Our Wedding Blog

Keswick 10/8/17 Keswick 10/8/17

Two-Player Mode . . . START! | Jennifer & Gregory

Congratulations to Jennifer and Gregory who were married at Keswick Vineyards on Sunday, October 8, 2017! What a beautiful fall day they had. They had just enough overcast to keep the heat down from the sun yet giving them the perfect lighting for the best photos with no shadows. There was no limit on where they could go for photos and they took advantage of that, doing a lot of photos in the vines!

Also, they had a wagon pulled for their ceremony that had some of “their children” in it. These children were stuff animals that obviously meant a lot to them.

After taking photos, Jennifer changed out of her wedding dress and into a red formal dress. She looked stunning, and she definitely stood out on the dance floor!

Jennifer and Gregory enjoy video games so they found a way to add some of that to their wedding décor. Take a look at their guest sign in book; instead of the traditional book they had
a canvas made that looks like the start of a video game! Each of the guests would then sign their names to each of the little hearts!

Special thanks to the following vendors: Wedding Planner, Barb Wired; Officiant Dave Norris; Caterer Hot Cakes; Musicians for ceremony, Quiet Fire; DJ Derek Tobler; Photographer Jeff Gleason; Videographer Ian’s Creation; Hair & Make-up by Jeanne Cusick; Floral Designs by Jacquelyn Collmus; Transportation Buses by University Transit Service.

Keswick 10/7/17 Keswick 10/7/17

High School Sweethearts | Lauren & Cody

I’m sure Lauren never thought when she was 15 years old that she would end up marrying the boy who sat behind her in French class that would put paper wads in her hood. But guess what? She did! And on Saturday, October 7th, Lauren and her high school sweetheart Cody were married at Keswick Vineyards.

They chose to be married in front of Edgewood Estate with the fountain, vineyard and mountains as their back drop. What a beautiful day Mother Nature provided them with a soft cloud cover and gentle breeze to keep every guest comfortable for this outdoor wedding.

During the ceremony they did a unity candle. With that, both Mothers come up to the alter and light individual candles. They then hand them off to their respective child (the bride or groom) and then the couple light one “unity” candle to symbolize the joining of two families into one.

After the unity candle the couple proceeded to do the wine box. For the wine box the couple picks one of Keswick Vineyards award winning wines to be placed in a box that won’t be opened for 1 or more years. Besides the wine in the box the couple write love letters to each other that neither have read before. They are sealed in this box. This wine box is to remain sealed until a designated time like their first anniversary or fifth or tenth anniversary. At that time, they will enjoy the bottle of wine while reading these love letters that they wrote on their wedding day. If the couple hits a bump in the road and are having some doubts about each other, they are to open that box at that time, have some wine, read those letters and hopefully that will re-lite the marriage.

Thanks to the following vendors for all their hard work: Southern Inn Catering, Pearl’s Baker Shoppe, DJ Fit (Nathan May), Photographer C. Tyler Corvin Studio, Foxtail Cottage Florals, Albemarle Limousine and Rev. Bhani Moore.

Keswick 10/6/17 Keswick 10/6/17

JMU & Rock-N-Roll Wedding Ties | Brittany & Joe

Starting off our four day wedding weekend is Brittany & Joe’s wedding on Friday, October 6th. Thankfully, they did the old southern tradition and buried a bottle of bourbon to ensure beautiful weather for their fall vineyard wedding. As you can see by the photos, it worked again!

Brittany and Joe did a few unique things at their wedding that I haven’t seen before. Let’s start with their flowers. Instead of each bridesmaid having a bouquet, Brittany had each bridesmaid “wear” their flowers. Some had a collar, a ring, a bracelet, hair piece, etc. No one had the traditional bouquet. For the boutonniere, the guys had shot gun shells to hold their flowers. Why shot gun shells you ask? Well, they love Guns –N- Roses and thought this was a great way to bring a piece of that rock band into their wedding.

For their guest book they had a hand drawn map of the local area featuring Keswick Vineyards and other favorite spots of theirs and had guests sign the matte around it. To continue the “map” theme was a framed map that had states that the couple had visited to assign which table each guests would sit at. Versus having table numbers, the tables were a state and had a picture of the couple at that state to give it that extra personal touch.

But the highlight for this wedding was definitely when the JMU mascot Bulldog arrived and helped escort the couple under the tent for the reception! The couple even got to share their first dance with the bulldog. It was just the cutest thing to see the mascot bulldog dance with one of their flower girls. Precious!

Thanks to the following vendors for making this night a night to remember for all who attended: It’s Your Day Wedding Planner, Officiant Josh B. Klotz, Caterer Roadside Chive, DJ Derek Tobler, Photographer Katie Lea Photography, Make-up by The Studio, Hair by Adrienne, Blakemore’s Flowers and A&A Limousine for transportation.

Keswick 10/1/17 Keswick 10/1/17

Falling for October! | Lyndsay & Shawn

Wrapping up our third wedding this week end we celebrated the marriage of Lyndsay & Shawn on Sunday, October 1st. What better way to begin the month of October then to have florals just loaded with fall colors and using pumpkins as vases. The vibrant colors of the brides bouquet just popped against her dress.

I just loved what this couple used for their guest book. They had a canvas that had some silk grape leaves on it. Guests would sign purple wood circles and then stick them to the canvas to create a grape cluster. Afterwards the couple will hang this in their home. Pretty creative huh?

I also thought it was a great idea to have little cards that had the flavors of each cupcake. They were held up with corks like you would do escort cards. This way everyone knew which flavor of cupcake to take. I also like how they didn’t forget their dog Ginger. Ginger couldn’t physically attend their wedding so they had a ceramic piece of Ginger on display at their dessert table along with a photo of the three of them. I just love those little personal touches!

Finally, the food. You can’t go wrong when you have Exchange Events under the direction of Jaclyn catering your wedding here. I couldn’t pass on the shrimp and grits and I know the bride and her guests couldn’t get enough of the hush puppies! Also, each guest had a box of New Jersey taffy waiting for them at their table. And to finish off the night the couple had a s’mores bar for guests to help themselves to. What a great way to finish off the evening.