An unfiltered look inside our wedding weekend at The Mill at Fine Creek! As a Virginia Wedding Photographer, documenting over 100 weddings in the past 7 years, when it came time to plan my own wedding I truly knew exactly what details and traditions to keep and cut! 

Above all, getting to marry Joe, and the fulfilling life we are building together was truly the best celebration! We knew that keeping our wedding small with only about 50 people was the key to our vibe… beautifully cozy, personal, unstuffy, and perfectly us. We are a little goofy with a side of classy and wanted an elegant wedding day without taking ourselves too seriously! Thats exactly what we got!

All the stunning professional images courtesy of Cat Deline Photography! 

Here’s a walkthrough of the weekend!

This is a massive post, so I hope you enjoy reliving our favorite moments, funny behind the scenes stories and the highlight all of the incredible vendors featured throughout!

• Day 1: Perfect Match Pickleball tournament at PPBRVA Teaching our friends our favorite hobby!
• Day 2: Pre-wedding Pit Stop, watching all of the racing action with an open house. Plus our Rehearsal dinner at Fine Creek Brewery for Wood fired pizza and beer, 
• Day 3: H&J wedding day at The Mill at Fine Creek Truly our dream venue cozy lodging and the intimate weekend getaway we were dreaming of!
• Day 4-6: Mini moon at The Tides Inn. I’ll be sharing an official recap of our peaceful mini-moon retreat in another blog!

The biggest hit during our Saturday festivities were these hand designed, delicious sugar cookies from Sunshine and Sprinkles , who also happen to be my parents Neighbor. They turned out better than I could have ever imagined with the most intricate illustration and personalized features to share with our friends and family as a snack during our “Perfect Match” pickle ball tournament.

Since you know we love a little extra details to remember the festivities, we decided (very last minute) that it was only fitting for the bride and groom to have a matching uniform which lead to a frantic Etsy search to try to find something that allowed for customization without being too corny in the pickleball graphic Tee department. Theses couldn’t have been more perfect from Presley and Cash!  with so many adorable options for events, bachelorettes, weddings, and retro style!

I was unplugged from my phone for the entire weekend, which was the perfect break from busy season. Only documenting a few poloroid moments! Keep scrolling for the real professional inside look at our favorite day! 

Wedding Day Details: 

Enjoy an inside look of sneak peeks from Deline Photography. Everyone asks how a Photographer chooses a Photographer. One of my biggest tips for anyone searching for your vendors is to get to know the PERSON behind the camera. Image styles, editing and curated online portfolios can be deceiving. Choose a style that matches the vibe of your venue, how you want printed photos in your home to look, desire for detailed, vs candid, vs editorial images.  BUT so much of the “success” of those images depends on how you FEEL during the moment they are taken.

We knew we wanted a photo and video team that matched our personalty and truly felt like friends to make those 8 hours together feel as comfortable as possible. WE hit the jackpot with Cat Deline Photography and Alexa from Little Fox Films!

Getting Ready: 

Joe and I decided a champagne F1 style celebration was in order, and our hand painted bottle from Abby Armistead Art the perfect keepsake.  Since working with Abby on her website design last year, she now lives in Texas which made for an adventurous cross country trek for our bottle to arrive on time for our wedding day. 

With my background as a graphic designer, I knew that being able to personal design so many wedding elements would be a fun challenge. My perfectionist self might have disagreed. But it was so wonderful to add our own custom flair to everything from invitations, illustrations, menu cards, signage. Joe and I are notorious for collecting coasters from breweries and restaurants we visit while we travel, so we decided on Custom Coasters for each place setting  as great way to share the traditions with our guests as as a Favor. 

In typical fashion, the Guys crew gets to have a leisurely morning making up any variety of competitive games, waiting until the last minute to get ready, and having some good old fashion fun in the sun… Us gals on the other hand had a bit more structure, but still relaxing with a walk around the nearby golf course, jamming out to throwback middle school jams, and hair and makeup in the bridal suite overlooking the courtyard. I will say the game of wiffleball  happening outside with perfect entertainment!

Bridal Style:

Now let’s talk a bit about my wedding day bridal look… As someone who works weddings for a living I knew prioritizing which vendors to slurge on and where to budget was key.  Since my personal style is much more casual than girly girl, I knew my dress would be one area I tried to save.  Then I went and broke the golden rule, dress shopping “just for fun” and of course I fell in love with this simple, curve hugging, crepe dress WAY out of the budget I was comfortable with! After trying on dozens of other dresses trying to match the style, my mom and I scoured the internet and found the PERFECT dupe on Etsy from Bergamont Bridal with my dress at a wholesale price. With alterations by Claudia at Seams Alterations. 

I was convinced the veil would be easier to replicate.. but to my surprise the styles I loved, waterfall fronts, lace trim and floor length didn’t exist!  I was so lucky to find another amazing Canadian boutique on Etsy at Prim & Prairie  to custom design the perfect accent veil to compliment my simple dress style!

And a few shout outs to my full Beauty team: Pre-wedding spa treatments at Habit and Glow Envy Med Spa, Spray Tan by Kirsty at Richmond Makeup Artist.

Wedding day Hair from Boho Braids by Ivy, after 8 hours of Virginia humidity and taking my veil in and out there wasn’t a hair out of place speaks for itself! The Makeup perfection of soft and natural glam that made me still feel like myself with killer lashes and a pop of color from Kelsea at Radiant Reflections 

First Look & Pre-Ceremony Portraits:

Our first look was truly one of my favorite parts of the day! Joe and I were both giddy with nerves and excitement, and truly the sweetest reaction to get to marry our person. I hit the jackpot with Joe’s reaction! We shared our personal vows… rock, paper, scissors, to see who goes first of course! I even had a surprise video message from a “celebrity” to share!

One of the most important factors of how we structured our wedding day, was to create as much space for low stress, candid interactions, and truly spending time with the people we loved. This meant we front loaded all of our family and friend photos. Since we opted not to have a formal bridal party this allowed us the FULL evening cocktail and reception to enjoy with our guests. 

Ceremony: 

Before we even got engaged… one evening sipping beers at the Fine Creek Brewery we took a secret peek at the venue space and instantly fell in love with the secluded ruins, romantic ivy, cozy cottages, and the laid back vibe of this venue. We were pretty determined even if it rained we were gonna brave the elements to get married with this dreamy view! 

This stunning venue space doesn’t even need decorations. But our florist Jess from Gossamer Floral Design took it to the next level! After working with her last year to design her website, I knew her style were perfect for our whimsical colorful spring style! With a last minute swap to the ceremony design after finding out this rare blooming bush on her property line would match perfectly with the overgrown ivy, we had full trust in her design and truly can’t believe how breathtaking the details blended with the ceremony space.

We knew that the ceremony was one area of the day we truly wanted to make our own. As someone who doesn’t love being the center of attention, it was so comforting to have my childhood best friend officiated our ceremony, she infused personal stories, kept us laughing and was full of wisdom after almost a decade of being married herself. Of course we had to cut a bit of the nervous tension with a group selfie when we reached the front of the aisle! Joe and I wanted to incorporate our families so we opted for an Irish Ring Warming Tradition. Allowing each member of our VIP front row to say a prayer of well wishes while holding our rings before passing them to the front for us to exchange! Also shout out to our “official” Officiant Tia with HelloLove who helped Joe and I get legally married, prior to our ceremony!   

Choosing music throughout our wedding day was a fun challenge! Joe is a BIG fan of every genre, often listening to movie scores, full of knowledge on composers and a playlist for every roadtrip or milestone. We spent one of my favorite wedding planning nights sifting through Spotify lists trying to pick the perfect songs for each part of the day. Starting with the walk down the aisle to a cover of Elvis’s “I can’t help Falling in love with you” and our ceremony exit to a punk rock version of “Kiss me”. 

Now for the Champagne…It was inevitable when I choose to spend my life with Joe, I would have to be a fan of Motorsports. So we’ve created a Sunday tradition of watching Formula 1 racing which ends in a podium champaign celebration for the winners. This was one of the highlights of the day we were looking forward to all year. When we realized our venue had the perfect balcony overlooking the ceremony space for us to recreate our own personal WINNERS celebration! 

Cocktail Hour: 

Cocktail hour in the courtyard was a perfect mix of our favorite things, keeping our appetizer selection classy with make your own tater tot bar, lawn games, signature cocktails, and casual group photos with friends from every phase of life! Since we weren’t having a traditional wedding party I gave my gals a mood board of spring color inspiration to choose any style dress they liked, and they totally nailed the cute coordination! 

Sunset Portraits: 

A few final favorites! Sneaking off for sunset portraits by the water. These river rocks were a hug selling point of the Mill at Fine Creek, bringing back memories of our 2nd date hiking the Belle Isle Trail.. where I famously told my besties “I think I just met my husband.. you can save this text”!

We ended the evening portraits with another sentimental favorite ringing the bell outside of our ceremony space. Joe and I both have separate ties to Lynchburg College.  Although our paths never crossed and we met years later on a random dating app we have fond memories of ringing the Victory bell on campus. It was only fitting we could ring the bell together to celebrate our wedding night! 

Reception:

One of our favorite parts of the night, the quiet moments alone getting to peek at how all of our reception details come together, practice our first dance in private and soak in a few moments alone sipping our signature cocktails! Our simple style of soft spring colors, bud vases, and romantic candle lights came together in the most elegant way! Beth Curfman our coordinator was running around behind the scenes setting up the details and Jess from Gossamer Floral Design pulled together the most stunning colorful display that was anything but simple! 

Dance Floor: 

Now onto everyone’s favorite part of the night, the party pics! As a couple who’s attended too many weddings to count, we knew the “traditional” wedding songs were out. As a group of aging Millennials we were singing to 2000s throwbacks, getting low, and a few angsty teenage jams. We enjoyed our sweet parent parent dances and first dance with Joe to “Photograph” by Cody Fry, perfectly fitting for our style! We opened the dance floor with a surprise tribute song to my brother and his wife who we now share the same wedding anniversary! 

Send Off: 

If you ask any wedding vendor what their least favorite part of the day is… there will be a collective sign for the sparkler sendoff! Now no shade on this romantic late night moment for our couples cause it is truly a surreal feeling of relief, joy and sadness it’s over at the end of the night, but organizing hundreds of drunk guests with open flames isn’t on my favorites list! Joe and I opted for a casual and simple exit to get our guests outside, with a private dance in our ceremony space, under the string lights with lingering hugs in the courtyard before our friends and family walked back to their cottages for the night! 

I’m truly so thankful to have these images to look back on and bring such a bright and joyful memory to the day. They truly captured the love that Joe and I have with all of our quirks and personality! We had the most incredible wedding weekend, showered with love from our friends and family, and the most incredible team of vendors who took so much of the stress and over-helpful nature away from this type A couple!

Joe I can’t imagine this life without you… forever and always I can’t wait for every adventure with you!

One final Shout out to the dream team! 

VENUE/CATERING: The Mill at Fine Creek
COORDINATION: Beth Curfman (The Mill at Fine Creek)
PHOTOGRAPHY: Cat Deline Photography
VIDEOGRAPHY: Little Fox Films
FLORALS: Gossamer Floral Design
HAIR: Boho Braids by Ivy
MAKEUP: Radiant Reflections
SPRAY TAN: Richmond Makeup Artist
DJ: Fordson Labs
BOTTLE DESIGN: Abby Armistead Art
BRIDAL STYLE Bergamont Bridal and Prim & Prairie
SKIN PREP: Habit, Glow Envy Med Spa,
ILLUSTRATED COOKIES: Sunshine and Sprinkles
PICKLEBALL SHIRTS: Presley & Cash (Etsy)
MATCHING SWEATSUITS: Almost Twins (Etsy)

 

For another Richmond Wedding favorite check out this colorful, textured and fun loving couple, Margaret & Adam at Upper Shirley Vineyard!