table that kept Scraps away?  Regardless, Scraps acted like a normal cat and did what she wanted.  Thankfully, Reverend Claire Goodman was able to incorporate cats into the ceremony.  Who knew that October 16th was National Feral Cat Day?  Jordan did, that’s who! 
One of the best things from this wedding was definitely the 1930 Ford Model A Town Sedan antique car Jordan road in to make her entrance to the ceremony site.  What was so special about this car?  Well, it was the exact same car that her father drove her home from the hospital in when she was born!  How incredible is that?  Can you imagine what it had to feel like for her father as he drove her up the long, winding drive way to give her away?  So special!
Jordan & Chris chose a new location for their ceremony.  They actually had their guests face Edgewood Estate.  This allowed for her grand entrance coming up the drive way in that antique car.  Not a bad backdrop as you can see. 
Special thanks to the following vendors:  Wedding Planner Erin Spencer of Spectacular Events by Erin, Officiant Rev. Claire Goodman, Caterer Travinia Italian Kitchen, Cakes by Cathy Stewart, DJ Nathan King of King Studios, Photographer Robert Radifera (love the photo I got of him in action!), Florist Shelby Alexander of The Flower Girl and Quicks Bus for transportation.

Oct 22, 2015 at 12:53 PM Permalink

Ashley & Jim’s Whimsical Wedding

Well, it was obvious when I finally saw all the work that Ashley and her Mother Carla had been doing over the past year that this was going to be one spectacular wedding!  You definitely could tell that Carla was in the event business and brought in her “A team” to make her daughters fairy tale wedding come true.  Everything from this wedding looked like a staged photo shoot.  Let’s start with the flowers.  OMG!  Isha Foss was her florist from Virginia Beach.  The richness of the color palette used for the flowers along with ribbons hanging from each bouquet were so elegant.  Isha draped the entrances of the Sperry tent with greenery also just to add more loveliness to the tent.  The centerpieces were highlighted with spot lighting.  At night the tent just looked so beautiful with those centerpieces popping under the glow of the tent.  My pictures just don’t do it justice.
Now, how about the bride, groom and wedding party?  Breathtaking!  Ashley’s handmade dress from Italy had that whimsical fairy tale feel to it.  I just wanted to see her running through the vineyard.  The guys were so handsome in their black tuxedos.  The bridesmaids, in their gold tone gowns with those gorgeous bouquets, just spectacular.  Like I said earlier, photo shoot material all the way!
Lets not forget about the food.  Harvest Moon Catering did an awesome job by providing a variety of food stations for guests to explore through out the tent.  One of my favorites that tortured me for hours smelling was chicken in waffles with a honey mustard sauce.  I forgot how wonderful waffles cooking smell.  Another delicious dish was shrimp and grits.  Yummy!
But probably the best thing from this wedding was the wedding cake and desserts.  Why?  Well, Ashley’s Mom, Carla, owns a bakery in Virginia Beach and she personally made the wedding cake plus the 120 miniature cakes for the guests.  How special is that for both Ashley and Carla?  Just as good as the wedding cake was the macaroons made by Hummingbird Bakery.
Finally, the guests got to enjoy a brandy bar and cigars while dancing the night away with DJ Roger Cruz from Virginia Beach also.  I can’t wait to see Photographer Rachael May’s photos from this wedding.  I’m sure we will be seeing them in magazines!

One finally thing, I’ve never seen this before at any of our weddings, at the end of the evening guests were told to leave the tent for a sparkler departure.  Once the tent was empty, Ashley & Jim shared a private moment together under the spotlight on the dance floor for one last dance, just the two of them.  Isn’t that great?  What a wonderful way to end your wedding day.

Special thanks to the following vendors for making this wedding dream come true:  Wedding Planner Lindsey Hocker of Simply Perfect Events (out of Virginia Beach) and assistant Lauren Dunn, Harvest Moon Catering, DJ Roger Cruz of Astro Entertainment, Photographer Rachael May, Video by Caleb from East West Production, Florist Isha Foss, Transportation by Ambassador Limousine, Musician for ceremony & cocktail hour Plum Blossom Quartet, Hair & Make-up by Ave 42, Desserts by Just Cupcakes.

Oct 19, 2015 at 6:12 PM Permalink

Elissa & Nathan’s Beautiful Fall Wedding

Congratulations to Elissa & Nathan who tied the knot of Saturday, October 10th, at Keswick Vineyards.  What a perfect day for a wedding!  The sun was out to keep you warm yet there was a coolness also to make it just right.  Elissa & Nathan chose our “fall” location for their ceremony.  This location is to the east side of Edgewood Estate and takes advantage of a spectacular panorama view of the Estate, the fountain, the vineyard and the mountains all starting to glow with fall colors.  An amazing view!  Reverend Sam Ferguson from Falls Church did a beautiful ceremony.  My favorite part was after Elissa & Nathan were pronounced husband & wife, their first act together as a married couple was to kneel and pray together.  First time for me to see this here and I thought it was a lovely touch. 
After the ceremony guests enjoyed some delicious hors d’oeuvres while listening to a violinist & harpist play along with some recorded music.  Highly recommend these musicians.  Escort cards were displayed pinned on strings secured to a frame.  Once the couple was done with photos everyone went under the heated Sperry tent to enjoy a plated dinner prepared by Roadside Chive.  After dinner desserts of a wedding cake and District Donuts were available.
To work off some of those calories guests danced the night away with DJ TD Layman at the controls.  It was so much fun with all the dancing.  There actually was this “fun” dance off between one of the groomsmen and a younger guest.  I must say, they both had the moves but that young boy, look out! 
Special thanks to all the vendors that night for working so hard to make Elissa & Nathan’s dream wedding come true:  Caterer Roadside Chive, DJ TD Layman of Sound Enforcement Studios, Wedding Cake by Maliah Creations, Officiant Reverend Sam Ferguson, Musician for ceremony & cocktail hour Shelley Green of Harmony of Virginia, Photographer Sarah Goodwin, Hair & Make-up by Cindy Elliott-Semrau, Flowers by Hedge Fine Blooms, Transportation by Platinum Tours & Camryn Limo and Keswick Vineyards acting as their Day Of Coordinator.

Oct 15, 2015 at 6:30 PM Permalink

Once Upon A Time……

Jessica & Joshua’s relationship reads like one of those storybook fairy tales.  Joshua knew after spending 4 hours in a park on a see saw talking to Jess about their favorite books that she was the one for him.  Their love for literature was the theme for their wedding held at Keswick Vineyards on Saturday, September 26th.  For centerpieces they used some of their favorite leather bond books stacked three high with a candle on top and a floral arrangement to adore each table.  They also had book ends with numbers to use as their table numbers.  Instead of a guest sign in book they had a framed black & white print of stacked books that each guest would sign.  They also had a display of books as party favors for their guests to take with personalized book marks that Jess had made.

Jessica & Joshua are one of those couples that you just love being around.  Their smiles and laughter is infectious to all.  Even when we were down by the pond for some photos I swear I heard our swans copying the laughter they could hear from these two.  Even though Mother Nature didn’t provide the best of weather these two didn’t mind.  We went with our rain plan and held the ceremony under the Sperry tent.  You will see from my photos that it is just beautiful.  Harvest Moon was the caterer and served a plated dinner for all the guest and had made some miniature desserts that were so yummy!  Special thanks to all the vendors for making this fairy tale wedding come true for these two:  Caterer Harvest Moon, Day of Coordinator Keswick Vineyards, Officiant Reverend Gay Lee Einstein, Wedding Cake by Rachel, DJ TD Layman of Sound Enforcement, Photographer Tyler Corvin, Musicians for Ceremony Charlottesville String Quartet, Hair & Make-up by Studio FBJ, Florist Flowers by Natalie and Albemarle Limousine for transportation.

Sep 30, 2015 at 5:00 PM Permalink

Erika & Jordan’s Wedding Day

Congratulations to Erika and Jordan who were married by Claire Goodman amongst the vines at Keswick Vineyards on Saturday, September 19th.  With over 200 weddings performed so far at Keswick Vineyards, I would have to say that the vows written by Jordan were some of the best I have heard from a groom.  Not only were his words so personal, emotional, humorous at times, just so touching but I loved even more how he was always reaching out to hold Erika’s hand.  My favorite part was when Erika was done saying her vows that were also so beautiful and touching that Jordan was moved so much that he had to give her a hug and then wanted to give her a kiss.  The crowd quickly let him know that a kiss was not allowed yet so Jordan quickly took his hands off of her.  The guests really got a good chuckle out of that.

A favorite item from this wedding was a large monogram stand Erika’s father had made out of corks.  I also like the framed table assignments that were displayed on a table before guests entered the Sperry tent.  Each table number match a framed photo of the bride and groom at that age.  Table 8 had a picture of Erika and Jordan at age 8 and so on.  Very cute!

Guests dance the night away with DJ Stroud at the controls and enjoyed a late night snack of breakfast burritos and hash browns prepared by Harvest Moon. 

Thank you to the following vendors for making another dream wedding come true:  Wedding Planner Julie Cooney, Caterer Harvest Moon, Officiant Claire Goodman, Cakes by Rachel, DJ Stroud, Photographer Raiza Vega, Flowers by Cathy Coyle, Transportation by Easy Rider, Hair & Make-up by Faces by Joy.

Sep 22, 2015 at 3:45 PM Permalink

Aimee & Joshua Tie The Knot!

Congratulations to Aimee & Joshua who were married at Keswick Vineyards on Saturday, September 12th.  The two of them could not of been happier with the weather that Mother Nature provided them.  With overcast skies the temperature was just perfect and provided such beautiful lighting for their photos.  I love the color of green that Joshua actually chose.  Accented with white baby breath bouquets and the men dressed in light tan made such a stylish wedding party.  And lets not forget about the cuteness that their flower girl and ring bearer brought.  Adorable!  Instead of a guest sign in book they chose to have a matted tree print with leaves that each guests would sign.  I’m sure they will be hanging that in their home.  Thanks to Harvest Moon, guests enjoyed a delicious buffet dinner followed by all night dance under the direction of Dennis Payne of Playback DJ.  As you can see, the dancing was non-stop!  A sweet touch on the dessert table was to spell out the word LOVE with cupcakes.  Cute, huh? 

Thanks to the following vendors for all their help:  Caterer Harvest Moon, DJ Dennis Payne of Playback DJ, Reverend Barb Jacobs, Passionflower Cakes, Photographers Samantha & Mikey of The Photography Smiths, Lisa McMahon as florist, Make up by Brideface, Hair by Simply You Salon and Transportation by Albemarle Limousine.

Sep 17, 2015 at 5:52 PM Permalink

Mallory and Kurt get married!

Ending our stretch of three weddings over Labor Day we celebrated Mallory and Kurt! We knew we were going to fall in love with them when they first walked into our office…we were right! The couple was so unique and their wedding showcased that. They brought personal touches to every element of their decorations which truly made it a one of a kind day. The bride, dressed in ivory lace, was so bubbly and happy throughout the entire day. With a flower crown on top of her head she frolicked around the vineyard both before and after the ceremony simply in bliss! Her ceremony in front of the fountain made for the perfect backdrop for the couple, their guests, and their little dog too. It’s a well-known fact that we welcome dogs here at Keswick, and we especially loved how theirs was the first to greet mommy and daddy after the ceremony! Following ceremony guests were greeted into cocktail hour by the tunes of a bluegrass band, Whiskey Rebellion. The group serenaded their guests with acoustics and kick started the initial dancing for this crowd! The couple also had a signature Cajun Lemonade cocktail from Southern Inn Catering, an absolutely delicious spiked lemonade for a breezy September day! Homemade touches were found throughout her entire wedding including hand jarred raw local honey for her guest favors. Such a sweet touch! Congratulations to Mallory and Kurt!

Special thank you to the following vendors for helping create this special day. Wedding planner, Charlotte Geddy. Officiant, Tom Beatty and Kendall Pearson. Catering, Southern Inn Catering. Desserts, Sweethaus. DJ, Andy Wilfong with Party Master Entertainment. Cocktail hour music, Whiskey Rebellion. Videographer/Photography, Blue Box Photography. Makeup, Billie Jo Fulk with Mary Kay. Hair, Emily Glick. Florist, Foxtail Cottage Floral. Transportation, Albemarle Limousine. 

Sep 15, 2015 at 1:56 PM Permalink

Katie and Patrick's Wedding Day!

Is there a doctor in the house? PLENTY! This wedding had ever kind of medical professional you could image in attendance and they held true to the good old work hard play hard mentality! This group was a ball full of energy and it radiated through their entire crowd. Guests were greeted with a spiked lemonade stand courtesy of Harvest Moon Catering, followed by a beautiful vineyard ceremony. A raw oyster bar was the headliner for this couples cocktail hour with a magnificent ice sculpture display. Such a fun interactive treat! Cheers, hoots, and constant laughter with dancing were how they continued all the way through the night. The group was all about having the best time together with family and friends and it showed. The dance floor stayed full with the help of DJ Andy Wilfong and adults and kids alike kept the spirits alive! To end the evening guests were treated with a late night snack of sliders and old bay tater tots before sending the newlyweds and their guest off with our favorite sparkler send off. Congratulations to Katie and Patrick! Cheers!

Special thanks to our vendors for making this such a memorable night. Day of Coordinator, Angelica with Keswick Vineyards. Officiant, Pastor Joe Vought. Caterer, Harvest Moon Catering. Desserts, Albemarle Bakery. DJ, Andy Wilfong. Ceremony Music, Madison Trio. Photographer, Robert Radifera Photography. Videographer, Josh Hall Media. Hair & Makeup, Avenue 42. Florist, Sandy with Verde Natural Floral. Transportation, Newton Bus Company.

Sep 13, 2015 at 5:01 PM Permalink

Courtney and Matt tie the knot!

To kick start our Labor Day weekend of weddings we celebrated Courtney and Matt’s marriage. These two have been together for years and it showed with their love. As a part of their ceremony they tied together ropes which symbolized the strength of their love and relationship. Lining down the ceremony aisle the father handmade wooden signs with one of our personal favorite bible verses from Corinthians. After the ceremony was concluded the party went off with a bang! Immediately the couple and their guests alike were ready and eager to celebrate Courtney and Matt’s love with the help of DJ Greg Tutwiler. Dressed in navy and coral the Sperry tent shined last night with bistro lights to sparkle the night away. The families couldn’t have been more excited as they joined together as one and it certainly showed!

Special thanks to our vendors for making the night so wonderful. Day of Coordinator, Cali Christopher. Officiant, Reggie Tuck. Caterer, Groovin’ Gourmets. Desserts, Buttercream Dream. DJ, Greg Tutwiler. Photography, Cheryl Moore Photography, Hair, Jennifer Caldwell. Florist, Gloriosa. Transportation, Albemarle Limousine.

Sep 9, 2015 at 6:28 PM Permalink