Thinking of making the leap to entrepreneurship in Charlottesville? Your first stop ought to be the Office of Economic Development, which offers a broad menu of services to would-be business owners. We spoke with Jason Ness, business development manager, about what he and his colleagues can do to nudge your startup dream closer to reality. […]
When Dr. Casey Kerrigan, who was working for one of the top three shoe manufacturing companies in the world, realized her employer wouldn’t be able to develop the biomechanically engineered shoe that she knew she needed to make, she quit her job and did it herself. “I had to figure out how to do it […]
An American bride, a French groom and a love so nice, they celebrated twice. The first wedding, a springtime fête in Saint-Malo, France, was “classic Hollywood, red carpet glam,” says Arnita. The second, a mid-summer affair at Keswick Vineyards, channeled the 2017 Christian Dior bridal couture collection—“cocktail glam, sequins and luxe materials.” “I wanted it […]
A repurposed Dairy Queen sign signaled to guests that they’d arrived at the right place—Finnson Oaks, the bride’s childhood home. Just as it was important to include a nod to the family business (the Petersons have owned Dairy Queens since the 1950s), Laura couldn’t have seen getting married anywhere other than the house she grew up […]
Some DIY weddings can turn embarrassing, with an overwhelming amount of detail or disjointed aesthetic choices or—yikes!—décor slowly unraveling and coming unglued. This is none such wedding, thanks to the clear vision of the grooms, who from the start decided on a visual theme, which was simple and elegant, and committed to planning their big […]
Though it wasn’t a phrase she’d ever heard before, “botanical elegance” kept ringing in the bride’s ears as she planned her big day. “I wanted our wedding to feel timeless and classic with subtle elements of nature,” says Laura. “It really inspired a lot of my decisions, from the décor to the signature cocktails.” The […]
Melanie wanted to elope. Susan wanted a fairy tale. So they went for the best of both words: a wedding that struck the right balance between elegance, glam and sophistication, but that also created a festive, warm and welcoming atmosphere for guests. In more practical terms, that meant a clean color palette—white flowers (lilies, hydrangeas, […]
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 […]
“The most elegant Southern barbecue dinner party you can imagine.” That was the bride’s vision for her wedding reception from the get-go. It was important to her to incorporate her Southern roots (Allison grew up in Tennessee) wherever possible, utilizing magnolia leaves at each place setting, incorporating blackberry filling in the cake to evoke the […]
My fiancé and I met at a high school dance. I was dancing on a table with girlfriends (one of whom will be my maid of honor at our wedding this May), while he stood against a wall near the room’s front door. You could say it was love at first sight. As a lover […]