Today’s real wedding advice comes from one of my sweet Charlottesville brides, Mandi. Her Farmington Country Club wedding in Charlottesville, Virginia was an absolute dream! I couldn’t be more excited to have Mandi share her wedding planning experience on the blog. But first things first, let’s start with her love story!
HOW THEY MET
I met Brent at Virginia Tech our senior year. He has always been one of the most outgoing guys, and even in a school as large as Tech, he knew everyone. On the other hand, I am one of the most introverted people, and usually kept to myself. Brent went out of his way in class, and outside of class to become my friend. Thank goodness that boy never gave up!!
THE PROPOSAL
Brent proposed on Gapstow Bridge in Central Park, NYC on my birthday. He invited all of our friends and family to be there and everyone handed me roses as I walked across the bridge (he knows I am the biggest bachelor fan LOL). It was absolutely one of the best days of our lives!
I never thought 10 months would be a short engagement but I underestimated how time consuming planning a wedding was! Looking back, I probably would’ve had a longer engagement just to be able to really enjoy it.
THE WEDDING VENUE
I’ve always known I wanted to get married at Farmington Country club in Charlottesville, VA. My grandparents were two of the oldest members there, and the country club has always been a bit of a sanctuary for my family. My parents had their wedding reception there, my aunt was married there, and my cousin had her rehearsal dinner at Farmington too. Needless to say, there’s nowhere else I wanted to get married. Emily Finn, the Farmington wedding planner helped tremendously when it came to planning. I realized very quickly I was not a planner and the amount of details was so overwhelming. She helped coordinate and narrow down all of my ideas.
THE PHOTOGRAPHER
Alina was one of the first people we reached out to when it came to vendors – I saw her pictures and fell in LOVE! Every photo just felt meaningful and there is such an ethereal quality to her photos. Plus, she was the absolute KINDEST person throughout this process. She helped Brent and I feel so comfortable and made everything, from the engagement photos to the planning to the wedding day, so easy. The photographer was the most important person for me in terms of vendors and I can truly say, Alina went above and beyond!!!
THE WEDDING DAY
Our wedding day was a bit of a roller coaster in terms of emotions for me. My grandmother passed away a week before the wedding and it honestly devastated me. However, having the wedding at Farmington made all the difference, and I knew she was there every moment of the day.
Brent and I had several meaningful moments throughout our day. We didn’t do a first look but we did stand back to back and pray with all of our bridesmaids, groomsmen and family. We did write our own vows, which was incredibly important to both of us! Lastly, we also ate dinner together alone in a separate room which I loved! It gave us time to reflect on the ceremony and share some private time together in the midst of such a social day!
There were so many moments that stick out in my mind from our wedding day. For sure, walking down the aisle and seeing Brent. I loved when Alina took our photos on the porch after dinner. That was special and romantic, and gave us a bit more time together. My brother also did a reading in our ceremony that resonated so much with Brent and me.
I enjoyed our wedding vendors immensely! Alina, hands down was just the BEST. I couldn’t imagine going through that process without her now. You end up spending a lot of time with the photographer and I feel so blessed that we had her!! We had a fantastic band, Eight Past Midnight, that kept everyone dancing the entire night. Our videographer was a friend from church who has a successful business, Outward Bound Collective – he is such a great guy!
CHARLOTTESVILLE BRIDES
Enjoy every moment of the process. It goes by in the blink of an eye. Also, appreciate the people! Friends, family, and vendors will go out of their way to make sure you and your significant other have the best day.
Charlottesville brides, did you enjoy this week’s real wedding advice?! Mandi was such an amazing bride to work with and I am so honored to have been there for her and Brent on their wedding day! I’ve said it before, and you’ll probably hear me say it again, but the relationships I get to form with my clients are my favorite thing about my photography business.
