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Black, as a wedding color? Definitely! | Nikki & Jeff

I first learned of Nikki and Jeff’s vision of having a black & white color-schemed wedding when they visited during the summer with their event designer. Then, on October 18th, 2019, I saw their vision come to life as they celebrated their marriage at Keswick Vineyards with friends and family. I must admit, when I heard their colors were black, white and mixed metals I was both shocked and intrigued. I’m a fan of the mixed metal style that’s trending right now, but I had a hard time imagining a wedding with no pinks or blues or greens or any of that!


Well, Nikki and Jeff certainly impressed me with their vivid set up. Everything looked absolutely stunning! Just look at what they did to their reception bar?  Have you ever seen such a floral arrangement on a bar?  Nikki & Jeff rented black seat cushions for our Chiavari chairs and all of the florals were a brilliant white. They even had us removed our usual amber color gels from our Aurora tent up lighting to create a more contrasted white glow in the tent which looked so good, we were tempted to leave the lights like that for all our weddings!  To top it all off, the entire wedding party were all dressed in black, which was a striking choice and really brought this wedding up to a different caliber (even our Keswick staff was dressed in all black). What a classy celebration for a very classy couple! 

Special thanks to the all the vendors who made this wedding come true:

Wedding Planning and Design by Tiffany Rivera of Simply Breathe Events
Catering by The Catering Outfit
Entertainment by DJ Kevin Graham
Ceremony and Cocktail Music by Peter Richardson
Photography by Finn Lively (the photos in this blog were taken by owner of Keswick Vineyards, Cindy Schornberg)
Florals by Hedge Fine Blooms
Ceremony by Tamara Riley
Hair and Make Up by Anne Kibler of Charlottesville Make Up Artist
Transportation by Camryn Limousine
Rentals by MS Events

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When Things Just "Click"! | Brett & Katherine

Every now and then a couple comes along to Keswick Vineyards and things just click. That was how it felt when I met Kat and Brett leading up to their big wedding day on October 13th, 2019. Right from the beginning we hit it off fantastically and we were there every step of the way following their progress in wedding planning as though it was our own wedding! We were thrilled when they had the beautiful fall day they were hoping for and all of the wonderful autumn colors began to shine.

Naturally, Brett and Kat chose to get married in our “Fall Location”. Aptly named as you can tell from the photos! Choosing this area for your ceremony allows your guests (and photographer) a panoramic view of the estate, fountain, vineyards and mountains and all the autumn colors that come with it. The gorgeous fall weather was accented by all the beautiful touches that Kat and Brett brought to their celebration.

One of my favorites of these special touches were the boutonnieres for the children (of which there were quite a few). They all had little golden dinosaurs on them! They had a large role to play in the wedding as the wagon bearers escorted the flower girl down the aisle…. Quite possibly one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen! Then the elaborate golden frame that had their table seating chart. It was very stately and made a wonderful impression as guests entered the tent.

One lesson learned from this wedding: When performing the southern tradition of “burying the bourbon”, choose a bottle of bourbon that ISN’T super tall! I will never forget when Brett and Kat came to bury their bottle one month before their wedding and they bought a special bottle that shared their initials. It was a wonderful idea and a great bottle of bourbon if not rather tall. However, when it came time to digging… it was a more laborious effort than any of us imagined getting the hole deep enough for that bottle! A humorous moment that I will think fondly on as many more weddings in the future perform the same tradition.

A HUGE thank you to all the vendors who came together and made this such a wonderful event!

Wedding Planning by Mirna Brousseau

Catering by Southern Inn Catering

Entertainment by DJ Mark Allen

Ceremony Music by Charlottesville String Quartet

Photography by Heather Chipps (the photos in this blog were taken by owner of Keswick Vineyards, Cindy Schornberg) View Heather’s beautiful work from this wedding on her blog here!

Cake by Southern Inn

Late Night Donuts by Carpe Donut

Florals by Mirna Brousseau

Ceremony by Scott Rose

Hair by Lucas Shafer of Lucas Lucas Hair

Make Up by Stephanie Parker

Transportation by Albemarle Limousine

Rentals by MS Events

Tent and Lighting by Skyline Tent Company






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For the Love of Wine | Emma & Matthias

There are so many ways that couples can make their wedding day truly personalized to them. Some of my favorite details at weddings are when I see couples take something that is uniquely Keswick and transform it into a specific element of their wedding. This was the case when Emma and Matthias were married at Keswick Vineyards on October 12th, 2019!  It was another beautiful fall day in which the colors were becoming more and more vibrant as each day passed. Our “Golden Maple” as I call it, was not disappointing with its predictably beautiful colors. Emma and Matthias chose to have it featured in the backdrop of their gorgeous ceremony set up.

After the ceremony, guests were treated to a cocktail hour in the east lawn under our great oak tree where Emma and Matthias have Signature Drinks featured at the bar. I love these because I know when I am at an open bar, I draw a complete blank and have no clue what to order! Every time I see a signature drink at a wedding, I get excited as they sound so tasty! It’s also a great way to make the experience unique to you. I also absolutely love the artwork that Emma and Matthias had for their drinks, so beautiful!

When it came time to enter the tent for the reception, guests made their way down our beautiful stone staircase, only Emma and Matthias had run a gorgeous garland down the center railing! This coupled with the adorable seating chart that said “Heart you to the moon & back” made the entrance to the reception unforgettable. What made it really unique though was the table numbers, they weren’t numbers at all, but instead names of wine varietals! The table cards were printed with the Edgewood Estate logo of Keswick Vineyards and mounted onto a cork base to make a great table “number”. My favorite is Viognier, but I wouldn’t complain about being at table Merlot either.

All in all, it was a great wedding with a lot of great personal little touches that made big impressions. Congratulations to the happy couple and thank you to all the vendors who helped make it so special!

Wedding Planning by Elise Scheeren, Laurel Elise Events
Catering by Goodrich Gourmet
Music by The Bloom Trio and DJ John Garland
Photography by Kate Greer (the photos in this blog were taken by owner of Keswick Vineyards, Cindy Schornberg)
Cakes by Baked & Wired
Florals by Colonial Florist
Ceremony by Melody Porter, Living for Love
Hair and Make up by Clystia Taylor, Vanita Beauty
Transportation by Easy Rider Bus Company
Rentals by MS Events
Tent and Lighting by Skyline Tent Company

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An Estate-ly Affair | Kelley & Tim

 There was nothing in the ordinary when Kelley and Tim tied the knot on October 11th, 2019 at Keswick Vineyards. Kelley wanted her ceremony to be something different and unique, so she went for a ceremony spot that has only ever been done once before (years ago) and she did it in fashion. Her long dress draped down the front steps of Edgewood Estate and the people in their lives most important to them standing in cascading order down the stone staircase. It was a beautiful sight to behold and certainly unique!

During the ceremony, another element that really stood out was the handfasting ceremony where they quite literally “Tied the Knot”.  This ceremony reaches from old Celtic traditions in Ireland and Scotland before that. Traditionally, when two people tie the knot and become hand-fasted they are telling everyone of their intent to marry and they are now bound to one another. This was often done when a ceremony could not take place immediately and the couple would remain hand-fasted as husband and wife “unofficially” until the full ceremony could take place. Today, handwrapping or handfasting is a common part of many Celtic ceremonies and beyond as a beautiful tradition that signifies the union of the two persons.

The outstanding elements of Kelley and Tim’s wedding did not stop there. At the ceremony they also had a painter who rendered their ceremony with her artistic style in real time. She stayed through the rest of the evening and continued to finish her beautiful work! It was such a joy to watch the painting progress throughout the evening and how she captured the beauty and excitement of the moment! At the reception, Kelley and Tim treated their “grateful” guests with a massive array of pies! There was no way you could pick just one flavor, they all looked so great!

Thank you to everyone who helped make this wedding extraordinary!

Wedding Planning by Water & Wine
Catering by C & O
Photography by Meaghan Stramara (the photos in this blog were taken by Cindy Schornberg)
Videography by This is Double Take
Pies by Floozie’s Pie Shop
Florals by Lake Anna Nursery
Ceremony by Claire Frances
Hair and Make up by Studio FBJ
Transportation by Albemarle Limousine
Rentals by MS Events
Bistro Lighting by Skyline Tent Company

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