Modern romance: West meets east at a fashionable fest

When it came to finding inspiration for their Virginia wedding, Rachel and Kevin looked a bit farther away than normal—nearly 3,000 miles, in fact, to California, where they’d been living for the past four years. They decided to meld the two styles, taking advantage of Virginia’s lush Blue Ridge landscape, but adding some contemporary West […]

Let’s go: How to plan the cherry on top (the honeymoon!)

After all the planning, the organizing, the tastings, the fittings, you deserve a break. That’s what the honeymoon is for (that, and spending time with your sweetie pie). But where are couples honeymooning lately? Here are five top destinations, according to Peace Frogs Travel/Outfitters owner Julie Arbelaez. Iceland “If you like the great outdoors,” Arbelaez […]

Booze cruise: A traveling cocktail bar ups the ante

At first glance, a horse trailer doesn’t seem like the kind of place your guests would want to be drinking. Then again, The Bitty Bar isn’t your average horse trailer. In fact, it’s not really a horse trailer at all. Thanks to sisters Katie and Erica Painter, who created the business, where once stood two […]

Circle of love: A local dove release company ups the romance

File this one under “No-longer-cheesy wedding details”: dove releases. We know the thought might conjur images from ’80s rom-coms, but take it from this bride, who hired Cville Love Birds to enhance her long-awaited “I do.” “The doves were released just as we kissed and were announced as husband and wife for the first time,” […]

Wall this way: Are painted murals making a comeback?

Design trends come and go. And, sometimes, they come back again. Take, for instance, wall murals. Interior designer Karena Akhavein says she’s been getting more and more requests for 21st century versions from clients of her Gordonsville studio, Pebble Hill Design. “In grand Virginia estates, it was the tradition to use pictorial wallpaper in the […]

Solar gain: A prairie-style house makes the most of the sun

Ray Gaines has been involved with sustainable architecture since the energy crisis of the 1970s—long before “sustainability” was a term du jour. So when an old friend approached him about building a house with passive solar functionality and other green attributes, he was more than ready to accommodate. “We talked in generalities,” he says, as […]

‘My favorite bite’: Hamming it up with Jon Bray

While Jon Bray says he can’t pinpoint which particular dish got him into the food industry, he can specify a time (he was 14), a reason (“my parents repealed the Weekly Allowance Act”) and a place (Bellair Market). It was the beginning of a nearly 20-year career in Charlottesville kitchens, bars and dining rooms (you’ve likely […]