Our Wedding Blog

Keswick 10/1/16 Keswick 10/1/16

Hillary & Peter's Wedding Day | Hillary & Peter

"A parade without a march leader is a mob; an orchestra without a director is noise and a circus without a ring leader is random chaos!" These words came from one of the many amazing vendors who helped to make Peter and Hillary's wedding day one of the best we've had this season. For this wedding, Meghan Streit was all of the above. She was the leader, the director, and the ring leader who beautifully crafted and coordinated one heck of a shindig!

On Saturday, October 1st all of the hard work, planning, and coordination that took place for the past year for Hillary and Peter went live. All of details that had been schemed, hammered out, and conceptualized were brought to life and together they helped to make this day one of the absolute best days in Hillary and Peter's lives.

It's hard to even know where to begin when you have so many glorious and gorgeous details. For simplicity, I say we start from the beginning! Meghan and her team got to work early with help from The Catering Outfit and set up a brunch buffet for the girls in the bridal suite. The spread was complete with Keswick Vineyard's newest sparkling wine as the perfect pop to start them off and an arrangement of fresh juices, fruits, and cheeses to send these bridesmaids into hair and makeup bliss. The guys weren't forgotten either. Hillary wanted to make sure that her guy and his guys had the perfect day as well. She planned a beer tasting for them in our man’s cave, which included beer and snack pairings of some of Peter's favorite beers. The guys loved the surprise and relished in both the beer and the snacks!

After a relaxing morning and early afternoon of pre-wedding fun, the couple was ready for their ceremony. They incorporated a wine blending into their ceremony, which is always a vineyard wedding favorite. Hillary and Peter shared their “I do’s” and then sent their guests off to enjoy cocktails and appetizers around Keswick’s big oak tree. It was important to them that they kept their guests happy and entertained while they snuck off to take photos, so they made a little scavenger hunt out of their guest’s table assignments! Each guest had their own copper Moscow Mule mug (their signature cocktail) with their names tied in ribbon and suspended from the trees. In order to find out what table they were at for the reception they had to go on a hunt to find the mug with their name on it. Guests loved it!

As if the moments leading up to the reception weren’t enough, even more attention was put into the reception. Take a look for yourself! There was not a corner of the tent left untouched when it came to designing the most picture perfect reception for Hillary and Peter. Everything from the farm tables to the florals were nothing short of breathtaking. Focus on the florals. Take a look, and then look some more. Southern Blooms went wildly above expectations and arranged some of the most beautiful florals we have ever seen! One of the focal pieces for their floral design was suspended above the head table. An old wooden ladder was decorated and adorned with stunning rich fall florals and stretched almost the entire length of their head table. Personally, I had never seen anything quite like it before but I certainly hope this won’t be the last time something that majestic makes its way underneath of our Sperry tent!

With the energy and the ambiance just right, we were all well off to a great start! The night continued with dinner, dancing, and late night donuts. (You can’t go wrong with donuts!)

For us, this was an incredible wedding for many reasons. It was amazing to watch the transformation and progression throughout the day, but it was even more rewarding to see the reactions and the faces of pure joy and happiness from all guests and… most of all… the couple!

Congratulations to you both, Hillary and Peter. Marriage has started out for you nothing short of first class and we hope it continues that way for all of your years to come!

Wedding planner, Shindig Weddings & Events. Catering, The Catering Outfit. Photographer, Jen Fariello Photography. Rentals, Festive Fare. Florist, Southern Blooms. Hair & Makeup, Rouge 9 and Top Knot Studio. Desserts, Albemarle Baking Co. and Carpe Donut. DJ, John Garland. Musicians, Encore String Quartet. Transportation, Camryn Limousine and Albemarle Limousine. Stationary, Sue Corral Ink. Officiant, Phil Gates. Lighting, Skyline Tent Company.

Keswick 9/30/16 Keswick 9/30/16

Where There's a Will, There's a Way | Lauren & Brian

We loved the energy that Lauren and Brian brought every time they came to visit in preparation for their wedding. You could tell during each visit how excited and happy they were to be getting married at their dream wedding venue! When the big day was coming around the corner and the forecast was acting less than predictable, the positive energy never left them. They knew that no matter what, rain or shine, their wedding day would be picture perfect…and it was!

We planned for all scenarios and were ready to make moves for all weather conditions. When you have a great venue and vendor team to have your back, all situations are stress-free and beautiful! Just take a look at Lauren and Brian’s faces for proof. You couldn’t wipe the smiles from their faces and nothing was going to put a damper on their day.

During her planning process, the bride had a very specific vision for her reception. One word. Wreaths! I remember her bouncing this idea on me several months before her wedding trying to hammer out the logistical aspects of hanging them. Through much deliberation, back and forth, and coordination a plan was developed and the wreaths went up on wedding day! Their wedding planner, Kelsey, did an excellent job in aiding her through this process. We loved working with her for a first time at Keswick Vineyards and we can’t wait to have her back!

Southern Inn Catering served an always scrumptious meal for dinner and delicious Moscow Mules and Old Fashioned’s as the couple’s signature cocktails. Signature cocktails are a great way to add variety to your bar menu in addition to our ever-famous and award winning wines.

The night cruised along with help of DJ Derek Tobler keeping the party alive and guests quickly hit the dance floor underneath of beautiful bistro lights. The couple and their guests were here for a celebration….and it was a celebration they got!

Wedding planner, Kelsey Ann Events. Caterer, Southern Inn Catering. Photographer, Betty Clicker Photograph y. Videographer, Rachael Curry Films. Rentals, Mad Hatter Vintage & Waterford Event Rentals. Desserts, Jennie Case. Florist, The Proper Petal. Transportation, Albemarle Limousine. DJ, Derek Tobler. Ceremony Musician, Keith Askey. Lighting, Skyline Tent Company. Ceremony Tent, Gibson Tent Company. Hair & Makeup, Pretty Weird Beauty. Officiant, Stephen Poore.

Keswick 9/24/16 Keswick 9/24/16

A Family Affair | Kathy & Brian

Kathy and Brian had started their family years back. This past weekend, on September 24th they further solidified their family in front of all of the people who have helped shape their lives.

The couple and their guests came from afar, most of them traveling to Charlottesville from Philly and New Jersey. Why they chose Keswick Vineyards with them being from out of the state? It’s simple. It’s gorgeous! So gorgeous to them that they booked with us site unseen. It took little convincing after seeing our portfolio of online photos and our abundance of five star reviews. With the combination of the two, they acted quickly and stole our last Saturday date of September just in time!

Though they may have not seen their wedding venue in person, they certainly made up for it with their multiple visits after booking! We loved meeting them for the first time and enjoyed their reaction to the grounds as they saw it for the first time. To say they were overjoyed would be an understatement!

As one of the first ways to solidify the beginnings of their family, the bride walked down the aisle with their son in her father’s arms. To make matters even sweeter, their daughter (also their flower girl) joined them at the top of the aisle for a prayer. It was the first time I had seen anything like that, but I certainly hope it won’t be the last.

The rest of the night went swimmingly. The couple brought in vintage details that they tied together beautifully. Most couples choose to rent their dinnerware through catering for convenience and ease. Not this bride! She hand selected each of her dinner plates, all which varied in pattern. The end result was elegant and beautiful! Similar touches were brought into their escort cards. Antique gold frames were used to hang their handmade calligraphy name-tags. Guests loved the cute display!

All of these details need to be captured! For Kathy and Brian, they were with the help of their great vendors. Cindy captured some great behind the scenes photos of their photographer and videographer working their magic! Take a close look at the photos. You’ll see the videographers drone! We can’t wait to see the footage.

Thank you to another great team! Ceremony Coordinator, Keswick Vineyards. Catering & Rentals, Harvest Moon Catering, Photography, Alex Schon Photography. Videographer, CY Media Productions. Desserts, Carpe Donut & H.F. Hornberger’s Bakery. Florist, Global Rose. DJ, Mark Allen with Class Productions DJ Service. Hair & Makeup, The Spot Beauty Shop. Transportation, City of Charlottesville. Officiant, Father Jim with Contemporary Catholics. Lighting, Skyline Tent Company.

Keswick 9/18/16 Keswick 9/18/16

Out of the Box | Kate & Jeremy

Jeremy and Kate are the newest addition to our Keswick Vineyards married couples this season. They got married here on Sunday, September 18th on a gorgeous September day which was a great way to end our summer wedding season.

Things were done a little differently for this couples wedding and we appreciated their creativity and unique vision that they brought to their wedding day. Keswick Vineyards offers our couples a wide variety of ways that each couple can make their wedding day personalized and special to them. Of course, there are suggestions we provide along the way so that the “box” isn’t completely left up to interpretation. There’s a lot of room to make with the property what you’d like. One of the many things that adds immense value to our couples is that there is no “cookie cutter” wedding here.

For ceremony locations, we have a handful of equally beautiful options! You can choose to get married right next to the vines for our vineyard view location. The fountain makes for a scenic and classic backdrop for wedding ceremonies. Similarly, our “fall” location is another favorite ceremony location couples choose for its all-encompassing views. With this view you get views of the estate, our iconic fountain, the vineyard, and prominent mountains. Jeremy and Kate loved this option and decided the fall location would be the perfect way to start off their marriage.

Their creativeness didn’t stop there. Jeremy and Kate had an intimate group of guests attending their wedding and, because of this, they wanted everyone to feel that intimacy during their reception. Instead of having all guest spread out equally underneath of the Sperry tent they decided to divide the tent into sections. Their dinner tables were on one half of the tent with their head table closest to the vineyard. It was a beautiful touch! Guests all had stunning clear views of the vineyard while they enjoyed a delectable meal from Harvest Moon Catering. The other half of the tent was “the after party”. This side had cocktail tables and their bar so that after dinner and in-between dancing their couples could enjoy a more bar-like atmosphere. Both their guests and we appreciated the change of pace!

Day of coordinator, Keswick Vineyards. Catering & Desserts, Harvest Moon Catering. Photography, Celestial Sights Photography. Rentals, MS Events. DJ, John Garland with Garland Studios, LLC. Florist, Hedge Fine Blooms. Hair & Makeup, Cool Looks Salon Studio. Transportation, James River Transportation. Lighting, Skyline Tent Company. Officiant, Claire Goodwin.