Our Wedding Blog

Keswick 5/29/15 Keswick 5/29/15

Katelyn & Mike's Wedding | Katelyn & Mike

Well, as the saying goes, there's a first for everything, right? Well, this was a first for me and this is my 5th year doing weddings at Keswick Vineyards. We have been fortunate over the years to have the mountains in front of us for protection when scattered storms are out there. I can't tell you how many times I have watched the radar and have seen storms split and go around us until yesterday. Katelyn and Mike were married at Keswick Vineyards on Friday, May 29th. Thankfully, Katelyn and Mike had the correct attitude when Mother Nature throws you a curve ball. The scattered storms were coming from a different directions this time; from our back side. We knew the rain was coming so as guess arrived we had them go under the Sperry tent while we would wait out this rain cell. I thought this cell would pass in about 15 minutes and that would be no big deal to delay everything. What I didn't know was that those "protective" mountains of ours would work the opposite for us this time. Instead of the cell passing over us it stalled! I've never seen anything like this before. Those mountains were now holding that cell and that cell was breaking down before going any further. So, what do you do? Well, you switch things up a little. With the guests already under the tent we opened the bars and started cocktail hour. Hors d'oeuves were being passed around and guests enjoyed themselves as we waiting out the storm. In the mean time, Katelyn and Mike and the rest of the wedding party and family gathered to have photos done in a covered area. Once the storm had finally cleared, chairs were wiped down and we were a go for their wedding ceremony. The success of this wedding would not of been possible without the flexibility of so many people.

Special thank you to the following vendors for being so flexible to allow Katelyn & Mike to have the wedding of their dreams: Caterer C&O, Wedding Planner Barb Wired, Officiant David Norris, DJ Derek Tobler, Photographer Mike Topham & Nancy, Verde Natural Florals, Hair & Make-up Artist Brianna Adams, Desserts by Pearl’s Cupcakes, Rentals by MS Events and buses by Blue Ridge Tours (Camryn & Vanterra).

Keswick 5/24/15 Keswick 5/24/15

Teresa & Jason Super Hero's Wedding | Teresa & Jason

No need to fear, Teresa & Jason's super hero wedding is here! Closing out our three Memorial week end weddings was Teresa & Jason being married on Sunday, May 24th. Once again the weather was picture perfect! Everyone in their wedding party was a super hero. All the girls had a garter that was a super hero and all the guys wore a super hero t-shirt under their suits. Even a superman figure made its way onto their wedding cake that was topped with the words, "To Infinity and Beyond". Teresa & Jason brought a little bit of their Chinese heritage into their wedding by having hand fans for guests to use during the ceremony and then each table setting had a little red satin bag with treats inside. Instead of guests signing a guest book, they had painted on a piece of wood a tree with leaves that each guests would sign. What a beautiful keepsake they will be able to hang in their home. Guests were treated to an amazing dinner which featured a whole roasted pig! A delicious dessert table was on hand also to complete the feasting. What I loved the most from this wedding was how the guests applauded all during the ceremony. When the parents were seated, they would clap. When the groom and the groomsmen came out, they clapped. When they saw the bride, they stood and clapped. As the couple left, they clapped. Even when the parents left, they clapped. I wish more wedding would do that. It was just so nice to see how they appreciated every moment of that ceremony. Not sure if that is a Chinese thing or just how these guests were but I LOVED it!

Special thanks to the following vendors for doing a great job: Events by Elizabeth Palmer as their event planner, Caterer Exchange Events, Desserts by Amanda Robinson of Sweet Fix RVA, DJ Andy Wilfong of Party Masters Entertainment, Photographer Tyler Corvin, Hair & Make-up by Jennifer Saunders MUA, Black Creek Flowers & Sweets, Albemarle Limousine for buses and get away car, Photo Booth by Andrew Yanz of Yanz Events, Rentals by MS Events and Officiant Richard Galarza.

Keswick 5/23/15 Keswick 5/23/15

Stephanie & Mhamed's Wedding Day | Stephanie & Mhamed

Our second wedding on this Memorial week end was Stephanie & Mhamed who were married on Saturday, May 23rd. Again, the weather was just perfect! Just like yesterdays wedding, Stephanie & Mhamed did something different during their ceremony. Being from two different cultures, they chose at the beginning of their ceremony to have guests stand up and greet the person next to them and embrace them with a hug if they were comfortable with that. Stephanie & Mhamed wasn't real sure how this would go over but it went better than they could have imagined. I saw families going from one side of the aisle to the other to introduce themselves and become one family at that moment. It was the perfect thing to do to break any cultural differences. Stephanie ended up wearing three different dresses which all had special meanings to her. Her first dress that she wore for her ceremony was the same dress her Mother wore at her wedding! How special is that? Her Mother-in-law brought her a yellow dress from Morocco to represent their family heritage. Finally, her third dress was one she could dance the night away in! Stephanie and Mhamed have such a loving and caring nature to them and it was evident by them donating to charities in their guests names versus having any favors for them. The orchids in Stephanie's bouquet and floral arrangements were amazing! My favorite part had to be the delicious sweet table created by Sweet Haus but my daughter really enjoyed the Henna artist that was their through out the evening for the guests.

Thanks to the following vendors for making this wedding so special: Caterer & Event Planning by Roadside Chive, Officiant Julie Trump, Desserts by Sweethaus, Photographer Eric Lee from George Street Photography, Hair & Make-up by Atlas Salon, Flowers by Verde Natural Florals, The Henna Lady and DJ Ran Henry.

Keswick 5/22/15 Keswick 5/22/15

Lauren & Alex's Wedding Day | Lauren & Alex

Memorial Day week end is always a very busy wedding week end at Keswick Vineyards. Starting off our triple wedding week end was Lauren & Alex's wedding on Friday, May 22nd. Being from Texas, Alex had each of his groomsmen wear a Texas flag bow tie. Alex, of course, wore his cowboy boots as a true Texan would. Lauren and her bridesmaids looked so glamorous in their champaign colored dresses. Lauren & Alex chose the side lawn of Edgewood Estate at Keswick Vineyards to host their ceremony to take advantage of the whole view of the Estate, the fountain, the vineyard and the mountains. Truly the most spectacular view! Lauren & Alex did something really neat during their ceremony that I have never seen before. At the beginning of the ceremony the officiant took some time to introduce each member of the wedding party so the rest of the guests attending would know a little bit about them and how they new the couple. Really personalized their ceremony and the guests really enjoyed it. Another very personalized and touching moment was the father/daughter dance. Lauren's father had been writing a song since Lauren was born incorporating all those significant moments like birth, first day of school, college and then marriage into it. He and Lauren had prerecorded the song with the two of them singing it. At the end of the song it requested that everyone join them on the dance floor to celebrate this special day. Wow, hard to beat that one huh? Alex's father also had his moment to shine that evening. He took center stage to use a saber to open a bottle of champaign! It was perfect! Lastly, the groom and his groomsmen really stoled the night when they surprised Lauren with a perfectly choreographed dance finishing with the guys lifting her in a chair. Alex, you really did an awesome job! So, as you can see, this wedding was definitely done BIG but what else would you expect from some Texans?

Congratulations and thanks to the following vendors: Wedding Planner Becca Bee's Events, Caterer Caroline Street, Officiant Charlie Parker, Photographer Rebecca Keeling, Hair & Make-up by Jeanne Cusick, Colonial Florist, Desserts by Sweethaus and Easy Riders for transportation.