I really, really try not to play favorites but sometimes you just can not help it. So I might as well just give up and admit that when a Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards wedding comes across my desk, I get downright giddy. And this gem right here takes those expectations and knocks them out of the park with these bright summer colors bursting from Jen Fariello‘s pics. See why I’m so obsessed right here!
From The Bride… Read and I met through a mutual friend while I was finishing my architecture degree at Virginia Tech. When I graduated we decided to move to Seoul, South Korea. We thought that we would only be there for one year, but we ended up being away from the States for three and a half years. After spending the first half of 2013 island hopping in Indonesia, trekking through Myanmar, and going on safari in Sri Lanka we moved back to Virginia.
We had been living in Richmond, Virginia for about a month when Read asked me if I wanted to have a picnic with him one evening in a park near our home in Churchill. I really didn’t think anything of it while he was packing up our picnic basket with some of my favorite treats (cheese and more cheese), so when he pulled a small grey box out of his pocket I started crying and laughing at the same time, then I said yes.
I thought that finding the right venue would be a challenge, but it was easier than I thought it would be. We had been out of the country for a long time and it was important to us to get married somewhere where our friends and family could attend. We grew up in Virginia, met in Virginia, and after over three years of adventures, had moved back to Virginia. So, it was important to find a venue that celebrated Virginia. The view at Pippin Hill is so striking and I really feel like it captured our home state.
Another factor was food. Read and I travel to eat. While we were living in Seoul, Read was writing for the food section of a magazine. So the food at our wedding had to be above average. The attention to ingredients in the Pippin Hill kitchen impressed us both. We had a stationed dinner where our guests could pick and choose from different stations. Everything that came out of the kitchen was delicious and our guests were sure to let us know.
I’m a graphic designer by trade and when we started to plan our wedding I thought I would have it all figured out, but I just didn’t. I was having trouble trying to think about a color palette or flowers. It wasn’t until I started working with Dani Antol on the printed suite that things started to come together. We were looking through books of invitations when our planner from Easton Events brought up an image of some Otomi fabric. Once I saw that I knew it would be the inspiration for the colors and patterns in our wedding. The Save the Date is really what set the tone for the whole look and feel on our wedding day. Dani included a custom emblem that she drew up for Read and I, and we made sure to carry the emblem through all of our printed material because it was just so perfect for us.
My uncle was the officiant for our wedding ceremony. It was great to work with a family member while planning our ceremony. I really appreciated that before we walked down the aisle he had both sides get up and introduce themselves to one another. The whole ceremony felt very comfortable and relaxed.
During the days leading up to our wedding day Read and I had people giving us loads of advice. The one piece of advice that Read and I took to heart was to just have fun. We both had an amazing time. It was so great to have all our friends and family there to support us. The moment that sticks out to me was at the end of the night when we were getting ready to make our grand exit, and the DJ put on Queen. I love, love, love Queen. I could not have been happier than I was at that moment: screaming the lyrics to “Fat Bottomed Girls” and dancing with my husband.
We have some stunning photos from our wedding day. The photos of everyone out on the dance floor are really fun, but the one photo that I’m really enamored of is a black and white photo of Read and I walking through the vines at Pippin Hill. In this photo Read’s looking at the camera while I’m beaming up at him – it’s a beautiful photo.
Photography: Jen Fariello Photography | Event Design: Easton Events | Event Planning: Easton Events | Floral Design: Southern Blooms | Wedding Dress: Carolina Herrera | Cake: Favorite Cakes | Invitations: Rock Paper Scissors TN | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Lula Kate | Makeup: Stephanie Parker | Hair: Hale Koa phineas Estate | Calligraphy: Meant To Be Calligraphy | Venue: Pippin Hill Farm