We love this Charlottesville, VA wedding from {Jeff Greenough Photographers} . The ceremony took place at Holy Cross Episcopal Church and inspired the couple’s color scheme of sage, cream, brown and apricot. The bridal party looked stunning in their {Ann Taylor} dresses and {Calvin Klein} tuxes, which complimented the bride’s {San Patrick} gown. Their cake, made by {Albemarle Baking Co}, was topped with marzipan grapes and the reception held at {Veritas Vineyard} to showcase the couple’s love of wine. Check out the lovely flowers, table linens and decor items created by {Beehive Events}. We especially love the table centerpiece that Shawn from Beehive created with the beautiful apricot roses. Be sure to check out Jeff’s {BLOG} for more of Melissa + Bill’s lovely day!
The weather was : It was beautiful at 70 degrees and sunny.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? Rustic Elegance. We were married in a small church in the countryside and the reception was held at an elegant vineyard at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains. We are wine-lovers!
What colors did you choose for your wedding? Sage, cream, brown and some touches of apricot
Describe your wedding flowers: We had lush peonies and garden roses in cream and apricot, with green foliage, apple blossom branches and some gardenias. This was included in the bride’s bouquet and as groom’s boutonniere.
Describe your wedding cake: A round, four-tier vanilla sponge cake frosted with white chocolate butter cream and filled with Bavarian cream and strawberries. The cake was decorated with green grapes and grape leaves made of marzipan, and a rope-like decoration around each tier also made of marzipan.
How did the two of you meet? At a Halloween party.
Describe your engagement: Bill proposed at home on a Friday night over a bottle of champagne, our Friday night tradition. Although that particular Friday was a much nicer bottle of champagne!
What attracted me to my husband was: Besides the physical attraction, he is an amazing listener and a very caring person
What attracted me to my wife was: She is a fun, spontaneous and loving woman
A date we went on that we’ll always remember: Our first date to a Vietnamese restaurant in Washington, DC
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: The groom’s black and white spectator shoes.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? The timing – we planned it in two and a half months! And having all out-of-town guests made transportation a big concern – we rented buses for our guests for the wedding day
Where there any special family traditions you included in the wedding? I arrived at the church with my father in a vintage Rolls Royce. We also had cigars at the reception
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Riding from the church to the reception as a newly-married couple (and, other than the driver, alone for the only time the whole evening)!
Scariest moment? When my grandmother got sick the day before and we didn’t think she would be able to attend the ceremony. She did, and even danced with the groom at the reception.
Funniest moment? Laughing during the wonderful, yet humorous homily.
What were your something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue items? – Old: I wore vintage pearl and diamond earrings from the 1940’s. New: my wedding dress. Borrowed: a lace handkerchief that is a family heirloom, borrowed from my mother. Blue – a light blue and white lace garter.
Why do you love your husband? He is my rock when I feel uncertain, scared or apprehensive about anything.
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was: How absolutely nothing went wrong!!
How was your wedding different than the way you’d always imagined it would be? It wasn’t – it was truly perfect!
Three adjectives that describe the day are: romantic, laughter-filled, seamless.
Did you write your own vows? No – we said traditional Episcopalian vows.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? After planning the entire event myself, I can say that it is important to do your research and keep organized, but the most important is if you have a vision about what you want your wedding day to be like, just go for it!
Congratulations Melissa + Bill! We wish you a lifetime of happiness.
I love these shots! That wedding cake is just perfect. So neat and simple!
Sigh. So gorgeous. The cigars make me think of Tampa (lots of little cigar shops).
Beautiful!ShannonThe Virtual Bridesmaidhttp://blog.viddia.comhttp://www.viddia.com
The pictures are so beautiful. It is truly a romantic wedding.
These images are amazing! I love the first photograph of the bride’s bouquet- very creative!
I was lucky enough to attend this wedding and couldn’t agree with the bride more: it was flawless!!!!!
This wedding was truly an inspiration – it was elegant and classic. From the flowers to the wine selection for each course, the couple took the time to think of every detail.
I have never seen photos that are such a work of art!
This was my son’s wedding and everything was like a fairytale- from the country church to the vineyard. Everything was very beautiful and could not have been more perfect.
Beautiful Wedding……A touch very delicate and fine, a very romantic. Beautiful floral arrngements. Gisella
Beautiful Wedding……A touch very delicate and fine, a very romantic. Beautiful floral arrngements. Gisella
The weekend, the day, the wedding—it was fabulous! We were out-of-town guests and everything was so organized for us. We even had a welcome packet in our room with maps, munchies, and info for the weekend. Nice personal touch! From the lovely country church to the beautifully decorated reception hall at the vineyard, the wedding day was perfect.
My husband and I were also guests for this destination wedding. We have known the bride, and her beautiful family, for over 20 years. The wedding was not only beautiful, but, simple and elegant at the same time, from the church all the way to the end of the reception. I always believe that "less is more" and this came through with all the memorable details. We wish you a lifetime of health, happiness and success.
This is so elegant, just love it!!!
Rachel and Laura, thank you SO much, ladies, for stopping by our blog – your comments mean the world to us, and if we can ever do anything for you, it would be an honor! Cheers! – THE PARSONS
Congratulations, looks it was a beautiful wedding, very elegant, simply lovely!
Everything looks so romantic.
A day to remember!! Beautiful day, beautiful setting, beautiful couple. So very well planned – nothing was missed. We were out of town guests and they took very good care of us. It was a pleasure to attend.
A day to remember!! Beautiful day, beautiful setting, beautiful couple. So very well planned – nothing was missed. We were out of town guests and they took very good care of us. It was a pleasure to attend.
A day to remember!! Beautiful day, beautiful setting, beautiful couple. So very well planned – nothing was missed. We were out of town guests and they took very good care of us. It was a pleasure to attend.
A day to remember!! Beautiful day, beautiful setting, beautiful couple. So very well planned – nothing was missed. We were out of town guests and they took very good care of us. It was a pleasure to attend.
A day to remember!! Beautiful day, beautiful setting, beautiful couple. So very well planned – nothing was missed. We were out of town guests and they took very good care of us. It was a pleasure to attend.
A day to remember!! Beautiful day, beautiful setting, beautiful couple. So very well planned – nothing was missed. We were out of town guests and they took very good care of us. It was a pleasure to attend.
A day to remember!! Beautiful day, beautiful setting, beautiful couple. So very well planned – nothing was missed. We were out of town guests and they took very good care of us. It was a pleasure to attend.
A day to remember!! Beautiful day, beautiful setting, beautiful couple. So very well planned – nothing was missed. We were out of town guests and they took very good care of us. It was a pleasure to attend.
A day to remember!! Beautiful day, beautiful setting, beautiful couple. So very well planned – nothing was missed. We were out of town guests and they took very good care of us. It was a pleasure to attend.
A day to remember!! Beautiful day, beautiful setting, beautiful couple. So very well planned – nothing was missed. We were out of town guests and they took very good care of us. It was a pleasure to attend.
A day to remember!! Beautiful day, beautiful setting, beautiful couple. So very well planned – nothing was missed. We were out of town guests and they took very good care of us. It was a pleasure to attend.
A day to remember!! Beautiful day, beautiful setting, beautiful couple. So very well planned – nothing was missed. We were out of town guests and they took very good care of us. It was a pleasure to attend.
A day to remember!! Beautiful day, beautiful setting, beautiful couple. So very well planned – nothing was missed. We were out of town guests and they took very good care of us. It was a pleasure to attend.
A day to remember!! Beautiful day, beautiful setting, beautiful couple. So very well planned – nothing was missed. We were out of town guests and they took very good care of us. It was a pleasure to attend.
A day to remember!! Beautiful day, beautiful setting, beautiful couple. So very well planned – nothing was missed. We were out of town guests and they took very good care of us. It was a pleasure to attend.
A day to remember!! Beautiful day, beautiful setting, beautiful couple. So very well planned – nothing was missed. We were out of town guests and they took very good care of us. It was a pleasure to attend.
A day to remember!! Beautiful day, beautiful setting, beautiful couple. So very well planned – nothing was missed. We were out of town guests and they took very good care of us. It was a pleasure to attend.
A day to remember!! Beautiful day, beautiful setting, beautiful couple. So very well planned – nothing was missed. We were out of town guests and they took very good care of us. It was a pleasure to attend.
A day to remember!! Beautiful day, beautiful setting, beautiful couple. So very well planned – nothing was missed. We were out of town guests and they took very good care of us. It was a pleasure to attend.
A day to remember!! Beautiful day, beautiful setting, beautiful couple. So very well planned – nothing was missed. We were out of town guests and they took very good care of us. It was a pleasure to attend.
A day to remember!! Beautiful day, beautiful setting, beautiful couple. So very well planned – nothing was missed. We were out of town guests and they took very good care of us. It was a pleasure to attend.
This is my brother’s wedding … the day (the whole weekend) was absolutely perfect. Melissa and Bill accounted for every detail; the day went off without a hitch. It was, by far, the most beautiful wedding I have ever attended. The day was filled with so much love both between Bill and Melissa and between Bill and Melissa and the guests. And … how cute are the darling flower girls?!?!
Everything was perfect—-no detail was left to chance. As an out of town guest, we were included in all of the festivities beginning with the rehersal dinner and ending with a lovely brunch the Sunday after the wedding. We had a wonderful time. the bride was so beatuiful and teh groom so very handsome. What a wonderful couple.
This was a very fun wedding to attend – Bill and Melissa had a great ceremony and the reception was amazing, especially when Melissa sang with the band.
Mel and Bill’s wedding ceremony, swinging between intimate and grandiose moments, was beautiful. It was a treat to be there.
We have known Bill since childhood and this was a perfect wedding to the perfect girl for him . They compliment each other so well. The setting was gorgeous, the wine outstanding and a fun weekend was had by all. annie
I have attended many weddings, but Melissa and Bill’s wedding was about the most impressive. The event was sacred, full of family love, and fun for the wedding party,family and friends. My favorite impressions are: entering the flower bedecked doorway to the beautiful old Holy Cross Episcopal Church, the sacred and warm feeling of the service and communion served by the groom’s father. The celebration festivities were impeccably planned, from flowers and food to atmosphere. At the center, Melissa and Bill radiated such happiness and love.
As I am always miserable attending weddings, this one turned out to be a lot of fun. It was good to be with family and friends for the occasion.Melissa and Bill are such fine people and I know they will be very happy.
Although we were unable to attend the wedding we love seeing how happy you two are together. Your attention to detail really made your ceremony and reception spectacular,and a joyful memory for everyone. Congrats again and again! and Mazel Tov!
This was a fabulous wedding. Everything was perfect!! The bride was beautiful, the groom handsome and the flower girls were adorable!! Betsy and Mike
What a beautiful wedding!