Our Wedding Blog

Keswick 4/28/18 Keswick 4/28/18

The Blessings of April | Mikaela & Josh

There’s something about spring weddings that just excites you. Mikaela and Josh’s wedding was one of those events that we were just head-over-heals in love with. To begin with, the weather was absolutely beautiful! Mikaela’s mother, Kathleen, let us know that they were extremely easy-going and the only thing that they really desired was for the weather to be perfect. Mother Nature provided exactly that! It was consistently warm throughout the day with a slight breeze that provided a refreshing air to the wedding. Needless to say, everyone was content with the outcome of the spring weather.

During Mikaela’s father’s speech, we were notified of how hard Mikaela worked to make her wedding flawless. And to say that she worked extremely hard is an understatement. Mikaela works full-time and attends graduate classes at night, but still managed to pull off an amazing wedding. She designed all the tables herself, where each table was adorned with a gray overlay and, on it, were floral wreaths with a black lantern centered in the middle. We were absolutely taken aback by the simplistic, yet beautiful, arrangements. On the guest table, lanterns and greenery was also placed to match the theme of Mikaela and Josh’s wedding. Also, on the table was a map of Charlottesville that guests signed. We thought it was such a neat idea to have a map of such significance be a memorable object. We loved all of Mikaela’s ideas and can’t wait to share them with our other couples!

Along with new beginnings of couples are also new beginnings that happen at Keswick Vineyards. Mikaela and Josh were the first to get married at our “fountain fall location.” We couldn’t have been any more thrilled to have discovered a new location for our couples to get married at. The chairs were set up with a slight curve so that all focus was on Mikaela and Josh for their ceremony. They decided to participate in the “blending of the wines” during their ceremony. On the wine barrel that was placed in the middle of the quadrant of the fountain were two wine glasses—one glass of white wine and another with red wine. Virginia, the officiant, had Mikaela and Josh drink out of each glass and then pour their wine into one glass. The “blending of the wine” into the one cup was symbolic of their future lives together, where they now live one single life that is devoid of individualism. We couldn’t have imagined a better way to start their lives off—with a representation of how they will live their lives together.

The remainder of the night was spent dancing the night away! We absolutely loved seeing everyone “getting down” on the dance floor and enjoying themselves. We hope that the rest of Mikaela and Josh’s lives are spent succumbed to this much happiness-- congratulations Mikaela and Josh!

A Special Thank You to the Following Vendors: Day of Coordinator: Keswick Vineyards, Catering: Pumpernickel Pickle, Hair & Makeup: Marci Corle, Photographer: Julie Napear, DJ: Mark Allen, Officiant: Virginia Moore, Transportation: Blue Ridge Tours.

Keswick 4/27/18 Keswick 4/27/18

Two is Better Than One | Amanda & Adria

The start of our wedding season proved to be great again! Amanda and Adria’s wedding on Saturday, April 27th at Keswick Vineyards stunned all of their guests with how beautiful the day was. For starters, Mother Nature made sure that their day was nothing far from perfect! We had sunny skies and a soft wind that blew both Amanda and Adria’s dresses ever so slightly; talk about a picture-perfect day!

The most memorable part of the day for us was the ceremony. Amanda and Adria decided they each would have their fathers walk them down the aisle, opposed to having one of them standing at the altar. Amanda and Adria entered the ceremony from two different locations and then met one other at the base of the aisle and continued to walk together to the altar along with their fathers. The moment was absolutely breath-taking and had the guests (and myself) smiling at how beautiful it was.

Another detail to this wedding that we loved was placing pillars at the very top of the aisle with floral basket on them. Not only did this look beautiful but it was also very price savvy. What made these pillars particularly special was that Amanda’s father made them specifically for her wedding day. We thought it was such a great way to incorporate one’s own personal touch to the ceremony. And what a stunning ceremony at that. Congratulations, Amanda and Adria and thank you to the following vendors for their help:

Officiant: Jeremy McClure, Caterer: Harvest Moon, Desserts: Paris with Passionflower Cakes, DJ: T.D. Layman, Photographer: Emily White with WhatEmSees, Hair & Makeup Artist: Cindy Alwine with Glo-Out Glamor Bar, Florist: Ginger & Blooms, Transportation: Albemarle Limousine.

Keswick 4/21/18 Keswick 4/21/18

2018 Wedding Season Officially Begins!!! | Emily & Michael

Congratulations to Emily & Michael for being the first couple to get married at Keswick Vineyards in 2018! I’m not sure who was more nervous over this day; the bride or myself? The first wedding of the season is always a little more stressful for me because we come out of our winter hibernation and need to get everything up and running again. The list of tasks to do was long, and Mother Nature made it even more challenging this year by keeping temperatures so cold that we had to wait on planting flowers and sod until the week of Emily and Michael’s wedding! We even had the tent installed during a snow storm! As always, everything came together eventually, and Keswick Vineyards was at its full beauty on Saturday, April 21st.

Mother Nature was very stubborn for the month of April by not wanting to let go of winter. Thankfully, she finally gave way to a beautiful, sunny, perfect wedding day. It seemed as if someone turned on a light switch that day. The grass was green, trees were starting to bloom, flowers were bursting with color, the fountain was glistening in the sun, the mountains were crisp and clean in the distance, and there was a slight breeze that made Emily’s veil blow softly during their ceremony.

To start their wedding day, Michael and his groomsmen enjoyed some Benny Deluca’s pizza while playing pool and corn hole. Emily and her bridesmaids were at the salon getting their hair and make-up done and arrived at Keswick Vineyards to finish getting dressed.

For their ceremony, Michael and his father made a beautiful wooden arch that the florist covered with greenery and flowers. Directly centered behind the arch was our fountain. What a spectacular backdrop they had for their ceremony!

Immediately following the ceremony, guests enjoyed cocktail hour under our large, 300-year-old oak tree, while listening to musicians play a bluegrass type of music. Throughout cocktail hour, guests found their name on a chalkboard to see what table they were seated at. Once they knew their table number, they looked for their name on a table which had a bag of candy-coated almonds for each of them to snack on.

As guests entered the Sperry tent, they were instantly taken back by the beauty of the tent, draped with bistro lighting. The long head table created with farm tables had greenery aligned down the middle with blue-colored water glasses and decorative china. I just love the look of this head table! What made it look even better was the plated dinner served by Pumpernickel Pickle. Choosing between salmon, beef tenderloin, or ravioli had to be a tough decision for all, but I guarantee you that no one was disappointed.

One of my favorites things from this wedding was the desserts! Michael’s family had made the most delicious cookies. It is a Pittsburg wedding tradition to have a cookie table. What made the dessert table particularly special was a photo of Michael as a child, eating a whoopie pie with his “twin” brother, and on it, there were some whoopie pies that were inspired by his grandmother’s. Guests just couldn’t get enough of those cookies (and neither could I)!

The rest of the evening was spent dancing the night away and then concluded with a sparkler departure to send the couple off on their honeymoon. What an amazing first wedding for us! I can only hope that the rest of our 2018 wedding season goes as smoothly as this wedding and has family and guests enjoying themselves just as much as Emily & Michael’s were.

Vendors: Planning by Keswick Vineyards, Catering by Pumpernickel Pickle, Bethany Snyder Photography, Cake by Pearl’s Bake Shoppe, Bouquet flowers by Faded Poppy and Ceremony Arch by Tourterelle Floral Design, DJ Greg Tutwiler with National DJ Connection, Officiant Rev. Benjamin Burk, Musicians Gene & Gayla Mills, Hair & Make-up by Moxie’s Hair and Body Lounge, Rentals by MS Events, Tent Lighting by Skyline Tent Company and Buses by James Limousine.

Keswick 11/11/17 Keswick 11/11/17

The Last Wedding of 2017 | Jessica & Thomas

Well, the end to our fabulous, extremely busy 2017 wedding season came with the marriage of Jessica & Thomas on Saturday, November 11th. The fall foliage had just peaked giving them a burst of color to enjoy. Unfortunately, Mother Nature decided to test out winter weather this weekend plunging temperatures in the mid 30’s! But hey, the good news, no rain, right? The weather was cold but that didn’t stop this wedding from heating things up with their love.

Jessica and Thomas chose to have their ceremony in front of the fountain at Edgewood Estate. Guests not only got to enjoy the beautiful back drop of the fountain, but also couldn’t help but relish the fall colors of the vineyard and foliage on the mountain side. And just like clockwork, my husband had one last time this year to perform “kiss duty” with our fountain. What is that you ask? Well, we turn off the fountain normally when the bride makes her appearance. Suddenly, it gets real quiet. Many people probably wonder if the fountain just broke? At the end of the ceremony, when the couple can kiss for the first time as husband and wife, my husband gets the cue to turn the fountain back on. It’s our version of fireworks going off. As you can see by my photo, he nailed it! Thanks Al for always being the person behind the curtain that gets no recognition.

After the ceremony guests went immediately under the Sperry tent to get warm. I was pleasantly surprised that our 2 heaters could maintain warmth when the temperatures dropped to 27 degrees that evening! Never could I imagine it getting that cold in Virginia in November. Let’s hope that never happens again.

Thanks to the following vendors for helping us close out our 2017 wedding season:

Day of Coordinator: Keswick Vineyards, Cake: Chandler’s Bakery, Photographer: Jeff O’Campo, Florals: Amanda Burnette, Photo Booth: Photo Booth of Charlottesville, Lighting: Skyline Tent Company, Transportation: Albemarle Limousine, Officiant: Craig Leets, DJ: Rudy Lopez, Catering: Butler’s Unique Catering.