My heart is yours

Lauren McBride & Reilly McDonnell April 30, 2022, at Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards Photography by Kylie Martin While Lauren is a big fan of Jane Austen and was craving a wedding with a 17th-century Britain aesthetic, Reilly wanted a more whimsical feel. But they both knew that, whatever they came up with, the central theme had to […]

Time-honored

Roxanne Irani & Bradford Manning May 5, 2022, at Bramblewood Farm Photography by Meredith Coe Roxanne and Brad had started planning an elaborate, multi-day Zoroastrian ceremony and reception in the Virgin Islands for January 2021. Then the pandemic hit. The couple pivoted, marrying in an intimate ceremony with their families at Bramblewood Farm in Keswick, where […]

Believe in love

Kelly Martin & Joshua King July 30, 2022, at The Market at Grelen Photos by Audra Jones Photography Kelly was getting something to eat at the UVA food court one day when a stranger walked up to her.  “He said he’d seen me around and asked for my phone number,” she says. “We went on two dates, […]

Choose your own adventure

Because they’d been to plenty of weddings where they’d shelled out money for travel and accommodations and only laid eyes on the bride and groom for a few minutes, Sophie Wolf and Brian McPherson wanted to make sure their wedding was different. They had only one criterion: The venue should accommodate all of their guests […]

Pumpkin spiced

Late last summer, four Crozet-based friends found themselves discussing the upcoming fall season—prepping for a new school year, planning autumnal activities, and cozying up their home décor. For Alexis Macias, Kristen Craig, Kathleen Ross, and Marilyn Speight, the latter always starts with the porch.  “We had seen on Instagram a mom out of Texas who […]

Redefining authentic

Anna Gardner and Kelsey Naylor had been working in Charlottesville kitchens for years—Naylor at L’étoile, TEN, The Alley Light, Gardner at The Ivy Inn, Junction, Oakhurst Inn, and together at Public Fish & Oyster—when they started feeling a burn-out coming on. They decided to take a year off to explore Japan and, when they came […]

For cake’s sake

You may know her as the former baker at Greenwood Grocery, or the woman who in 2020 penned Hot Cheese (aptly named—it’s a collection of recipes with hot cheese as the star), or even as the author of the Chesnok food blog, but Polina Chesnakova’s gunning for a new title: the cake lady. Her new […]

Making waves

When Matthew Jull and Leena Cho, of Charlottesville-based architecture firm KUTONOTUK, first heard of a competition hosted by Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, to design a major upgrade to its oceanside boardwalk, the architects were intrigued.  “Within a town with such a rich history, and in such a dynamic environment, how do we create new spaces […]

Food for thought

One in six people in Charlottes­ville struggle with hunger, meaning the need for organizations like Loaves & Fishes—which provides free groceries to families and individuals in need—is immense. The nonprofit offers food from the USDA’s Emergency Food Assistance Program, as well as donated “pantry” items up to twice a month.

Oh, go on

Every year, the list of things on wheels grows larger, but it’s hard not to get excited about folks who’ve decked out a vintage horse trailer and repurposed it into something special. It’s the stuff HGTV shows are made of (not to mention what comes next: the goods). Here are three we’re devouring. Kaas & […]