I am happy to announce that this blog has moved and officially taken up residence on my very own domain: http://www.charlottesvilleweddingblog.com.  Please visit the NEW Charlottesville Wedding Blog ... it has a new look and new features and I have great plans for it's future :-). 

This new blog has been in the works for weeks and today my wonderful blog-tech guy,  Joel, moved the content over so that's it... this blog is officially ended and the new one has begun... see you over there and don't forget to subscribe or re-subscribe at the new Charlottesville Wedding Blog when you get there!

Blessings,
Claire

Last weekend I had the pleasure of working with Sue Taylor (violin) and Jennifer Hall (harp), A Touch of Class,  again up at Wintergreen Resort. As always, their music was absolutely beautiful as it floated on the breeze providing a wonderful backdrop to the day.  Jennifer & Sue are both accomplished musicians with lots of wedding experience, so working with them is always a pleasure.



If  you would like to contact them to find out if this duet is available for your date feel free to contact Sue by e-mail or telephone: 540-942-3970.  As you will discover on her website, Sue is available as a soloist and also often plays with other musicians in various configurations including a string quartet.  I recommend Sue and Jennifer without hesitation!

If you'd like to find out about the possibilities for your wedding at Wintergreen Resort feel free to contact Catherine Pearce at 800-273-3390 to find out what's available.

Congratulations to Katie and Bob!

On June 1 I wrote a post about Amber and Charlie's University of Virginia Garden wedding.  One thing I didn't share with you was the Photo Booth they had at their reception... this was a first for me!



Amber and Charlie's guests had a great time climbing into the booth... individuals, couples and some groups of 3 or more... to have their black and white photos snapped.  Here you can see a picture of the bride and groom with their newly-snapped pics in a great photo by Meg Runion.



Next to the booth was a table and scrap book so that everyone could leave their pictures with some words of congratulations alongside... isn't this a fun idea?

I know this is slightly off topic, but I've been wanting to share this with you ... this summer I had the privilege of creating and performing a Baby Blessing ceremony for the 6-month old son of a wonderful couple that I married a couple of years ago. Christine, Reed, Baby Elijah and about 15 friends and family gathered together at a shady spot, near the creek, on Reed & Christine's Albemarle County property to welcome Elijah to the family, to the community and to life.



After smudging ourselves with burning sage we shared prayers, blessings, poetry and heartfelt personal messages with each other and with Elijah. Reed and Christine each vowed to always be there to love and support Elijah as he grows into his future. Finally, we performed a little water blessing, anointing Elijah's hands, feet and head, using the same copper pitcher from Reed's family that we'd used in their wedding ceremony.



Baby Elijah cooed, smiled and wiggled his way through the ceremony and there was laughter and tears all around... all in all a blessing to everyone in attendance. What a wonderful way to welcome and bless a new life!

A couple of weeks ago the New York Times Sunday Travel section (June 22, 2008) ran this wonderful article by Jennifer Conlin  Please check it out for great information and resources to help you plan an eco-friendly honeymoon and you'll also find some good ideas for offsetting the impact for those who already have a more traditional trip planned.  Green travel aka eco-tourism is a trend on the rise and for good reason.  I'm so glad to see it getting high-profile attention in the New York Times. 

Graphic credit: Leif Parsons

If you would like to contact Pamela about your wedding date you are welcome to e-mail her at: pamelalepold@verizon.net or give her a call at 703-624-2159.

Elizabeth Brightbill and Andrew Gabbert, also known as Terra Voce, played for Cortney & Stephen's wedding ceremony and cocktail hour (see 7/4 post) at the Boar's Head Inn a couple of Wednesdays ago.  Although I've known Elizabeth and Andrew for a couple of years now this was our first wedding together.  Based on their remarkable abilities and broad repertoire it is no wonder that they stay busy performing and teaching all around the US... their music is so beautiful!



If you'd like to hear some clips from their repertoire please go here and if you'd like to find out if Terra Voce might be available for your wedding date e-mail them at info@terravoce.com or give them a call at 434-823-7652.



You might also enjoy watching them play at the Kennedy Center last October here.   Enjoy!

Cortney and Stephen got married on Wednesday at the Boar's Head Inn.  Keeping it simple and as stress-free as possible while having a meaningful experience with the highest quality services was top priority for this busy couple (she's a doctor and he's an engineer).



Their Weekday Wedding package included everything they needed and wanted for their small (15 guests) weekday event: professional photography, accommodations, a cocktail hour and dinner for their guests, a beautiful ceremony under the willow tree, live music by Terra Voce (a cello and flute duet) and more. 



It was a lovely day for Stephen and Cortney and their family and friends... congratulations on your new marriage!



If you would like to consider a small weekday wedding package visit The Weekday Wedding Company of Central Virginia or call me at 434-296-9885.

Yes, I have definitely been delinquent and have let a few of my beautiful brides and grooms slip through the blogging cracks... (as I write I'm sitting in a coffee shop on 86th Street in Manhattan so you can see I really am making an effort to catch up! :-) ) These photos are of 3 June couples that I haven't written about yet... certainly no reflection on these amazing people... but June can get a bit overwhelming at times!

The first photo is of Mary & Jorge. Mary and Jorge were married at Veritas Vineyard in the company of friends and family from near and far. As you can see Veritas (in Afton) provided a lovely backdrop of rolling hills and vineyards... there's no place prettier!

The second photo is of Katie and Jeff who also chose to have their wedding at Veritas... I've been so blessed this season to have had several ceremonies at this fabulous winery venue.

Lastly are Brenn and Kevin who held their ceremony at the Ivy Creek United Methodist Church in Albemarle County. Brenn had grown up in this Church and so having their wedding there was especially meaningful to them. Kevin and Brenn included 15 of their family and friends in their Ceremony with lots of readings and music... it was a wonderful day and I felt so honored to officiate their unique ceremony.

The Linden Trio is a wonderful choice if you'd like to have beautiful live music for your wedding ceremony and cocktail hour. There's something very special about live music at a wedding, everyone loves it.

Here's a photo I took just last weekend of the Linden Trio playing in the tasting room at Veritas Vineyard after the ceremony. I invite you to visit their website where you can hear some audio clips from their repertoire, get all the details about booking with them and contact Nancy to ask about your date. Enjoy!

I realized last night that it has been 2 entire months since I did a Green Wedding post. There are quite literally dozens of articles published each month with an ever-increasing number of websites and blogs devoted to the topic. Below I've listed 10 resources I've run across over the last 8 weeks that are the best of what I've seen out there... hopefully without being too repetitive. Please do let me know if you have run across other resources (articles, sites, blogs, etc.) that you've found useful or at least interesting. Enjoy!

• Green Wedding Guide: everything you need to plan a wonderful earth-friendly wedding.
• Have a Green Wedding by Catherine Sharick from Time Magazine
• A Touch of Green by Emily Leaman (this article originally appeared in the January '08 issue of The Washingtonian)
• All Green Wedding: A wedding registry, gift registry service for the environmentally conscious
• It's Easy Being Green: It's a Nice Day for a Green Wedding from Center for American Progress
• The Wedding Planner Goes Green: from invitations to caterers, how to make your big day eco-friendly by Evangel Fung
• Tips to Make your Wedding Green from the Nature Conservancy
• Green Articles: 8 Ways to Green Your Wedding
• A Nice Day for a Green Wedding: Take steps to make your celebration eco-friendly by Erinn R. Johnson
• Eco-friendly weddings keep sprouting up by Janet Kornblum from USA Today

And, if you're planning a wedding in the Charlottesville area be sure to check out the Charlottesville Wedding Services Directory for info. on over 400 wedding-related products and services for your Central Virginia wedding planning needs!

There are dozens, no, hundreds (thousands?) of wedding blogs out there. Truthfully, there are lots that I wouldn't give a second look at and a huge number that have been abandoned... that is they are no longer being posted to but are still sitting out there in the blogosphere.

Over the past 6 months I've run across a fair number of interesting, unusual, fun and sometimes useful wedding blogs that are being kept current and today I am happy to pass these links along to you.

Hope you have fun checking these out and if you have a favorite of your own please let me know.... if I get enough suggestions I'll do another post on wedding blogs!

Here's my list (in no particular order)... enjoy!:

1. The Bride's Cafe edgy, sophisticated, romantic
2. Wedding Bee
3. Wedlok gettin' hitched in style
   
4. DC NearlyWeds
5. Off Beat Bride taffeta-free alternatives for independent brides
6. Wedding Fanatic
7. The Handcrafted Wedding the cure for the common wedding
8. Always a Bridesmaid ask us your pressing wedding questions
9. Groom Groove a blog for the groom - quick tips and information for grooms, the best man, groomsmen and wedding mcs
10. Bridal Cheek a journey toward non-traditional wedded bliss, with style
    

Erin and Robert had a truly beautiful wedding a couple of weeks ago at Veritas Vineyard (I know, I know... I've been there every weekend this month... and next weekend too!). So, rather than focusing on the venue I thought I'd highlight the wonderful photos of Jennifer Colina. When I contacted Jennifer she generously sent along these beautiful photos of the Robert & Erin's wedding and it's clear to see that she is a very talented photographer. Enjoy!

The Rosebrook Inn is a sweet little B&B near Stanardsville, VA which is about 20 miles North of Charlottesville. I've done 1 or 2 weddings a year there over the last 3 or 4 years and every year the property gets more and more beautiful with the tender loving care of Innkeepers Cory and Mike Skeens. The Inn, with 5 unique rooms around a large common area, lends itself to having the whole family stay together for the weekend to enjoy a relaxed time while offering plenty of space to have a large group of guests enjoy the big day.

This past weekend Valerie & Andy held their ceremony at the Inn's Gazebo and given the day's extremely hot temperatures chose to have their reception in the nice, cool dining hall in the B&B's basement rather than the Pavilion which would have been a much less comfortable option given the weather.

As always, Mike & Cory were present to tend to all the details necessary to make Andy & Valerie's day a great success and we made it through the ceremony under a very welcome cloud cover but escaping the thunder storm that we could hear rumbling in the distance. It was a wonderful day full of unexpected surprises ... congratulations Valerie & Andy!Check out the Rosebrook Inn's website or call Cory & Mike at 434-990-0561 or 434-985-7976 to find out more.

And, if you're planning a wedding in the Charlottesville area be sure to check out the Charlottesville Wedding Services Directory for info. on over 400 wedding-related products and services for your Central Virginia wedding planning needs!

Looking for a great DJ for your wedding? Well, let me introduce you to John Garland, one of the best! I took this photo of John last weekend in the beautiful ballroom at Veritas Vineyard where he was set up for an evening of great music and fun.

If you'd like to find out more about John's DJ services you can visit his website or give him a call at 434-293-3332.

There are many ways to go about choosing or creating your wedding vows. Some couples (not as many as you'd think) do write their own... but more often they choose to use a vow that has already been written (there are dozens!) ... perhaps with a few tweaks here and there to make it more true to themselves or they may use the "mix and match" approach of combining parts of several vows to create one that's right for them.

Today I found this wonderful article by Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway, a Wedding Officiant and Author in the New City York Area... also known as The Wedding Goddess. Her article entitled "How To Write Your Own Wedding Vows" is a guest post at wedlok.com, a Las Vegas wedding blog. Check out Rev. Laurie Sue's website too, she is a prolific writer and also has great advice on relieving the stresses around the whole wedding-planning thing! Check out her book "Wedding Goddess: A Divine Guide to Transforming Wedding Stress into Wedding Bliss".

Alison & Shane were married on Friday at Oak Ridge Estate in beautiful, green Nelson County, about 35 miles South of Charlottesville. Take a look at this post that I wrote last fall after I'd done a wedding at this beautiful location for more information about what they have to offer.

Alison & Shane had a large wedding party all of whom wore a beautiful green color that just melted in so beautifully in with the opulent green countryside and gardens of Oak Ridge Estate. The table settings were also green and white with dragon-fly napkin rings and flower seed packets as favors for their guests.

As always, Rhonda and her staff were there to handle every detail and make Alison and Shane's wedding flow smoothly! If you'd like to find out more about possibly having your wedding at the Oak Ridge Estate give her a call at 434-263-8676 or send her an e-mail at info@oakridgeestate.com

And, if you're planning a wedding in the Charlottesville area be sure to check out the Charlottesville Wedding Services Directory for info. on over 400 wedding-related products and services for your Central Virginia wedding planning needs!

I'm excited to let you know that I've just launched my newest creation, The Charlottesville Wedding Services Directory. A labor of love, it is my hope that this downloadable directory will provide brides and grooms, as well as other local wedding vendors with a great resource for their wedding planning needs. I've included everything from photographers, caterers and florists to venues, ceremony resources, musicians and horse-drawn carriages... plus everything in between and more. You can check out the Table of Contents to see a comprehensive list of what's included.

Please check it out and I'd be thrilled if you'd let me know how you like it, what you find useful and, of course, what's missing... my plan is to update it yearly so your input will be invaluable. My hope is that the reasonable price of $19.95 will make it accessible to everyone. Enjoy!

Early in May I performed a wedding for Diana & Tom, quite literally, out in the middle of a field. I wrote about it in my post called "Wedding in a Field" last month but my photos were nothing compared to Billy Hunt's beautiful work which I am happy to share with you here.






Check out Billy's website and blog and be sure to give him a call to see if he is available for your date: 434-825-7721. In addition to his wonderful wedding work I especially love his photos of children, he really captures them in such a unique and skillful way. Thanks Billy, I look forward to working with you again soon!

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of performing a wedding for Jean and Joe. With just the couple, photographer Rob Garland and myself present, Jean and Joe spoke their vows to each other in the courtyard of the Dinsmore House, a wonderful little B & B on Main Street, near the University. Jean and Joe came to Charlottesville to elope because Joe had wonderful memories of his days at the University of Virginia as both an undergrad and graduate student and wanted to share this place with his love, Jeanie. After the ceremony we all piled in my little car to scoot down the street to the Rotunda where Rob took some wonderful photos of the couple. Enjoy a small selection of Rob's beautiful photos:





If you think you might like a small weekday wedding visit my Weekday Wedding Company site. Also, please visit Rob Garland's website and blog to see lots more of his amazing work. You can also reach Rob at 434-293-3332 to see if he is available for your date.