A couple of weeks ago I wrote a bit about Kristin & Brian's wedding at the Clifton Inn earlier this month. Today I am so happy to be able to share a bit of the work of their wonderfully talented photographer, Adam Barnes. Here is a small selection of his photographs of that day. If you want to see more please visit his site and his blog or give him a call at 434-845-6292 to see if he's available for your date. Great work Adam, I look forward to many more weddings with you in the future!

Last Saturday I had my first Veritas Vineyard wedding of the year and, as always, it was a beautiful event. Stacey and Adam had a bit of a windy day for their ceremony and the bride's veil would not stay out of her face... so about halfway thru the ceremony it occurred to me that if Adam and Stacey switched places that the wind would blow her veil away from her (wish I'd thought of that sooner!). So, much to their guests delight everyone switched sides and we continued the ceremony without a hitch! It's those funny and unexpected little moments that make the best memories!

Hopefully my photos here will give you just a small feel for how beautiful everything was at the Vineyard last weekend and how happy Adam and Stacey were! After an hour-long cocktail hour in the tasting room and on the decks all of the guests were invited into the Veritas ballroom for an evening of wonderful food, music and fun. As always, Chris Hurley, was there to make sure that every little detail was handled without a problem... I don't know how she does it!

About a month ago my colleagues, Bill and Ann Holland of Holland Photo Arts kindly asked me if I would "mind" if they did a post about my Wedding Officiant work on their blog... I was so flattered and said, "of course!" Feel free to check out their very nice post along with some of their beautiful photos of two beautiful wedding that we did together. And, while you're there please look at Bill and Ann's beautiful wedding photography work on their website. Enjoy!

Yikes... I'm a week behind with posting about my weddings but I didn't want to leave out this beautiful event from last Saturday! Kristin & Brian truly had the wedding of their dreams and The Event Company put it all together... amazing! I'm posting more photos than I usually do for a wedding but in this case I just couldn't leave any of these out. What I loved the most was the incredible attention to detail and so I'm including photos of a few of the many unique touches that I enjoyed.

As far as I could tell JF, Jessica and Sheila from The Event Company went all out to make this event a perfect realization of Kristin and Brian's vision for their wedding day and probably made it even better than they could have imagined. They took the Clifton Inn as their beautiful backdrop and, without taking away from the already spectacular setting, created beauty everywhere... from the farm table altar to the wheatgrass display of seating cards to the rope swing hanging from a huge tree in the front with photos and flowers for the guests to enjoy.

Speaking personally about Brian and Kristin's ceremony I would have to say that it was one of my favorites ever... and I've had the privilege of creating and performing hundreds. The choices they made combined with their solid connection to each other and to me during the ceremony made it an uplifting experience for all of their guests. One family friend said to me afterwards that he felt as though the ceremony had been a gift to everyone there. Made my heart sing!

Another wonderful aspect of being a part of a wedding that is planned by The Event Company is how easy they make my job. JF did such an amazing job facilitating the rehearsal that I wish he was at all of my weddings! Sheila was always there to tell me when to walk and where to stand and Jessica seemed to be everywhere at once making sure that every detail ran smoothly. So, needless to say if you are looking for someone to help you plan your wedding I would highly recommend that you contact JF, Jessica and Sheila at The Event Company. Visit their website or give them a call at 434-974-6500.

I had the privilege of hearing and watching both of these amazing guitarists play for two different weddings this past weekend. They are both extremely talented with extensive experience and are wonderful additions to any wedding!

Peter Richardson, with whom I have done several weddings in years past, has a vast repertoire of classical, jazz, folk, flamenco and more. If you visit his page here you can hear samples of his beautiful music as well as read rave reviews from couples who've had him play for their weddings. Peter also has a music school in Charlottesville where you can learn pretty much any instrument you can think of. If you would like beautiful guitar music at your wedding visit Peter's page here or give Peter a call: 434-293-4017

The second guitarist I had the opportunity to meet and hear this weekend was Rafael Scarfullery. Although I knew of Rafael this was the first wedding we'd done together. Rafael's classical guitar is absolutely amazing. Although I am not well versed in classical guitar music I can see from his website that he is very experienced and has a vast repertoire. You can find out lots more about Rafael and hear his music at his website and call him at: 434-851-0674.

Diana and Tom had their wedding last Saturday morning out in Albemarle County on Diana's family's land... literally right out in a field, it was very green, lush and scenic! The land had a natural slope that provided a mini-amphitheater feel to it and the groom had the chairs set up in curved rows so that everyone felt tucked in and included.

Diana and Tom included a couple of unique additions to their ceremony including the calling of the directions, in the Native American tradition, and a modified Handfasting ritual, both of which were meaningful and especially appropriate to the setting.

One of my own favorite parts of the day was the couple's beautiful dog, Elsa, with her lovely flower collar created especially for the occasion! Billy Hunt was their photographer and as soon as I have some of his photos to share I'll post them here.

Diana and Tom have known each other since childhood and having many of their family and mutual long-time friends in attendance was especially sweet for them... many blessings to both of you!

Kim and Shaun got married yesterday at the lovely Clifton Inn. Just the two of them and it was so sweet! I've been to the Clifton Inn at all times of the year but I have to say that yesterday it was more beautiful than I've ever seen it... absolutely everything was in bloom: climbing clematis, iris, peonies and lots of other things I couldn't identify.

The most touching part of Shaun and Kim's ceremony was reading the letter that Kim's parents wrote to them and sent from Australia for me to share with them on their wedding day. Such a special touch... and Kim's Dad is a wonderful writer! Half way through the ceremony it started to rain so we all ran for cover and finished the ceremony up on the front porch of the Inn. It's always those unexpected moments that are the most memorable!

Despite choosing to have a wedding without guests Shaun and Kim had all of the wonderful extras to make their day special: an amazing photographer: Jen Fariello whose beautiful photos you see here; Jill and Tim Rose captured the ceremony on video; Jen of Elan On-Site Salon Services helped Kim get her hair and makeup just right; Wayla Chambo and Wes Swing provided beautiful flute and cello music and Melissa of the Clifton Inn, as always, made sure every detail was in place.

We all agreed that there's something really special about these small weekday weddings... if you have an interest in a small affair like this one please consider checking out the Weekday Wedding Company.

Thanks to everyone who made yesterday's wedding so wonderful and many blessings to both of you Kim and Shaun!

ALL PHOTOS BY JEN FARIELLO:

Well, of course I've written a fair number of posts highlighting the University of Virginia Chapel but it never fails to be a wonderful venue... especially full of meaning for the couples who choose to marry there often because the University was where they first met.

Last weekend this beautiful couple, Lauren and Aprotim, were married at the Chapel. Their ceremony included 2 simple rituals to honor their cultural and religious backgrounds. To honor Aprotim's family's tradition the couple exchanged beautiful flower garlands which, in India, signify not only a formal greeting but also respect and acceptance.

Later in the ceremony, to honor Lauren's background, a Unity Candle ceremony was performed symbolizing these two unique individuals now joining to create a marriage partnership... the entire ceremony was very special and lovely. Lauren's bridesmaids wore red dresses which with bright bouquets which complemented the garlands and really lit up the Chapel.

I was happy to find that DJ Derek Tobler was present to handle the music and microphone, Jason and Tammy Keefer took pictures (can't wait to see them!) and Karen, from Hedge was the creator of the beautiful bouquets and garlands. Thanks to everyone for their great work and best of luck to you Lauren and Aprotim!

In my post on Friday I told you about the beautiful little weekday wedding that I performed up at Ash Lawn-Highland last Wednesday. Today I am happy to share with you 8 of the amazing photographs that Meg Runion of Rob Garland Photographers took that day. I've been so fortunate to have Meg shoot almost all of my weekday ceremonies. I've never met a photographer (and I've met lots!) who enjoys what she does more than Meg. Meg's photos don't need any narration.... the pictures say it all...









You can contact Meg at 434-293-3332 and be sure to visit her blog to see lots more of her beautiful work.

This past weekend I was fortunate to find myself performing a wedding ceremony for Laura and James in the Italian Garden at Maymont in Richmond. Maymont is a 100+ acre estate, garden, arboretum and Museum right in the City of Richmond. Although I haven't spent as much time as I'd like exploring all of the beautiful buildings and gardens I can say that what I have seen of Maymont is truly unique, diverse and especially amazing to find right in a large metropolitan area.

Maymont's website provides comprehensive information about it's history and facilities as well as about the property's availability for weddings and other events. Even without a detailed knowledge of Maymont's history I can tell you that it is a charming place for a wedding with many locations to choose from. As you can see here the Italian Garden is a beautiful columned site and the Japanese Garden which is just down the hill is equally attractive with a lovely waterfall and bridge that makes it unique.

So, whether you're looking for a wedding venue or just want to spend a beautiful day in the park Maymont shouldn't be missed. To inquire about the availability of your date and to set up an appointment for a walk-through please contact Maymont's rental coordinator at 804-358-7166, ext. 309 or e-mail rentals@maymont.org.

Ash Lawn ... again? Yes, that's right I've been spending a lot of time up there this past week. This time for a weekday wedding that was planned on very, very short notice thru my Weekday Wedding Company. Owen and Dana are from South Africa and Russia (Siberia) respectively and somehow, I'm not completely clear on this... decided to come to Central Virginia to get married! Their only guests were 3 of the the groom's family members who flew in from Cape Town for the event. Having the ceremony at 6 PM gave us the entire estate (500+ acres of rolling green beauty) pretty much all to our selves. Well, that's not entirely true... we did have to share the space with a few peacocks, sheep and cows.

Dana and Owen stood with me beneath a cascade of beautiful flowering vines for their ceremony while Meg Runion of Rob Garland Photographers took dozens of photos... she's the best, I can't wait to see them! Afterwards we walked around the property while Meg took more photos. It was just another spectacular day at Ash Lawn!

If you are interested in the possibility of a small weekday wedding as an alternative to the big weekend variety... I invite you to visit the Weekday Wedding Company of Central Virginia to discover the wonderful options.

Brooke & Casey had their hearts set on an outdoor wedding at Ash Lawn-Highland, the historic home of James Monroe. Unfortunately one of our first warm-weather thunderstorms necessitated a change to Plan B: ceremony under the pavilion with the beautiful green countryside as a backdrop. Once the rain stopped it was truly one of the most idyllic and beautiful days in the Virginia countryside that I'd ever witnessed. And, apparently, there was even a double rainbow in the sky behind us for a good part of the ceremony... the photo here shows you what remained by the time the ceremony was over.

Another unique feature of having a wedding at Ash Lawn is that you can actually "rent" James Monroe himself (a wonderful fellow who embodies Mr. Monroe and never, ever breaks out of character) who will greet your guests, welcoming them to his home and so forth. At first the guests seem quite tentative wondering if this guy's "for real"... but then they catch on and really enjoy his presence and amazing knowledge of the life and times of James Monroe.

Casey and Brooke included a wonderful little ritual as part of their ceremony: before the ceremony began officially both the bride and groom's mothers came up front and then invited family members (that had been pre-planned) two by two to come up with a handfull of flowers to add to the bride's bouquet and say a few words about the part of the family that they were honoring. At the end, the mothers tied up the bouquet with beautiful ribbons and went out to present it to the bride before she walked down the aisle. A lovely ritual honoring family and giving the Mother's a wonderful way of participating in the ceremony.

If you would like to find out more about having your wedding at Ash Lawn-Highland give Baylor a call at 434-293-9539 and visit their website too.