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.
