Our Wedding Blog

Keswick 5/26/18 Keswick 5/26/18

Keeping up with the Koo's | Jen & Alex

We have couples get married at Keswick Vineyards from all over the country, but Jen and Alex had to plan their entire wedding completely on the other side of the United States—from Washington state! Luckily, Jen had family nearby our award-winning winery to help her plan her rustic, dream wedding for May 26, 2018. Her family even designed the gift table, seating decorations, and the floral arrangements that were hanging off of the ceremony chairs in mason jars. What would we do without our parents?

Jen and Alex actually got married a few years ago due to military reasons but decided to do a formal ceremony for all of their family members to attend. Being that they already had their rings, they decided to do a planting of trees for their ceremony. We loved the symbolism behind it; the roots of their relationship will continue to be intertwined and grow together.

Their seating assignments, of course, had to include the rustic and “natural” feel that their wedding had! They decided to use succulents with little flags in them that had everyone’s names and table numbers on them. It was a great way to bring the entire wedding together!

Jen and Alex decided to use our gazebo for multiple purposes. The gazebo space is used for whatever couples imagine for their wedding day, so we love it when new usages emerge! During cocktail hour, Jen and Alex made it a raw seafood bar, where shrimp, oysters, and scallops were displayed on a magnificent ice sculpture. Talk about mouth-watering! Later in the evening, they transformed it into a candy bar for guests to have a “sweet treat” to enjoy and take home with them for a late-night snack.

The food wasn’t the only thing that people enjoyed, though! Jen and Alex provided plenty of entertainment for guests, where games, such as, “guess the spouse” was played. Both Jen and Alex were blindfolded, where Jen had to feel multiple men’s hands to decide which one was Alex’s, whereas Alex had to feel multiple women’s biceps and had to guess which one was Jen’s. It was a night full of laughter, to say the least, and we loved partaking in the endless joy of the night. Congrats to the happy couple!

Thank you to the following vendors for all of their hard work:

Event Planner: Karissa Coffey Events LLC., Officiant: Andrew Vo, Caterer: Harvest Moon, Pasty Chef: Paris with Passionflower Cakes, DJ: Frank Smith with Prime Time Sound & DJ Services, Musician: Chestnut Oak String Quartet, Photographer: Lisa Mims Photography, Photo Booth: Photo Booth of Charlottesville, Hair & Makeup Artist: Jeanna Cusick, Florist: Colonial Florist, Transportation: K & M Executive Transportation, Rentals: MS Events, Lighting: Skyline Tent Company.

The photos in this blog were contributed by owner Cindy Schornberg. To see Lisa Mims photography check out her blog here!

Keswick 5/19/18 Keswick 5/19/18

Mais and Ben's "Royal" Wedding | Mais & Ben

Congratulations to Mais & Ben who were married at Keswick Vineyards on Saturday, May 19th. Mais & Ben’s wedding had such an elegant feel to it with the bridesmaids in their pale grey dresses, holding their bouquet full of greenery, and the groomsmen matching Ben in their black tuxedos. Ben looked extremely dapper in his black tuxedo, but Mais, obviously, stole the show! All eyes were on her the entire night. She looked absolutely stunning in her strapless, lace dress.

Mais and Ben decided to have their ceremony in front of Keswick Vineyards fountain, with the Blue Ridge Mountains and vineyards as their background. Mais looked beautiful as she made her entrance escorted by her mother and father. Nowadays, you see a lot of mixing of men and women in the bridal party. Instead of having a “best man,” Ben had a “best woman,” who was his sister. Alike the groomsmen, she wore black, but she wore a chiffon dress similar to the bridesmaids. Although people are straying further away from “traditional” weddings, we love all of the fresh and contemporary ideas!

Walking into the reception felt as if you were entering a forest. The centerpieces, rather than being composed of all flowers, had cherry blossom branches. The cherry blossom branches had a slight bud break, while white roses and other pieces of greenery comprised the centerpiece. This look was carried over onto their cake with a large sugar magnolia flower on it. I swear those sugar flowers looked so real that I had to touch them to confirm they were made of sugar versus the real thing. Amazing work by their baker!

Mais had family that travelled across the Pacific Ocean, all the way from Yemen! With having a globe for guests to sign and a vintage suitcase to hold envelopes in, Ben and Mais did a great job of reflecting the travels that everyone took to be at their wedding. We also really liked the idea of using wine bottles to have each table number and guest seating information on. Very simple yet a great way to add a little flavor of a winery to the reception.

Check out Mais and Ben's wedding video by Gardenia !

Check out Kate Greer's photography from their wedding in her blog.

Thank you to all of the following vendors for their hard work:

Event Planner: Keswick Vineyards, Caterer: The Local, Photographer: Kate Greer Photography, Videographer: Gardenia Weddings, Pastry Chef: Passionflower Cakes, Florist: The Faded Poppy, DJ: T.D. Layman of Sound Enforcement, Musicians: The Madison Trio, Hair and Makeup: Kate Newman, Officiant: Claire Frances, Transportation: Camryn Limousine, Rentals: MS Events, Lighting: Skyline Tent Company.

The photos in this blog were taken by Cindy Schornberg. To see Kate Greer's Photography see the link above.

Keswick 5/12/18 Keswick 5/12/18

The Unbreakable Vow | Jen & Dan

Jen and Dan’s wedding at Keswick Vineyards on May 12, 2018 was one that was so stunning and had guests raving about how beautiful it was as soon as they entered through the carport and out to the ceremony. For a May wedding, it was a little hotter than usual, but everything turned out to be perfect. Firstly, there was flowers placed everywhere! As soon as guests walked through the carport area, there was a large arrangement on the gift table and as they approached the ceremony space, you could see all the stunning roses and greenery that adorned the rustic arbor. You could also catch a glimpse of the cocktail hour area, where the cocktail tables were wrapped up in greenery. We loved the entire setup of Jen and Dan’s wedding and were obsessed with how romantic everything looked!

The best part of the day, though, was, hands-down, the ceremony. The Bloom Trio played soft melodies, while everyone was waiting in anticipation for the wedding party to enter. As soon as the officiant, Cory Newell, entered the top of the aisle, the fountain shut off, signaling that the wedding party was about to enter. Dan and his groomsmen looked so handsome, while Jen, in her beautiful, beaded gown, was so stunning along with all of her bridesmaids. Pastor Corey gave us a background of Jen and Dan’s life together and how Dan proposed to Jen. He told us that, like true Harry Potter fans, Dan called Jen upstairs to a room in their home, where he opened Harry Potter to the chapter entitled “The Unbreakable Vow.” When Jen found Dan upstairs in the house that they were about to move out of, she found him kneeling and asked Jen to marry him. While the entire ceremony was so sweet, the most touching part was the vows that Dan and Jen wrote to each other. Both of them gave the crowd insight to how much they really loved each other and how much they have been through together to get to where they are now. You could just hear the sniffling of all the guests and I was, quite literally, balling my eyes out. It was such an endearing moment for everyone!

When the ceremony ended, and guests proceeded from the ceremony to cocktail hour, they saw the magnificent cheese board that Harvest Moon put together for guests to enjoy. Also, during cocktail hour, we had two of our own employees that conducted a wine tasting for guests to enjoy while they were mingling amongst themselves. Guests could enjoy four different wines that were provided from Keswick Vineyards that were picked by the couple. Our employees had so much fun describing our wines to the guests and giving the more information about Keswick Vineyards.

The lounge area that was set up in the gazebo was also available for guests to enjoy during cocktail hour. Paisley and Jade had set up a couch with a coffee table and some other pieces of lounge furniture that gave it a very bohemian feel. Along the top of the gazebo, a white drapery was hung to give it the “romantic” feel that the entirety of the wedding had.

When looking into the tent from the gazebo, you could see the chalkboard bar that a calligraphist wrote on for the couple. Across it was written “Jen and Dan, May 12, 2018,” with flowers that were placed in the corners of the bar sign. We thought that the bar was a great way to incorporate the couple’s name to make it more representative of the couple. We loved seeing all of the beautiful ideas that Jen and Dan integrated into their wedding and cannot wait to see more weddings that were as beautiful as this one. Congratulations, Jen and Dan! If the four-leaf clover that we found isn’t a testament to how your lives will be together, I don’t know what is! We hope that you enjoy your “magical” lives together!

Thank you to the following vendors for all of their hard work:

Event Planner and Florist: Honey Armstrong with Kim Moody Designs, Officiant: Cory Newell, Caterer: Harvest Moon, Wine Tasting: Keswick Vineyards, Desserts: Cakes by Rachel, DJ: Eric Herod, Musician: The Bloom Trio, Photographer: Robert Radifera, Videographer: eMotion Productions, Photobooth: Photobooth of Charlottesville, Hair and Makeup: Avenue 42, Transportation: Albemarle Limousine, Lighting: Skyline Tent Company, Rentals: Kim Moody Designs, Paisley and Jade, and Harvest Moon Catering.

Keswick 5/6/18 Keswick 5/6/18

Sunset Skies and Sweet Goodbye’s | Stephanie & Will

Stephanie and Will’s wedding on May 6, 2018 at Keswick Vineyards was nothing short of exciting! The bridal party and mothers of Stephanie and Will showed up at noon to get ready for their wedding day, while waiting in anticipation for guests to arrive and for the ceremony to commence. Will, his groomsmen, and Stephanie and Will’s fathers were busy playing a game of pool while the ladies were getting ready. You could just tell how excited everyone was for Stephanie and Will’s special day!

Up until about an hour prior to the ceremony, we were watching the weather forecast because of the threat of rain. Luckily, we made the call to go forward with an outdoor ceremony and we are happy to say that it was the right one! We always tell our couples that the Blue Ridge Mountains really work wonders for our couples on their wedding day, and that it did! The weather turned out to be stunning for Stephanie and Will’s wedding. They decided to have their ceremony directly in front of the fountain so that the lush vineyard and fountain was their backdrop. When Brian Purcell, the officiant, pronounced Will and Stephanie, husband and wife, and said, “you may now kiss your bride,” Will went in for the kiss and the fountain turned on as if fireworks were going off! It was a memorable moment and we were so happy that Mother Nature decided to cooperate with us and that our “magical mountains” worked to our advantage once again!

When Stephanie and Will walked out from their ceremony, you could catch a glimpse of the sparkling shoes that Stephanie was wearing. Stephanie showed us afterwards that they actually were not heels—they were Kate Spade Keds that just glistened when the light hit them! They were such beautiful shoes and we loved the idea of brides wearing dressy, but also, cute and comfortable shoes. We have a lot of “firsts” at Keswick Vineyards, and wearing Kate Spade Keds was one of them!

Sunset photos are an absolute must with how stunning the mountains and vineyards are in the background. Robert Radifera was able to take some beautiful sunset photos with Stephanie and Will’s clear umbrellas held above them as they were kissing. It was such a beautiful photo and we were completely elated that Robert shared it with all of us! We love how Robert always shares his images with the couple; you can tell how much the couple adores being able to see their pictures directly after they are taken!

The remainder of the night was spent smoking cigars, dancing, and enjoying the beautiful cake that Sweethaus made for the couple. Everyone said their goodbyes to Stephanie and Will as they drove off to relax after a long wedding day. It was such a magical night and we were so happy with how everything turned out. Congrats, Stephanie and Will!

Thank you to the following vendors for all their hard work:

Event Planner: Keswick Vineyards, Caterer: Goodrich Gourmet, Photographer: Robert Radifera, Pastry Chef: Sweethaus, Florist: Barnswallow Blooms, Officiant: Brian Purcell, Makeup: Jenna Balser and Charlottesville Makeup Artist, Hair: Kendra Holcomb, Transportation: Albemarle Limousine, Lighting: Skyline Tent Company.