Our Wedding Blog

Keswick 10/7/16 Keswick 10/7/16

Let's Get This Party Started | Liz & Scott

This wedding weekend we started off with the marriage of Liz and Scott on Friday, October 7th. Often times with our couples, Friday weddings can seem tough and not feasible with family and friends traveling from all corners of the world. In retrospect, it can be quite the opposite! One of the best part about getting married on a Friday is that you and your guests have the rest of the entire weekend to enjoy the surrounding beauty of Charlottesville. There are so many iconic sights and scenes to explore that your guests will thank you for it in the end.

Liz and Scott’s Friday wedding at Keswick Vineyards brought along quite the crowd. They had an impressive guest count of 150, which shows that no matter what day of the week you land at a beautiful location the ones you love will attend!

As with all marriages, you can’t go on without a little support. For their ceremony the couple asked their guests to join them in a prayer circle. The prayer circle was asking their guests to pray together for the happiness and success of their marriage. It was the perfect way for them to soak in the reason why they were together that day and to have them enter married life with the strength and support of their loved ones backing them up.

After that…it was party time! During cocktail hour they had one of their friends sing and play guitar. We all really enjoyed the energy and life he brought to that hour! We can’t wait to have him come back to the vineyard again. He sent guests off to the reception with the ever-famous “Hey Jude” and then it was time to eat!

Once their bellies were full of good food and great wine, the party really started. Liz and Scott hit the dance floor with gigantic cut outs of their faces encouraging guests to follow them. They were a gift from the best man and everyone took turns using them as props on the dance floor. They were definitely a dancing crowd and the dance floor stayed full all night!

Some dessert and a sparkler send off later and that’s a wrap! Congratulations to you both! You hosted a great wedding worthy of remembering!

Day of Coordinator, Olivia Nguyen. Catering, Hank’s Smokehouse. Photography, Christian Agha Photo. Florist, Amy Watson. Rentals, MS Events. Lighting, Skyline Tent Company. Hair & Makeup, First Look Artistry. Musician, Bennett Wales. DJ, Black Tie Entertainment. Transportation, City of Charlottesville and Camryn Limousine. Officiant, Sharon Erb.

Keswick 10/1/16 Keswick 10/1/16

Hillary & Peter's Wedding Day | Hillary & Peter

"A parade without a march leader is a mob; an orchestra without a director is noise and a circus without a ring leader is random chaos!" These words came from one of the many amazing vendors who helped to make Peter and Hillary's wedding day one of the best we've had this season. For this wedding, Meghan Streit was all of the above. She was the leader, the director, and the ring leader who beautifully crafted and coordinated one heck of a shindig!

On Saturday, October 1st all of the hard work, planning, and coordination that took place for the past year for Hillary and Peter went live. All of details that had been schemed, hammered out, and conceptualized were brought to life and together they helped to make this day one of the absolute best days in Hillary and Peter's lives.

It's hard to even know where to begin when you have so many glorious and gorgeous details. For simplicity, I say we start from the beginning! Meghan and her team got to work early with help from The Catering Outfit and set up a brunch buffet for the girls in the bridal suite. The spread was complete with Keswick Vineyard's newest sparkling wine as the perfect pop to start them off and an arrangement of fresh juices, fruits, and cheeses to send these bridesmaids into hair and makeup bliss. The guys weren't forgotten either. Hillary wanted to make sure that her guy and his guys had the perfect day as well. She planned a beer tasting for them in our man’s cave, which included beer and snack pairings of some of Peter's favorite beers. The guys loved the surprise and relished in both the beer and the snacks!

After a relaxing morning and early afternoon of pre-wedding fun, the couple was ready for their ceremony. They incorporated a wine blending into their ceremony, which is always a vineyard wedding favorite. Hillary and Peter shared their “I do’s” and then sent their guests off to enjoy cocktails and appetizers around Keswick’s big oak tree. It was important to them that they kept their guests happy and entertained while they snuck off to take photos, so they made a little scavenger hunt out of their guest’s table assignments! Each guest had their own copper Moscow Mule mug (their signature cocktail) with their names tied in ribbon and suspended from the trees. In order to find out what table they were at for the reception they had to go on a hunt to find the mug with their name on it. Guests loved it!

As if the moments leading up to the reception weren’t enough, even more attention was put into the reception. Take a look for yourself! There was not a corner of the tent left untouched when it came to designing the most picture perfect reception for Hillary and Peter. Everything from the farm tables to the florals were nothing short of breathtaking. Focus on the florals. Take a look, and then look some more. Southern Blooms went wildly above expectations and arranged some of the most beautiful florals we have ever seen! One of the focal pieces for their floral design was suspended above the head table. An old wooden ladder was decorated and adorned with stunning rich fall florals and stretched almost the entire length of their head table. Personally, I had never seen anything quite like it before but I certainly hope this won’t be the last time something that majestic makes its way underneath of our Sperry tent!

With the energy and the ambiance just right, we were all well off to a great start! The night continued with dinner, dancing, and late night donuts. (You can’t go wrong with donuts!)

For us, this was an incredible wedding for many reasons. It was amazing to watch the transformation and progression throughout the day, but it was even more rewarding to see the reactions and the faces of pure joy and happiness from all guests and… most of all… the couple!

Congratulations to you both, Hillary and Peter. Marriage has started out for you nothing short of first class and we hope it continues that way for all of your years to come!

Wedding planner, Shindig Weddings & Events. Catering, The Catering Outfit. Photographer, Jen Fariello Photography. Rentals, Festive Fare. Florist, Southern Blooms. Hair & Makeup, Rouge 9 and Top Knot Studio. Desserts, Albemarle Baking Co. and Carpe Donut. DJ, John Garland. Musicians, Encore String Quartet. Transportation, Camryn Limousine and Albemarle Limousine. Stationary, Sue Corral Ink. Officiant, Phil Gates. Lighting, Skyline Tent Company.

Keswick 9/30/16 Keswick 9/30/16

Where There's a Will, There's a Way | Lauren & Brian

We loved the energy that Lauren and Brian brought every time they came to visit in preparation for their wedding. You could tell during each visit how excited and happy they were to be getting married at their dream wedding venue! When the big day was coming around the corner and the forecast was acting less than predictable, the positive energy never left them. They knew that no matter what, rain or shine, their wedding day would be picture perfect…and it was!

We planned for all scenarios and were ready to make moves for all weather conditions. When you have a great venue and vendor team to have your back, all situations are stress-free and beautiful! Just take a look at Lauren and Brian’s faces for proof. You couldn’t wipe the smiles from their faces and nothing was going to put a damper on their day.

During her planning process, the bride had a very specific vision for her reception. One word. Wreaths! I remember her bouncing this idea on me several months before her wedding trying to hammer out the logistical aspects of hanging them. Through much deliberation, back and forth, and coordination a plan was developed and the wreaths went up on wedding day! Their wedding planner, Kelsey, did an excellent job in aiding her through this process. We loved working with her for a first time at Keswick Vineyards and we can’t wait to have her back!

Southern Inn Catering served an always scrumptious meal for dinner and delicious Moscow Mules and Old Fashioned’s as the couple’s signature cocktails. Signature cocktails are a great way to add variety to your bar menu in addition to our ever-famous and award winning wines.

The night cruised along with help of DJ Derek Tobler keeping the party alive and guests quickly hit the dance floor underneath of beautiful bistro lights. The couple and their guests were here for a celebration….and it was a celebration they got!

Wedding planner, Kelsey Ann Events. Caterer, Southern Inn Catering. Photographer, Betty Clicker Photograph y. Videographer, Rachael Curry Films. Rentals, Mad Hatter Vintage & Waterford Event Rentals. Desserts, Jennie Case. Florist, The Proper Petal. Transportation, Albemarle Limousine. DJ, Derek Tobler. Ceremony Musician, Keith Askey. Lighting, Skyline Tent Company. Ceremony Tent, Gibson Tent Company. Hair & Makeup, Pretty Weird Beauty. Officiant, Stephen Poore.

Keswick 9/24/16 Keswick 9/24/16

A Family Affair | Kathy & Brian

Kathy and Brian had started their family years back. This past weekend, on September 24th they further solidified their family in front of all of the people who have helped shape their lives.

The couple and their guests came from afar, most of them traveling to Charlottesville from Philly and New Jersey. Why they chose Keswick Vineyards with them being from out of the state? It’s simple. It’s gorgeous! So gorgeous to them that they booked with us site unseen. It took little convincing after seeing our portfolio of online photos and our abundance of five star reviews. With the combination of the two, they acted quickly and stole our last Saturday date of September just in time!

Though they may have not seen their wedding venue in person, they certainly made up for it with their multiple visits after booking! We loved meeting them for the first time and enjoyed their reaction to the grounds as they saw it for the first time. To say they were overjoyed would be an understatement!

As one of the first ways to solidify the beginnings of their family, the bride walked down the aisle with their son in her father’s arms. To make matters even sweeter, their daughter (also their flower girl) joined them at the top of the aisle for a prayer. It was the first time I had seen anything like that, but I certainly hope it won’t be the last.

The rest of the night went swimmingly. The couple brought in vintage details that they tied together beautifully. Most couples choose to rent their dinnerware through catering for convenience and ease. Not this bride! She hand selected each of her dinner plates, all which varied in pattern. The end result was elegant and beautiful! Similar touches were brought into their escort cards. Antique gold frames were used to hang their handmade calligraphy name-tags. Guests loved the cute display!

All of these details need to be captured! For Kathy and Brian, they were with the help of their great vendors. Cindy captured some great behind the scenes photos of their photographer and videographer working their magic! Take a close look at the photos. You’ll see the videographers drone! We can’t wait to see the footage.

Thank you to another great team! Ceremony Coordinator, Keswick Vineyards. Catering & Rentals, Harvest Moon Catering, Photography, Alex Schon Photography. Videographer, CY Media Productions. Desserts, Carpe Donut & H.F. Hornberger’s Bakery. Florist, Global Rose. DJ, Mark Allen with Class Productions DJ Service. Hair & Makeup, The Spot Beauty Shop. Transportation, City of Charlottesville. Officiant, Father Jim with Contemporary Catholics. Lighting, Skyline Tent Company.