Christy and Tom wanted something less like a wedding and more like an elegant dinner party in a beautiful, outdoor setting.  Shawn of Beehive Events and Gay of A Pimento Catering put this vision into action on October 24th of last year where an amazing tent was constructed right outside the ruins of the old Barboursville Winery in Barboursville, Virginia.  My heart sank as we pulled into the vineyard in the pouring rain and trekked through mud to check out the hustle and bustle beneath the tent.  The bad news was that the ceremony would have to be moved from the ruins to the cocktail area beneath the tent.  The good news was that the sun made its debut shortly before the ceremony and brought with it a beautiful sunset for guests to enjoy as the reception began.

The tent by Sperry Tents Virginia was probably the most elaborately constructed we had ever seen complete with partitioned dining rooms, a 3-sided central bar with seating, a dance area and bare bulb lights strung throughout.  The warm palette of chocolate, royal purple and gold were fallish and inviting.  Shawn’s flowers were fabulous as always.  I have never seen persimmon included in table arrangements before and they made me think fondly of the persimmon trees we saw all over Japan last fall, oddly barren of leaves while brimming with ripe, bright fruit.  The food by A Pimento was a culinary delight that included a raw bar and 4 entirely different food stations serving organic, seasonal foods grown and raised by local farmers.   A table with several different cakes including coconut, red velvet, and cupcakes garnished with marzipan topped the evening off sweetly for those who had saved room for dessert.  Fire pits with couch seating behind the tent gave guests a great place to gather and enjoy cigars while taking in the moonlight.

The boutonnieres might have been my favorite detail as something near and dear to my heart.  Christy had the idea to use salt water flies to honor Tom’s love of fly fishing and Shawn ran with the idea to create these fallish fellows with acorn accents:

While we love Christy and Tom’s sense of style and desperately want an invitation to their next party (who wouldn’t?), we were most impressed by their warmth, their love of family and their sense of humor.  How on earth they ever found RC Cola to give away as favors along with Moon Pies, I’ll never know but we used that sugar rush to get us back home to Richmond in record time!

Here’s a slideshow with our favorites and click here to see their online gallery.  Congrats you two…

Posted by Mel @ 9:09 pm, in Weddings | No comments | Permalink

The vast majority of albums we order from Queensberry are made with black leather covers.  Always a classic choice, always a crowd pleasure, but a little ho-hum for those of us designing albums day in and day out.  Thank goodness for our vegan pals Allison and Evan whose wedding we shot many moons ago and whose album pictures I have been sitting on for almost as many moons.  Leather wasn’t even an option for them so their book was bound to be bound differently.

The couple chose a gunmetal buckram cover that bounced nicely with the graphite color of the bridesmaid’s dresses.  Instead of mounting the standard photo cover motif, I suggested using the birdy graphic from their invitation and wedding program to design something that matched.

Here’s the original stationary:

And the buckram cover with our custom cover motif:

The couple chose to add a wing (or gatefold) and flip page to their duo album.  The reception was the perfect place to get flippy with it and the gatefold opens into a photo of the same church where Allison’s parents were married:

Here are a few of the layouts from the design software as well as some shots of the album so you can see how they came to life.  We’re glad that Corey’s lack of socks was as memorable to Allison and Evan as it was to us, the layout with the guys hanging out before the ceremony might be my favorite album layout ever.  Thanks for letting me have a little fun with that:

A&E, we miss y’all and can’t wait to drop in and replace the peace and quiet of your Blacksburg home with the sound of our screaming child sometime very soon.

Posted by Mel @ 7:18 pm, in Albums, Weddings | No comments | Permalink

Jennifer and Terrance were married at River Road Presbyterian Church on October 17th of last year.  The evening brought with it an unseasonable cold snap as the party moved from the church to the Blomendaal House at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens.  Sam and I felt like we had to explain to out of town guests, many visiting from the couple’s home base of New York City, that its not usually this cold in Richmond in the fall, its usually pleasant as punch, we swear!  Most brides would have been devastated by the weather given the outdoor evening venue but not Jen: she threw off her jacket and stayed warm the old fashion way by darting from table to table to greet her guests and dancing the night away.  Wall flowers weren’t going to survive the frost so her guests followed her lead and turned the event into a massive dance party!

I loved the unique and preppy combination of navy, bright pink and ivory for the day’s details:

While waiting to board the trolley, I saw an opportunity for an impromptu artsy bridal portrait and asked Jen to model on the second floor of the church.  I can’t decide whether I like the color or black and white version better:

Here’s a slideshow with our favs and if you would like to see their online gallery, click here.  Congrats again, Jennifer and Terrance!

Posted by Mel @ 2:35 pm, in Weddings | No comments | Permalink

This post dates back to the fall season when I was back to shooting but still out on maternity leave from the office (and therefore blogging).  Jennifer and Chris cruised with us through our familiar neighborhood of Church Hill for a few shots before we headed out for our adventure destination, the Pipe Line, where we got a unique industrial view of the city from the banks of the James.

While most couples with height differences request pictures that de-emphasize the distance, Jennifer and Chris requested shots that celebrated it… its part of who they are together.  I think we all had some fun with that:

The warm, last light out on the river gave these shots an antique glow: we didn’t use any filters or post production trickery to create this color, it was all Mother Nature:

We’re looking forward to shooting for Jenn at beautiful Tuckahoe Plantation this May.  With the snow melting at a fast pace, I’m choosing to believe that spring is right around the corner!  Congrats you guys…

Posted by Mel @ 7:04 pm, in Engagement Portraits, Weddings | No comments | Permalink