It’s that time again – time for Friday’s FAB Finds!!

Ideas We Love – Fun Stuff for Kids

Having kids at your wedding celebration is a personal decision, but if you’re having the type of affair that allows them, we love unique ideas of keeping them entertained. We’ve seen specific tables set up just for the kids at the reception, complete with coloring books, glow necklaces and other fun little things to keep them busy, at least until the music starts that is! I saw this idea on Martha Stewart Weddings recently and loved it!

Courtesy Martha Stewart Weddings

Keep your littlest guests occupied with this photographic scavenger hunt. Who knows? One of them might even snap your favorite shot of the night.

Place a card, a disposable camera, and a pencil at each child’s setting, and see which kid can photograph all the items on the list first. You won’t need an incentive to get the kids playing, but a small prize for the winner is a good idea.

Download the PDF and print onto card stock. With a paper trimmer or a craft knife and metal straightedge, cut the paper in half to make two cards. Use a rounded corner punch to trim the corners of each card.

Places We Love – Clifton Inn

Over the years, we’ve been lucky enough to be a part of several wedding celebrations at the gorgeous Clifton Inn in Charlottesville. It’s not only one of our absolute favorite wedding venues, but it also happens to be our favorite special occasion place in town. We’ve celebrated many wonderful birthdays and anniversaries at the inn and have never once been disappointed. In fact, our first visit was way back in 1999 for Valentine’s Day! Chef Dean and his wife and pastry chef, Erin always knock it out of the park and we’ve been known to have to loosen a belt loop or two after a meal there! Be sure to contact Crystal or Brigitte if you’re planning a wedding and are looking for the perfect Charlottesville experience for you and your guests. Or if just need a romantic getaway from wedding planning! Here’s a few of our favorites from just a few of the weddings we’ve photographed at Clifton.

Eric & Lora’s Winter Wedding
Event Design by Jessica Sheffield with The Event Co
Floral Design by Pat’s Floral

Amy & Peter’s Spring Wedding
Event Design by Jessica Sheffield with The Event Co
Floral Design by Hedge Fine Blooms

Nancy & Paul’s Intimate Fall Wedding
Officiant: Claire Goodman

Tessie & Matt’s Winter Wedding
Event Design by Jessica Sheffield with The Event Co
Floral Design by Pat’s Floral

And if you like what you see, become a fan of Clifton on Facebook!

Oh, how to narrow down such things? In 2009 we delivered roughly 12,000 compelling, artful photographs to our wonderful wedding clients. It is nearly impossible to narrow down our favorites, and such a process is more reflective of our current creative journey than anything else, but we’re grateful for the opportunities we’re given by our clients to create a family history in photos, even if that family history is a snippet in time, such as a weekend’s festivities.

So travel on over to the Charlottesville Wedding Blog today and tomorrow to see just a few of our favorite moments and portraits from 2009. And thanks to all of you for being there and trusting us with your wedding images, enabling us to capture these for you. We love our job!

We’re happy announcing that the editor of Smith Mountain Lake magazine wrote us to inquire about publishing the story (and photos of course) of Jennifer and Briggs’ wedding. Of course we said yes and the couple was delighted to share their story with the readers of the many residents and lake enthusiasts, especially considering the couple each grew up around the area. Here is a link to the magazine article online, and of course a few select images from the article below. Enjoy!

And of course some of the images you can see on their web site…

Happy Friday!!

Ideas We Love – Custom Banners

We were absolutely thrilled to receive the fabulous Courtney Spencer’s (of Little White Book and Merriment Events fame) Christmas card this year. So inspired! (You can more of some of her fabulous ideas on her Holiday Inspiration post. Definitely some ideas on there I want to think about for next Christmas!)

Courtesy Little White Book Photo by Katie Stoops

So it inspired me to see how this concept might work for a wedding. Of course, I found what I was looking for at Martha Stewart Weddings!

Courtesy Martha Stewart Weddings

Courtesy Martha Stewart Weddings

Love it! You can click here or on either of the pictures for a link to the templates.

Links We Love –  What Junebug Loves

While Christy at junebug features a lot of West Coast resources, brides from both coasts can find a myriad of inspiration and plenty of eye-candy from this wonderful resource. I especially love her colorful inspiration boards and fun favors sections! Christy has an amazing eye for color and detail – definitely one of the best wedding blogs out there!

Courtesy What Junebug Loves

Top row:
Blue flower and feather hair accessory by Twigs and Honey, image by Lisa Warninger
Wedgwood wedding cake from MarthaStewart.com

Second row:
Pear photo from Sweet Paul
Guild letterpress wedding invitations from Bella Figura
Chocolate box wedding favors from MarthaStewart.com

Third row:
Twig and Leaf wrap style bangle from Stratus Silver on Etsy.com
Bird’s nest ring bearer pillow by Acanthus Floral, image by Junebug Weddings
Lesley one band feather sandals by L.A.M.B. at ShopBop.com

Fourth row:
Lace bridal parasol from Bella Umbrella
Bridal bouquets by Artfool
Delft dishes photo by Frances Janisch, from Sweet Paul

Our first wedding of the year was actually originally supposed to happen in 2009. Those of you on the East Coast will remember the storm around Christmastime that stranded thousands all along the seaboard. Charlottesville received nearly two feet of snow, which created a small challenge for the wonderfully relaxed Carrie and Ken–how to get their guests to their wedding? Given that even snowplows were getting stuck in the ditches, they decided to move their wedding back a couple of weeks, where everyone could travel more safely, and where they could celebrate with all of the original people attending. This originally meant for our dear friend Rob Garland to photograph their wedding, but they moved their wedding to a date he already had a commission, so we were very happy to help out.

We all gathered at the beautiful Prince Michel Vineyards north of Madison for the evening ceremony held in the Barrel Room downstairs. They had an almost exclusively candle-lit ceremony which really set an intimate mood for the evening’s festivities. Carrie’s mom had worked hard to design and implement some of the decor for the candles surrounding the ceremony site as well as the table decorations for dinner that evening, and it really showed.  During the ceremony, the couple wrote vows very unique to them and part of which elicited knowing chuckles from those in attendance. They also had each of their brothers perform a reading as well as two soloists before they were pronounced husband and wife and joyously ran down the aisle.

Their guests enjoyed a relaxing stationed dinner put together by Gil Zentgraf, who also had a panini station with the most tasty little sandwich quarters ever! They were soooo good. Everyone got a good laugh later in the evening when Ken’s brother thanked everyone, “for coming this time” and both brothers offered funny anecdotes during their toast. After the toasts, they enjoyed mother/son as well as father/daughter dances, and Carrie surprised her dad by selecting a lullaby that he had sung to her when she was very young. Just about everybody hit the dance floor after that, save for a brief break for delicious cupcakes with just the right amount of frosting, made by a dear friend of theirs.

It was a fantastic evening, full of mirth and I was grateful to be a part of the celebration. Congratulations, Carrie and Ken, on your marriage (finally!) :-) .

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