It's been a great year for great wedding venues, and last weekend was no exception. Bethany and Ryan chose to get married at the gorgeous Acres of Land Winery in Richmond. If you haven't been there, make the drive down I-75 and check out the tasting room and their restaurant as well. For those of you who like to try something different, I recommend the Vignoles (white wine) and especially the Chambourcin (a red you can chill).
For Bethany, after having her hair done at The Color Room, she went back to the nearby Doubletree Suites on Richmond Road in Lexington to meet up with her bridesmaids and get their makeup done. On one of my first Lexington visits, I stayed at what was then the Sheraton Suites, and it's still a beautiful hotel-- the interior balconies overlooking the lobby are one of my favorite features in any area hotel.
Bethany and Ryan had the actual ceremony in a section of the vineyard at Acres of Land called The Colonel's Point. With the vineyard right next to you, you have the setup right along this area where the hill just falls away, to a tremendous view. Stunning.
After the ceremony and some formals, Bethany and Ryan escaped into the Barrel Room for a few moments alone and some portraits, before heading into their reception.
It was a beautiful day with a truly delightful couple! Many thanks to Jennifer Creed for helping with the second shooting!
See more on the Facebook page!
If it's August, this must be... um, where am I? I'm finishing a string this weekend of 5 weekends, 5 weddings, 4 states. For those of you scoring at home, that's Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia last weekend, and Massachusetts on Sunday.
Anyway, this past weekend, it was the New River Gorge in central West Virginia, a kayaker's paradise. In fact, for North Carolinians Tiffany and Craig, two people who met on a river in their kayaks, this was where they'd gotten engaged, and this was the place they wanted to share with friends and family. Since their love of whitewater extends to nearly all their friends and to Craig's family, it was a given that the vehicles lining up at the Confluence Resort for their wedding would be toting a rainbow's worth of colored kayak shells.
The resort was a fantastic place for a wedding. At the bottom of the hill, there was a path, leading to an overhang with a magnificent view of the river gorge below. That was the setting for the wedding ceremony, conducted by a minister who had known Tiffany since she was a small child. Their reception took place at sunset with a bluegrass band playing the music, a wonderfully appropriate touch for this serene location.
More photos from this wedding are available, as always, on the Facebook page!
As frequent readers of this blog know, I shot Danielle and Jaush's engagement photos a few weeks ago. During that time, they let me in on a little secret... "We're already married."
They had originally decided to have a very small ceremony back on Valentine's Day, only a couple of family members present. But somewhere along the way, they decided instead to go ahead and have a bigger ceremony later on, which they could share with their friends and even more family members. This might have had something to do with the fact Danielle had seen a really spectacular dress. On the other hand, it would mean that she'd have to speak in front of people, and that kinda terrified her a little. (Having talked with many brides, I can assure you, it's a common feeling.) She was more than a little nervous that morning...
Well, the big day came at last, and Danielle and Jaushwa got married at Choateville Christian Church, just outside of Frankfort. Danielle said all the right words in the right order and sounded terrific doing it. Jaush not only played and sang a song he'd written for Danielle, but he also sang his vows as well. It was a touching, heartfelt ceremony that readily acknowledged the fact that they'd done this once before. In a way, it made the whole service just feel like it wasn't just about the couple but that it really involved everyone who had come out to support them in this part of life's journey...
By the end of the day, it was easy to see not only how much they meant to each other, but how much they cared for their families, and their friends. Talking with them throughout this process, it was clear that they weren't the type of people who were doing the bigger version of the wedding because our society tells you this is the type of wedding you're expected to have-- they were doing it because their marriage was something that they wanted to share with so many of the people who matter most of them. And in the end, isn't that what we all want to preserve most from our wedding day?
For more images from this wedding, click here to visit my business page on Facebook!
Had a blast this weekend shooting Brittany and Mike's wedding at Georgetown College. Brittany came to me really late-- another photographer had bagged on her. That's where I came in. And I'm so glad I did. Couples like Brittany and Mike, and their families, they remind me why I love wedding photography so much. Just marvelous people to be around, and on top of that, definitely the most laughs I've had at a reception (at the new Hilton Garden Inn in Georgetown) all year!
For more photos from this wedding, check out the Facebook page!