Charlottesville, Virginia is home to over 30 vineyards and several orchards. It is a beautiful small town with breathtaking views of the rolling hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. My husband went to UVA for his undergrad and after visiting with him for a fellowship interview, I fell in love with the scenery, vineyards and endless amounts of outdoor activities and hiking. When he matched for his fellowship there, we knew it was meant to be and would be the place where we would tie the knot!
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Invitation
We were obsessed with our invitations! They were made by my very own Mom, the owner of @soozcakes. She is not only a baker but an artist as well, so she created a watercolor design by hand, based on a print in my home that I have always loved. She then scanned her design and printed it as the back card stock to the invitation. She created a sheer overlay with gold leaf accents and a brad fastener so you could see the beautiful watercolor design in its fully glory by lifting the sheer overlay.
Get her FREE watercolor design printable below and you can be on your way to making these for your next event!
Venue
I wanted to take advantage of the beauty of Charlottesville, so we chose an all outdoor venue at The Market at Grelen. I can not say enough about this spectacular venue. Not only do they make their own wine and farm to table food, they are primarily an orchard, where you can go pick fresh fruit and vegetables and enjoy the rolling hills of their farm and arboretum. It is a must see if you are ever visiting Charlottesville!
Reception Decor and Vibe
I was going for Romantic Vintage Glam and created many of these items myself which was a huge cost savings. I had our florist create the eucalyptus table runners and circular wreaths but I provided the rest! I purchased a sheer fabric from Joan Fabrics for the head table runner, and purchased these vintage gold candlesticks and led flicking candles. The glass votives and candles for the guest tables were from Amazon.
I found the mirror and stand for my guest seating chart on sale at Home Goods and ordered a custom wax seal off Etsy to adhere the table numbers to the mirror and this wax stick and glue gun set. The welcome sign on the mirror was made on a Cricut.
I made the hanging greenery chandelier with a variety of faux greenery sticks and a 36″ grapevine wreath from Michaels. Since it was suspended in the air you could not tell at all that it was fake.
Ceremony Decor and Vibe
I chose to save money here and let the landscaping speak for itself. I purchased rose petals to line the aisle from Costco. Market at Grelen lets you pick out and use any of their arboretum plants as decor for free which I used at the entry to the aisle. We got married during COVID precautions and I wanted people to feel comfortable so I ordered red, yellow and green wristbands with our wedding hashtag on them that people could choose to wear based on their level of social distancing.
Bridal Suite Fun
We had a blast getting ready together in the beautiful bridal suite at Market at Grelen. We did hair and makeup at my house and enjoyed champagne and got dressed in the suite.
Gift Exchange
My husband and I chose to have our Maid of Honor and Best Man drop off gifts we had to one another at our suites, as we were not seeing one another until I walked down the aisle. He gave me a beautiful emerald ring (that is his birthstone) from Local Electric.
Bridal Dress
My dress was a Gali Karten gown from Dimitra’s Bridal in Chicago. I fell in love with this designer and knew I had to have one of her dresses so this was a bit of a splurge. I modified the neck to a sweat heart top and made the sleeves removable for a second look at the reception. My shoes were from Kate Whitcomb and they offered a personalized option on the inside for “something blue” which I loved.
Grooms Suite Shenanigans
My husband and his groomsmen got ready together in the grooms suite and enjoyed refreshments and laughs to calm his nerves.
Gift Exchange
I gave him custom cuff links to match his tux and a personalized book made with my amazing photographer Kyra Gustwick!
Grooms Tuxedo
Jeremy chose a baby blue slim fit tuxedo from The Black Tux with a black bow tie and a white and black pocket square. Everyone raved about how nice they fit and some of the groomsmen loved the jacket so much they ended up purchasing it after the event.
Ceremony
We decided to exchange our own vows. You can hear them on our wedding video here from Rivion Films! Jeremy and I did not see one another until I walked down the aisle so it was a very emotional and special moment for both of us!
Wedding Party Photos
You can not tell from the photos but it rained cats and dogs this evening! The universe was looking out for us because it held out until just after the ceremony and photos! We were so grateful for that!
My bridesmaid dresses were from David’s Bridal which was such an affordable option! I also loved that the girls could try them on first as there was a store in each of their states they lived in.
Bride and Groom Photos
Our photographer did an amazing job at not only capturing the more serious romantic photos but also the fun and joy we were feeling that day!
Reception – On to the Party!
We used the bridesmaid bouquets as decor once we got to the reception by simply laying them on the party favor and dessert tables to elevate the look and save some money!
Wedding Favors
My stepdad’s famous hot sauce and my grandmother’s infamous pepper jelly were our take home gifts for the guests. We canned them in little mason jars to match the venue and labeled them with custom tags, so cute!
Wedding Cake
My mom, the owner of Sooz Cakes made our beautiful rustic wedding cake! We used real flowers provided by the florist to dress it up a bit. It was so simple, beautiful, and delicious!
Evening Vibes
We decided on a live band from Sam Hill Entertainment and man am I glad we did! It created such a fun atmosphere and we got lost in the music with our guests!
Photo Booth
We wanted to have some sort of activity at the reception and decided on a photo booth from The Inman Instabooth. It was a huge hit for all the ages! It even took boomerangs and guests could text them right to their phone.
Sisterly Love
Mal was my Maid of Honor of course. I love these photos captured in the evening. We are likely talking about the future blog we will be creating on day! Love you Sis!
Sparkler Send Off
This was our Great Gatsby moment! Shout out to our wedding planner at Logan Paige Events for putting this together! She lined everyone up as we exited the reception to board the bus back to the hotel.
We hope you enjoyed the highlights from our special day as much as we did! For more event inspiration, check out our Events page here!
