Jason and Tammy Keefer get all the credit for these glorious wedding photos. They were the perfect match for Amanda’s wedding day. I can’t imagine her wedding without them! Amanda was such a beautiful bride – inside and out. She is one of my best friends and I am so incredibly happy for her and Cale. Here are some of my favorite details from the wedding day:

Jane and Josh got married at Christ Episcopal Church in downtown Charlottesville and the reception was held at Ash Lawn- Highland. They had the most gorgeous April wedding day – sunny and 72 degrees. Here some beautiful moments from their wedding:

Two of Jane’s brothers, Charles and Will

The table centerpieces were made a slate boards covered in local cheeses, fresh bakery bread, herbs and fruit.  It had a very French-country feel to it and proved a hit with guests as they waited for their turn at the buffet.

Each bridesmaids wore a  black dress in her own unique style.

Rachel De Jong of Rachel’s Fine Baked Goods made a wedding cake to die for! Chocolate Peanut Butter was the flavor and it was so rich that you had to wash it down with a glass of farm fresh whole milk – compliments of the groom’s family!

Jane’s three brothers played a song for the bride and groom’s First Dance. They are all super talented and if you think you recognize the brother in the middle, it’s because he is the lead singer of Parachute! Just a fun little fact!

Aaron Watson Photography captured this gorgeous wedding day back in October. The wedding and reception were both held at Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard. I love this couple and, lucky for me, get to live near them very soon! Here are some shots of the wedding party before the ceremony began:

Once you’re engaged, creating a personalized wedding website is a great way to communicate wedding information to guests quickly and efficiently. You get to have fun and upload photos, tell your engagement story, talk about your bridesmaids, create an online guestbook and much more. There are many useful sources available to build your site on:

TheKnot.com

MyWedding.com

WedOrama.com

My newly engaged sister just created one for her June 2010 wedding. Check it out here! Be practical – once you have the information gathered, add hotel contact numbers, travel directions, wedding attire, the weekend’s events, and local attractions. Have fun with it! It’s a great tool to use when planning a large wedding.

Patrick and Jenny got married on May 23, 2009. They had a gorgeous lakeside venue complimented by a warm, sunny day.

Location: Lake Ritchie in Bealeton, VA

Photographer: Kristen Gardner Photography

I just love them!

Seriously ask yourself this question. Are all the planning, details, glitter and glamor for you and your soon-to-be spouse or is it for everyone invited who witnesses your wedding day? I think it’s for the guests.

Obviously, I believe that the actual covenant that takes place on your wedding day is for the bride and groom alone and, yes, the wedding is all about the couple. But what is the point of dressing up a table, creating place cards, printing programs, or hiring a DJ if the wedding celebration is for you? You don’t need to be reminded of the order of service or where each guest eats dinner. We make weddings beautiful for our guests in order that they might see how excited we are to be sharing with them in our most special day.

If a wedding celebration is for the guests, then think about how you can make the experience the best for your guests. This means taking time to plan out the details, hire a coordinator to keep the flow of things going, use real dishes instead of paper products, if it’s a hot summer day provide AC and bug spray, if it’s cold then provide a heated room, hire a caterer who provides the clean-up service. Each and every decision made to improve your invited guests’ experiences will not be forgotten.

The best weddings are the ones where guests walk away thinking, “What a wonderful time we just had. I’m glad we were invited to this wedding.”

Planning a wedding in Charlottesville, Virginia and looking for a make-up artist? Look no further than Neroli Spa & Apothecary. Neroli offers a make-up artist who will travel to your on-site location the day of your wedding and complete your entire bridal party’s make-up or simply just the bride’s. Neroli Spa provides all of your make-up needs using the modern and completely glamorous line of Becca. You will not be disappointed. Not only is the artist a good friend of mine who I would trust to paint my face for any occasion, but she is incredibly talented and masters the art of make-up!

Did you know you can simply walk into a bridal boutique and have them size you for a particular designer dress? This is very helpful for long distance bridesmaids! They may not be able to make it to your bridal party dress shopping day but they can still get the correct measurements to the store you will be purchasing the dresses from. Since every designer dress fits differently, it is best to take your measurements and compare them to the corresponding size charts.

If the long distance bridesmaids cannot make it to the store to try on the dress, simply look up a local boutique or two that carries the designer you are using and have her go to that store to get sized. She can then call in to your shop and get the right size ordered. Designers such as Alfred Angelo, Watters, The Dessy Group, and Bill Levkoff are very common and are generally carried in most states. Make being one of your bridesmaids as easy, stress-free, and enjoyable as possible! They will love you for it.

And only the bride should wear white. If you’ve thought about wearing a white dress to a wedding before and decided against it, I applaud you. Ladies, stay away from the white dress when it’s not your day. I’m not talking about dresses with white accents or patterns or even some floral prints with a white background. Stay clear of the white sun dresses, the White House Black Market dresses that are mostly white, the white formal dress, etc. White is for the bride and occasionally the groom.

Rule of thumb: If you have to ask yourself if a dress too white for a wedding, put it back and make another selection.

Jason Keefer Photography

If the gown is not your biggest concern for your wedding day or if your budget for a dress is smaller than most boutiques allow, check out this link:

Church Street Bridal

You can find hundreds of gorgeous designer dresses here. They are NEW (not secondhand) by way of overstock, fashion shows or sample inventories. My good friend found her wedding dress here for $150 and it looked stunning on her! Pack your patience and an open mind and you are bound to strike a deal. You can also check out Filene’s Basement (home of the hilarious “Running of the Brides”) as an option for a super deal on your wedding dress!