Our Wedding Blog

Keswick 10/29/17 Keswick 10/29/17

First Time for Everything | Jennifer & Dustin

Well, I knew it would happen eventually, rain. It is the one thing that anyone that is planning an outdoor wedding fears. Fortunately, Keswick Vineyards has a rain plan that works out just fine, even if you lose power!

Yes, on Sunday, October 29th, Jennifer and Dustin were married at Keswick Vineyards. Only, mother Nature did not provide them with the beautiful fall day they hoped for. Instead, it was a cold, wet and windy day. So, what do our couples do when Mother Nature doesn’t give them a beautiful day? We do our rain plan and as you can see, it is still beautiful!

Jennifer’s dad made a huppah for their ceremony. He brought the white birch used for this structure all the way from Maine. Jennifer and Dustin chose to split our Sperry tent in half providing one side for the ceremony and the other side for the reception. By doing this configuration, all the guests were able to sit comfortably under the tent facing the vineyard, essentially having the same view they would have had if the ceremony was outdoors. We removed the clear sides of the tent behind the huppah so their photos would still showcase the outdoors. Once photos were done we put the sides back on to enclose the tent and start up the heaters to keep everyone warm.

The winds that night caught everyone off guard. We knew it was going to rain all day but no one had forecasts the winds that were heading our way. Just as everyone made their way through the buffet line we lost power! This is the first time in 7 years for us to lose power in the middle of a wedding. Thankfully, we have generators! Immediately the carriage house was up and running so lights, water, toilets, etc. never really stopped. Under the tent, it took us about 5-10 minutes to get all the generators running and plugged everything into them. Once that was completed, the lights, heaters, music, etc. were back on and the wedding continued.

Sometimes when your wedding day goes like this, it is one that everyone will remember. It might not have been your “dream” wedding, but it is still your wedding. The main thing is that you are now married. Couples booking an outdoor venue must be comfortable with the fact that Mother Nature may not give them that perfect weather day and be OK with that. If not, stick to an indoor venue. But, I think you can see by my photos, that this wedding was just as beautiful and that the couple still had a wonderful time along with their guests.

Thanks to the following vendors who weathered the storm with us:

Wedding Planner & Florals: Logan Powell of Real Southern Accents, Catering: Goodrich Gourmet, Desserts: Shenandoah Sweets, DJ: Mark Allen of Class Productions DJ Service, Hair & Make-Up: Glo-out Glamour Bar, Rentals: Skyline Tent Company.

Keswick 10/28/17 Keswick 10/28/17

Popcorn, Anyone? | Michelle & Andy

I’m so happy to get back to Virginia after attending our son’s wedding in Michigan to witness the marriage of Michelle and Andy. On Saturday, October 28th, Michelle and Andy said, “I Do” in front of their family and friends. Once again, this couple included their dog as their ring bearer.

With Michelle and Andy both serving our military, they chose to have a POW table at their reception. For those that don’t know what that is, I will explain. A small table is set using a white linen, a dinner plate with some salt on it, a vase with a rose in it, an upside-down glass, a bible and a small plate with a lemon on it. Each of these items have a meaning. You can read about their meanings in my photo that has a frame on this table explaining it. This table is to honor military members that are no longer with us to celebrate in such occasions as a wedding. It is a reminder of the sacrifices that they have made for all of us and a way to pay respect to the fallen.

Michelle and Andy had another creative idea for their ceremony programs that I just loved! They had personalized popcorn boxes filled with popcorn on a table for guests to enjoy while waiting for the ceremony to begin. On the boxes were the detailed information about the ceremony. How cute is that?

Thanks to the following vendors for making this wedding extra special for these two:

Day of Coordinator: Keswick Vineyards, Catering by: Harvest Moon Catering, Desserts by: Paradox Pastry, DJ and Entertainer: Greg Tutwiler, Ceremony Musicians: The Madison Trio, Florals by: Foxtail Cottage Florist, Transportation by: Ambassador Limousine, Hair and Make-up by: Charlottesville Makeup Artist, Officiant: Steve Nurawski, Photographer: Zack of Bow Tie Photo.

Keswick 10/27/17 Keswick 10/27/17

Gone, but Not Forgotten! | Tara & Roxanne

Well, it’s only happen once before in 7 years, but I was unable to attend the marriage of Tara and Roxanne at Keswick Vineyards on Friday, October 27, 2017. Of all the weddings I had to miss, why did it have to be this one????

Tara and Roxanne have a long relationship with Keswick Vineyards. They joined our wine club back in December of 2012 and have had the bragging rights as part of the winning team that created our 2015 Consensus wine! All of us were so excited when they chose to get married at Keswick Vineyards. Well, who would have known that our son Eric would pick the same date to get married... in Michigan! So, not only could Al and I not be here, but also our other son, Brian, who works the weddings with me besides being our Wine Club Manager. He was now going to be the Best Man. Stephen, our Winemaker, was also being eyed by Tara & Roxanne to be their officiant because of the long relationship and friendship that they share with him. Stephen did get to be an officiant that day, but it was for Eric’s wedding instead.

Obviously, with all of us being gone, we continuously thought about Tara and Roxanne’s wedding day as we celebrated in Michigan. I was so happy and thrilled to hear when I got back that their wedding went off without a hitch and they were so happy with everything. What a relief! (and yes, I did call that night to make sure everything went well).

Tara and Roxanne recently shared with us some of their wedding photos and I can see why they were so happy with everything. The two of them look amazing! Mother Nature provided them with a beautiful fall day and even included a beautiful sunset. As I look at their photos, a part of me is sad that I missed their day. We all really wanted to physically be there, but it just didn’t work out that way, but we were definitely there mentally.

Special thanks to the following vendors who made their dream wedding so special: Caterer: C&O Catering, Photographer: Zoeica Images, DJ: Mark Allen, Florals: Blue Ridge Floral Design, Desserts: Carpe Donut, Transportation: Easy Riders Bus Company, Rentals: MS Events, Hair: Wendy Bouldin, Make-up: Gohar Ayvazyan Beaver, Officiant: Kwasi Mitchell.

Keswick 10/22/17 Keswick 10/22/17

Bringing People Together | Katie & Nick

Wrapping up another three-wedding weekend with the marriage of Katie and Nick on Sunday, October 22, 2017. Once again, picture perfect weather! With that beautiful fall scenery, they also chose our “fall” location for their ceremony. That’s all three couples this weekend choosing that ceremony location. The views are amazing!

Katie and Nick had two boys acting as their ring bearer. What made that role extra special was the cool name tag they got to wear. It said, “ring security” and had a picture of them on it. It looked so official! You could tell they really felt special and important with their role.

I must share this wonderful idea that this wedding did for their escort cards. They made a free-standing frame that had each couples’ name on it in alphabetical order. Next to the frames was a table that had a Polaroid camera and film on it with directions. When guests came to take their escort card, they would replace that card with a selfie they would take. So, at the end of cocktail hour, the frames were now filled with photos of all their guests. How great is that? It also gave guests something to do during cocktail hour.

Once seated the guests could enjoy a pre-set salad while the couple shared their first dance. I like the idea of having a salad pre-set when you are doing a buffet dinner. This allows all your guest to get something to eat while each table makes their way to the buffet line.

Thank you to the following vendors for making another dream wedding come true:

Day of Coordinator: Keswick Vineyards, Caterer: Pumpernickel Pickle, DJ: Mark Allen, Photographer: Matt Lusk Photography, Videographer: Ian’s Creation, Hair & Make-up: Avenue 42, Florist: Willow Branch Flowers, Rentals: MS Events and Skyline Tent Company, Transportation: Ambassador Limousine.