Our Wedding Blog

Keswick 10/5/19 Keswick 10/5/19

From High Note to Down Under | Ashley & Casey

Keswick Vineyards had the pleasure of celebrating with two performers when Casey and Ash tied the knot on October 5th, 2019. From opposite sides of the globe, these two world travelers met on a cruise ship while performing; Casey a dancer and Ash a pianist. To honor their origins, they decided to have two weddings in October; one at Keswick Vineyards located just outside Charlottesville, Virginia and the other in Australia!

The ceremony they had here was a small, intimate one with Ash’s Best Man and Casey’s Maid of Honor to be the only ones standing up with them when they said their vows. Casey & Ash chose to have their ceremony under Keswick’s 300+ year old oak tree. At this site, it feels like the wedding is being hugged by Mother Nature and provides that garden-like feel. Included in Casey & Ash’s ceremony was the wine box with love letters ritual. With this, the couple has a wine box engraved with their names and wedding date and select an award-winning wine from Keswick Vineyard to be placed in it. The couple then places love letters they have written to each other into the wine box and it is hammered closed and not to be opened until a future date like their 1st or 5th anniversary. At that time, they will open the box and read those love letters that they wrote on their wedding day while enjoying the bottle of wine.

One cannot talk about this wedding without talking about the back of Casey’s dress though. Absolutely stunning! And with Casey being a professional dancer, she definitely had a back to show off! Casey mentioned that this was her favorite part of her dress and we definitely agree!

Some guests also got involved in memorable outfits. With Ash being a professional Pianist, one guest wore a dress shirt that had piano keys printed on it but that wasn’t all. Inside his paisley black printed suit jacket was photographs of Elvis Presley! This is the second “photo-jacket” we’ve seen, and both have been within a week of each other.

There are two details from this wedding that I really loved. First, they rented “farm-style” cocktail tables to be placed around the fountain for cocktail hour. Many have done cocktail hour in front of Edgewood Estate before and I really love seeing people interact with the space that way, but these farm-style tables were a unique addition. Secondly, their welcome sign, which was beautifully decorated, also had a schedule of events! What a great way to let guests know what’s coming and what to expect. (It also let us, and the other vendors know when the donut truck would open. Who doesn’t love Carpe Donuts in the fall?!)

Thank you to all those vendors who helped make this dream wedding come true!

Catering by The Catering Outfit
Photography by Alisandra Williamson (the photos in this blog were taken by owner of Keswick Vineyards, Cindy Schornberg)
Desserts by Carpe Donut
Florals by The Posey Detail
Ceremony by Virginia Wedding Vows Kathleen Ayers
Hair by Mackenzie Miller
Transportation by Easy Riders Bus Company
Rentals by MS Events
Lighting by Skyline Tent Company

Keswick 10/4/19 Keswick 10/4/19

Fall season begins! | Jodie and Phil

Kicking off October, our busiest month of the year, were Jodie and Phil who had their wedding at Keswick Vineyards on Friday, October 4th, 2019. It’s during this time of year when we have weddings every Friday, Saturday and Sunday as so many couples want to be married in the beautiful Virginia fall weather. Just a hint of fall was visible in the trees and the vines, teasing at the beautiful season to come! Jodie and Phil chose to get married on the north lawn of Edgewood Estate, nicknamed the “Fall Location”. You’ll see as the season progresses that more and more couples choose to be married on this lawn because of the beautiful panoramic view of the Estate, fountain, trees, vineyards and mountains all in one.

At the reception, the sweetheart table was elaborately decorated with wine barrels on each side, topped with beautiful floral arrangements. Complete with flowers around the base and elaborate lamps, a wooden sign, made this one of the most decorative sweetheart tables we have seen. L’etoile continued to impress with their beautiful display of food and the DJ had set up a large photobooth that was an absolute hit with their guests!

Thanks to all who made this such a wonderful wedding!

Wedding planning by Vision Weddings
Catering by L’etoile
Entertainment by Prime Time Sound and DJ Services
Photography by Shaun Malik (the photos in this blog were taken by owner of Keswick Vineyards, Cindy Schornberg)
Videography by Devon Bowles and Rachel Frank
Dessert by Paradox Pastry
Florals by Colonial Florist
Ceremony by Umar Ali
Hair and Makeup by Studio 321
Transportation by Easy Rider Bus Company
Get-Away Car by Camryn Limousine
Rentals by MS Events
Additional Lighting by Skyline Tent Company

Keswick 9/29/19 Keswick 9/29/19

Loving a Little Lavender! | Christopher & Cecilia

When Christopher and Cecilia got married at Keswick Vineyards on Sunday, September 29th they only had 61 guests in total. It was one of our smaller weddings this year, but both the ceremony and the reception were so full and alive! The love that this couple shared is evident in every single one of their photos, even after 11 years they still giggle like teenagers when they’re together. Christopher told me how through their whole relationship they have been equals, which is why he did not even get down on one knee when he proposed! So, for the ceremony they retained that equality in coming down the aisle together. It was a powerful and unique set up, using the fountain as a centerpiece to create two aisles that merged into one, just as the two families were becoming one!

Lavender was big theme in this wedding, from the blueberry/lavender lemonade by The Catering Outfit, the dried lavender being thrown at the ceremony, the lavender colored cake by Maliha Creations, the lavender colored linens and bridesmaids dresses, down to the color of Christopher’s tie and the lavender art on the escort cards! What a beautiful way to tie everything together.

One of my favorite parts of the décor though was the light-wall draped behind Cecilia and Christopher at their reception. The drapery of this wall matched the drapery that we already have strewn through the tent and the twinkling lights added a magical element that we could not take our eyes off! We wish the two of them the happiest ever after imaginable! What a treat it was to play such a huge role on their wedding day.

Thanks too to all of the vendors who put this spectacular event together!

Wedding Planner: Courtney Hildebrand of The Catering Outfit
Officiant: Munni Krishna (Friend)
Caterer: The Catering Outfit
Desserts: Maliha Creations
DJ: Derek Tobler
Photographer: Lindsey Paradiso (The photos in this blog were taken by owner of Keswick Vineyards, Cindy Schornerg)
Videographer: Ian's Creations
Photo Booth: Richmond Photobooth
Hair: Top Knot Studio
Make-up: Gohar Make-up
Transportation: Easy Riders Bus Company
Rentals: MS Events

Keswick 9/28/19 Keswick 9/28/19

Planned to a "T" (but with a surprise!) | Kim & Jesse

When your bride has a background in coordinating and has hired you to be her month of coordinator, you know you better bring your “A” game for sure and that is exactly what Keswick Vineyards did on Saturday, September 28th, 2019 when Kim and Jesse were married. It was a pleasure to work with them both, but we quickly learned that Kim had a solid vision of their wedding day and did a great job making sure we knew exactly what it looked like. From many spreadsheets, timelines and photos that Kim provided us, we felt very confident in making her dream wedding come true.

Kim knew every detail of this wedding but there was one detail that she was unaware of. Jesse had a custom suit jacket made that was lined with photographs of them. At their first look, Jesse surprised her when he “flashed” her his jacket. It took a second for her to really see what he had done but then you could see her reaction and yes, the tears of happiness started to roll. Way to go Jesse!

I remember when Kim & Jesse toured that they really wanted an outdoor ceremony up close to the vineyard but also really wanted a Catholic priest to marry them. They didn’t think that was possible. Well, I told them we could make that happen here and we did! Not only did they have a Catholic priest, but their outdoor ceremony was simply beautiful with the décor of an arbor with intricately woven florals. The cherry on top for this ceremony was having Rue, the couple’s dog, present to be their ringbearer. Rue is definitely their little girl and is so spoiled but what a sweetheart she is!!!

My favorite detail to this wedding hands down was their head table. Their florist, Tourterelle, nailed it! They had blue tapered candles with glass cylinders protecting the flame going down the entire center length of the farm tables. Accented with blue water goblets, blue napkins with a knot tie and gold colored flatware just made this head table breathtaking!

Lastly, because I have such a sweet tooth, the candy bar was a close favorite too. Who could resist filling a bag with such favorites like licorice, gummy bears, chocolates, suckers, tootsie rolls, taffy, gumballs, etc.? I know I couldn’t!

Thanks to the following vendors for a flawless event:

Wedding Coordination by Keswick Vineyards
Catering by Harvest Moon Catering
Music by DJ Andy Wilfong of Party Masters
Photography by J&D Photography (the photos in this blog were taken by owner of Keswick Vineyards, Cindy Schornberg)
Videography by Paper Boys
Cake by Paradox Pastry
Florals by Tourterelle
Ceremony by Father Martin
Hair & Make-up by Moxie Hair Lounge
Transportation by Blue Ridge Tours
Additional Lighting by Skyline Tent Company
Childcare by Local Nanny Network