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 […]

Not your basic bachelor(ette): They don’t call it C-Vegas for nothing

With beckoning natural scenery, a cosmopolitan downtown and scads of wineries and breweries that make having a good time practically impossible to avoid, Charlottesville is perfect for bachelors and bachelorettes looking to blow off some steam pre-nuptials. But the area also offers group fun options that are more creative than your standard drink-eat-drink rinse and […]

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 […]

Simple pleasures: How to have a small Charlottesville wedding

What’s that you say? You actually don’t want the big ol’ wedding involving three days of catered meals, bagpipers on parade, engraved nameplates to mark which boutonniere goes on which groomsman? You’re not alone. Plenty of folks opt for a smaller, simpler wedding. There are many reasons why—and cost is only the most obvious. Fewer details […]

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 […]