Get Married in Orange County…in Virginia! (Part 2)

Welcome back! How’d you enjoy Part 1? Part 2 starts Day 2 of the tour off with what else, but more food! But first, we wanted to take a moment to publicly thank all the wonderful vendors who helped make this incredible, inaugural tour such a success. (Special thanks to Korie Lynn & Meghan Ely of OFD Consulting for the vendor list and links!)

Catering: The Barbeque Exchange, Beggars Banquet, Elmwood at Sparks, Real Food, Stonefire Station
Dessert: Cakes by Kristine, Charlottesville Cupcake, Real Food
Event Planning: McBride Events
Event Rentals: Beggars Banquet, Festive Fare, Gibson Rental, Hunt Country Rental
Flowers: Colonial Florist & Antiques, Garden Gate Florist, Gentle Gardner, Lacy’s Florist, Sugar Magnolias
Invitations: Good Press Paper Co., If So Inklined Calligraphy
Music: Jesse Harper and the Love Canon String Band, Odd Legged Jenny
Tour Photography: Korie Lynn Photography, Cramer Photo
Touring: Tourguide
Transportation: James Limousine
Venues: Chestnut Hill Bed and Breakfast, Holladay House Bed and Breakfast, Inn at Westwood Farm, Inn at Willow Grove, Inn on Poplar Hill, James Madison’s Montpelier, Mayhurst Inn, Rounton Farm, Stonefire Station, The Light Well

Here, we’re starting off day two of the tour with a very tasty breakfast back at Chestnut Hill. Delish!

Amazingly, neither of us had yet visited Montpelier. It was beautiful and what a hidden treasure! We’re sad to say that we had no idea they did weddings here and look forward to shooting one there sometime soon.

Just before lunch we arrived at the newly remodeled Inn at Willow Grove. Wow. Just. Wow. Seriously. WOW.

Ginger mint iced tea anyone? Yes, please.

This is fantastic, and really shows the irreverent elegance found at this inn.

We got a quick tour of their brand new barn, for use for events.

The original ruins space can be tented if needed, and is perfect for cocktails.

After a truly incredible lunch (we were too busy chowing down like we hadn’t eaten in weeks apparently to actually photograph any of it), we reluctantly said goodbye to Willow Grove’s amazing owners and top-notch staff, but vowed to return again very soon.

We weren’t there for terribly long, but enjoyed a few relaxing minutes at Stonefire Station, just outside Gordonsville. We’re looking forward to returning for lunch.

And finally, we ended the tour at beautiful Barboursville Vineyards.

Many people choose the ruins as a backdrop for their ceremony. You can probably see why.

 

And the whole group…

Whew. Well, thank you for joining us on this little pictorial tour of beautiful Orange County, Virginia – truly a little slice of heaven in our own backyard. We wish we had taken even more photos looking back, but honestly, we were just so immersed in taking it all in. Whether you check some of these beautiful places out for either your wedding, party or just for a little getaway – you won’t be disappointed. All the vendors we got to meet were so giving and genuine – it was such a pleasure getting to know them and their talents. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions, at all, about the places we went or the people we met. Lastly, HUGE thanks to the ever talented and tireless Jen McBride for extending this wonderful invitation to us and planning such a special event. We look forward to returning to Orange and capturing it’s beauty as often as possible.

 

Get Married in Orange County…Virginia!

One of the nice things about living where we do is the abundance of rural beauty within close proximity to civilization. This was recently illustrated once again when we were invited to be a part of select group of  Virginia wedding professionals to go on a two-day tour of Orange County and experience some of its wedding venue and lodging options, and of course get to meet others such as caterers and florists and see some of their work live and in person. It was an incredible experience to be a part of  and are so honored to have been included. Of course we couldn’t go without bringing along a camera, as we had a feeling there might be a few things we’d love to share with you all. 🙂

Jennifer McBride of McBride Events teamed up with Jay Billie of Inn at Westwood Farm to very impressively bring an entire team of venue owners, caterers, florists, and a tent provider to create a two-day experience for those invited. Accommodations were provided, and quite honestly, I don’t think we stopped eating and drinking throughout the trip (although there seemed to be somewhat less drinking the second day, ha). We were impressed not only with the quality of much of what was highlighted, but the fact that so many peopled teamed up to work together toward a common goal. We look forward to working more in this beautiful county and with these capable, friendly people. Thank you, Jen and Jay, for the invitation! We were thrilled to be a part of it.

After several days of non-stop rain, much of the ground was muddy, so there weren’t a lot of highly fashionable shoes being seen. Unless you consider wellies to be highly fashionable. (Which we do, especially since Anne didn’t have any! How she’s managed to stay out of the rain for the past 1o years, I don’t know. 😉 )We started out the morning of the first day at the picturesque Rounton Farm, complete with chickens, horses and baby chicks!

Yes, these new chicks were a big hit with the group.

Tweeting about how awesome this hay ride is, Kate?

This pasture is the perfect spot for a ceremony or even for putting up a tent for your reception.

After Rounton, we split into two groups and ours then headed to Chestnut Hill B&B, which decorated its ceremony site in preparation for our arrival. And lucky for us, this is also where we got to spend the night with a few of our newest and closest friends. We very much look forward to returning someday soon!

Yes, it was 11am on a Tuesday. Why do you ask?

Historic Mayhurst Inn was next, and this statue reminded us of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

The tent was manufactured by Tidewater Sail Cloth Tents and provided by Gibson Rental. Why do we mention this? We’ve never seen a tent let in so much light while providing a soft, diffusing effect to direct sunlight. It was gorgeous inside the tent, and we wished all our tented wedding receptions used these tents. Just beautiful light. Seriously, great light. 🙂

Spare the cat. Really. Other cats at Mayhurst Inn include Me Too and Dammit (as in “dammit, another cat”). Love it! No extra charge for them at your wedding either.

Next stop –  Inn on Poplar Hill. We loved this irreverent check in sign.

What a great site for a ceremony, under a huge Linden tree strung with cafe lights.

This is the view from a hammock located on their expansive property. Yea, we might not have wanted to leave.

Friend and fellow shutter bug, Sara Cramer in the foreground relaxing for a few minutes before our walk-about trip out to the cat fish pond. One of the few times we’ve seen her without a camera for five minutes! Rest assured, she picked it up again soon – see more pics on her blog (hopefully!) soon.

This is an original Tiffany window located inside St. Thomas church. Absolutely. Stunning.

Final stop for the day before heading to dinner…

Our very own Charlottesville Cupcakes! You can order your own, or get them weekly at Para Coffee. Yum! And yes, we had cupcakes before dinner. Did we mention, we didn’t stop eating on this trip?! We just couldn’t turn down all the tasty treats that were offered up everywhere we went.

While we didn’t bring our camera to the big, tented dinner (for some reason, Bill didn’t think it went with his outfit 😉 )at the Inn at Westwood Farm, you should at least check out the inn and its myriad spots for a personalized ceremony with million dollar views. It’s absolutely gorgeous and would definitely be on our short list should we be getting married.

Be sure to check out Part 2 later today where we’ll also share the official list of all the incredible vendors who donated their time, energy and expertise to this wonderful venture – in the middle of wedding season no less!