A countryside, vineyard wedding in Virgina? Before even glancing at the images from the talented Holland Photo Arts, I had a feeling this wedding was going to be precious. And precious it was! The setting could not be more beautiful, and the gorgeous sunflowers from Pat’s Floral Design showing their sunny little faces in every nook and cranny almost made me feel the warm summer, southern breeze. It was just what I needed on this cold winter day, and there is even more precious to devour in the full gallery.
click here for the full wedding gallery!
From the Bride…My husband, Jeremy, and I wanted to get married around Charlottesville, VA, which we fell in love with while Jeremy was at law school at UVA. We’re both from around New York City and now live in Washington, DC, but rather than a city wedding, we decided to get married in rural Virginia. We had been to King Family Vineyards many times, and the gorgeous location had special meaning to both of us. It was absolutely perfect for our wedding.
We wanted the decor and feel of the wedding to blend with the beautiful surroundings of the countryside and the vineyard, so we decided to use lots of sunflowers and hydrangea, as well as other summer flowers that blended well with the area, and burlap table cloths. We used a variety of containers to hold the flowers, such as glass bottles, tin buckets, and pitchers, as well as a mix of flowers at the tables so that everything didn’t match exactly, but still worked well together. We also had dinner outside under a tent so that everyone could enjoy the beautiful views while it was still light out, and we then had dancing afterward inside the carriage house.
The ceremony was outside, and it was certainly a warm day. We provided fans and lemonade before the ceremony to help people cool off a bit. We had an interfaith wedding, so we had two officiants lead the ceremony. As a result, we were able to craft the ceremony ourselves using aspects personal to us, including readings from our siblings and my uncle, while also incorporating parts of both of our faiths (Jewish and Presbyterian). My family’s adorable black lab, Norton, got to walk down the aisle. Even some of the horses in the background gathered as close as they could to listen!
My mother was really wonderful and key player in crafting the design for the wedding. Additionally, she created and put together the seating cards with each guest’s name and table number on card stock, punched holes in them, and used colorful ribbon so that they could hang from arrangements of branches. We also draped similar items over wine bottles from the vineyard which we placed on each table that showed the table number on it. We used a firework image, since the wedding was on July 4, on our invitations, menus, seating cards, and frisbees (which my dad created stickers for).
We wanted to use all local food, wine, and beer for the wedding reception. Our caterer did a phenomenal job getting delicious local beef, trout, tomatoes, and many other items. Jeremy and I live in DC, and the chef at one of our favorite restaurants, Birch & Barley, gave us the recipe for their amazing beet risotto which we used during dinner. We used King Family Vineyards’ wines, and beer from Blue Mountain Brewery, a local brewery close by. For dessert, we had mini cupcakes, and passed warm chocolate chip cookies with shots of milk (my favorite!) and passion fruit and cucumber sorbets from Splendora, a shop in Charlottesville.
It was a truly wonderful event, and more than we could have ever hoped for. It meant so much to have so many of our friends and family with us to celebrate on that day. All of the vendors we worked with in Charlottesville could not have been more kind, helpful, and professional. Our wedding coordinator Kennon Ibbeken was absolutely phenomenal. The bridesmaids’ dresses and groomsmen’s pants and vests are from JCrew. I also won a sweepstakes on the blog, District Weddings (www.districtweddings.com), where I won 10 free Vineyard Vines ties. The groom, groomsmen, and both dads picked out their own ties that they wore to the wedding. My wedding dress was by Jenny Lee.
Event coordinator: Kennon Ibbeken, Easton Events / Venue: King Family Vineyards / Caterer: Harvest Moon / Cupcakes: Cakes by Rachel / Florist: Pat’s Floral Design / Photographer: Holland Photo Arts / Ceremony musician: Peter Richardson / Band: Mr. Potato Head / Hair and make up: Serenity Spa / Rentals: Festive Fare / Ties: Vineyard Vines / Dress: Jenny Lee / Bridesmaids: J Crew