Our Wedding Blog

Keswick 10/7/17 Keswick 10/7/17

High School Sweethearts | Lauren & Cody

I’m sure Lauren never thought when she was 15 years old that she would end up marrying the boy who sat behind her in French class that would put paper wads in her hood. But guess what? She did! And on Saturday, October 7th, Lauren and her high school sweetheart Cody were married at Keswick Vineyards.

They chose to be married in front of Edgewood Estate with the fountain, vineyard and mountains as their back drop. What a beautiful day Mother Nature provided them with a soft cloud cover and gentle breeze to keep every guest comfortable for this outdoor wedding.

During the ceremony they did a unity candle. With that, both Mothers come up to the alter and light individual candles. They then hand them off to their respective child (the bride or groom) and then the couple light one “unity” candle to symbolize the joining of two families into one.

After the unity candle the couple proceeded to do the wine box. For the wine box the couple picks one of Keswick Vineyards award winning wines to be placed in a box that won’t be opened for 1 or more years. Besides the wine in the box the couple write love letters to each other that neither have read before. They are sealed in this box. This wine box is to remain sealed until a designated time like their first anniversary or fifth or tenth anniversary. At that time, they will enjoy the bottle of wine while reading these love letters that they wrote on their wedding day. If the couple hits a bump in the road and are having some doubts about each other, they are to open that box at that time, have some wine, read those letters and hopefully that will re-lite the marriage.

Thanks to the following vendors for all their hard work: Southern Inn Catering, Pearl’s Baker Shoppe, DJ Fit (Nathan May), Photographer C. Tyler Corvin Studio, Foxtail Cottage Florals, Albemarle Limousine and Rev. Bhani Moore.

Keswick 10/6/17 Keswick 10/6/17

JMU & Rock-N-Roll Wedding Ties | Brittany & Joe

Starting off our four day wedding weekend is Brittany & Joe’s wedding on Friday, October 6th. Thankfully, they did the old southern tradition and buried a bottle of bourbon to ensure beautiful weather for their fall vineyard wedding. As you can see by the photos, it worked again!

Brittany and Joe did a few unique things at their wedding that I haven’t seen before. Let’s start with their flowers. Instead of each bridesmaid having a bouquet, Brittany had each bridesmaid “wear” their flowers. Some had a collar, a ring, a bracelet, hair piece, etc. No one had the traditional bouquet. For the boutonniere, the guys had shot gun shells to hold their flowers. Why shot gun shells you ask? Well, they love Guns –N- Roses and thought this was a great way to bring a piece of that rock band into their wedding.

For their guest book they had a hand drawn map of the local area featuring Keswick Vineyards and other favorite spots of theirs and had guests sign the matte around it. To continue the “map” theme was a framed map that had states that the couple had visited to assign which table each guests would sit at. Versus having table numbers, the tables were a state and had a picture of the couple at that state to give it that extra personal touch.

But the highlight for this wedding was definitely when the JMU mascot Bulldog arrived and helped escort the couple under the tent for the reception! The couple even got to share their first dance with the bulldog. It was just the cutest thing to see the mascot bulldog dance with one of their flower girls. Precious!

Thanks to the following vendors for making this night a night to remember for all who attended: It’s Your Day Wedding Planner, Officiant Josh B. Klotz, Caterer Roadside Chive, DJ Derek Tobler, Photographer Katie Lea Photography, Make-up by The Studio, Hair by Adrienne, Blakemore’s Flowers and A&A Limousine for transportation.

Keswick 10/1/17 Keswick 10/1/17

Falling for October! | Lyndsay & Shawn

Wrapping up our third wedding this week end we celebrated the marriage of Lyndsay & Shawn on Sunday, October 1st. What better way to begin the month of October then to have florals just loaded with fall colors and using pumpkins as vases. The vibrant colors of the brides bouquet just popped against her dress.

I just loved what this couple used for their guest book. They had a canvas that had some silk grape leaves on it. Guests would sign purple wood circles and then stick them to the canvas to create a grape cluster. Afterwards the couple will hang this in their home. Pretty creative huh?

I also thought it was a great idea to have little cards that had the flavors of each cupcake. They were held up with corks like you would do escort cards. This way everyone knew which flavor of cupcake to take. I also like how they didn’t forget their dog Ginger. Ginger couldn’t physically attend their wedding so they had a ceramic piece of Ginger on display at their dessert table along with a photo of the three of them. I just love those little personal touches!

Finally, the food. You can’t go wrong when you have Exchange Events under the direction of Jaclyn catering your wedding here. I couldn’t pass on the shrimp and grits and I know the bride and her guests couldn’t get enough of the hush puppies! Also, each guest had a box of New Jersey taffy waiting for them at their table. And to finish off the night the couple had a s’mores bar for guests to help themselves to. What a great way to finish off the evening.

Keswick 9/30/17 Keswick 9/30/17

Traditions... and Then Some! | Katie & Ben

One of my favorite things about hosting weddings at Keswick Vineyards is being able to witness different cultures and their wedding traditions. On Saturday, September 30th, Katie and Ben were married surrounded by their family and friends.

The day started out with the Chinese tradition of a tea ceremony. The events that led up to the tea ceremony were so much fun for everyone to watch. It started with the groom and his groomsmen skipping their way to the pool gate. On the other side were the bridesmaids. Ben had to convince them that he was worthy of Katie’s hand in marriage. So, the bridesmaids had several games he had to pass in order for them to grant him access to her.

For the first game the groomsmen strapped an empty Kleenex box around their waste. Inside the box was jingle bells. They had to shake their boxes so the bells would come out for the groom to catch in his box. The amount of bells caught would represent how much he wanted to marry Katie. He passed that test!

For the second game the bridesmaids figured out a way that Benjamin would never forget how to spell Katie’s name. Each groomsmen had to put on a diaper. With a sharpie in their mouth, they had to each write a letter on the back side of a diaper to spell out her name. He also passed this test!

Finally, Ben had to practice on his groomsmen how to make Katie’s toes curl. The bridesmaids would direct different locations for Ben to lick whip cream off of each groomsmen. Ben and his groomsmen were all very good sports and he passed this test also which proved he was cleared to marry Katie.

From that point, the formal tea ceremony started. Each set of parents were presented with some tea from the couple as they kneeled and received blessings from their parents. Now, a quick bit to eat and it was time to get ready for the Western American ceremony.

Katie & Benjamin chose to be married closest to the vineyard with the mountains in the back ground. The weather was just picture perfect. As they exited the ceremony guests blew bubbles to join in the celebration. While the couple went to take some more photos, guests enjoyed cocktails and appetizers.

Once under the tent, dinner and dancing was on the schedule to last the rest of the evening. If you will notice, they decided to change the color of our up lighting in the tent to purple. To finish off the evening, Katie and Benjamin enjoyed taking some funny photos in the photo booth.

Thanks to the following vendors for making this cultural wedding day one to remember by all who attended: Catering by C&O, Wedding Planner Anh Dang, Chandler’s Bakery, DJ Dennis Payne, Videographer Emotion Pictures, Photographer Kelly of Kay Pea Photography, Hair & Make-up by Transformations Artistry, Flowers by Willow Branch, Photo Booth of Charlottesville, Rentals by MS Events and Transportation by Richmond Limousine.