Tucked behind a 1920s-era house on a small Belmont lot lies a modern wonder: a water garden oasis featuring ornamental plantings, a raised deck surrounded by a black slate patio, a hand-carved fire pit and a mountainous stone structure from which a waterfall cascades gently into a tiered, purling river. The landscape plan was dreamed […]
Back in the ’80s, I ran a landscape crew at Albemarle Farm and its later incarnation as John Kluge’s Morven Farm. I kept a well-thumbed, constantly annotated 3×5 spiral notebook with a card for each month’s tasks for the areas we maintained: ornamental displays of shrubs, perennials and annuals; creekside buffers; an allee of willow […]
Patrick McGettigan & Elliott Glass September 23, 2017, at Grace Estate Winery Photographs by Ryan & Rach Photography Throughout the night, Patrick and Elliott kept hearing from guests that the love and positivity in the tent was palpable. That was all the affirmation they needed. “From the very beginning,” Patrick says, “our focus had been on […]
Sarah Peck & Jonathan Elsasser June 3, 2017, at Panorama Farms Photographs by The Mallorys When planning a wedding, some people start with a beautiful linen, or a particular prop. For Sarah and Jonathan, the setting was the jumping-off point. “We knew we wanted to showcase the beauty of Charlottesville’s outdoors,” Sarah says, “and have a […]
Jane Hawkins & Mike Webb April 21, 2018, at Grace Estate Winery Photographs by Jen Fariello Jane and Mike knew they wanted their wedding to showcase two main components. First and foremost, the beauty of Charlottesville, which they accomplished with the venue. “The view at Grace Estate was spectacular, and we liked the fact that it […]
Caitlyn Stego & John Anderson February 18, 2018, at Kardinal Hall Photographs by Amy Jackson The plan was, there was no plan. A stylist by trade, Caitlyn didn’t want to overcomplicate the planning process by matching patterns and colors. “I find it more inspiring to let the pieces that you find write the style of what […]
Floriza Hernandez & Jerome White September 9, 2017, at Trump Winery Photography by Michael & Carina Men in classic black-and-white tuxes, ladies in champagne. Gilded details, from the invitations to the cake topper. A reception area with high ceilings and extravagant chandeliers. Floriza and Jerome decided early on that they wanted their wedding to be elegant […]
We know, we know: You are a master of organization, and you have this wedding-planning thing totally under wraps. You are hiring your own vendors, crushing every target on your planning timeline and tracking the process in elaborate color-coded spreadsheets. Good for you! But have you considered what will happen when it’s your actual wedding […]
Buy a few extra bottles of bourbon when you snag the one you’ll bury* before your big day. This summertime cocktail from The Imbible author and Alley Light bar manager Micah LeMon practically sings “Virginia wedding” from the first sip, making it an ideal signature cocktail for your reception. Says LeMon, “If you’re having a […]
Describing love is hard. Describing the love you and your partner share in front of a congregation of family and friends? That’s hard enough to render any author speechless—even UVA creative writing professor and distinguished poet Lisa Russ Spaar. When couples ask Spaar for recommendations, her go-to, she says, is poetry. “Everything looks like a […]