Elegant Country Wedding
The Marriage of Two Cultures
Task: Bride wanted to get married in her home town area in Central Virginia.
Hurdles to Overcome: Groom is from Ireland and has 50 guests coming from overseas. And, the wedding party and guests, all based in Washington D.C. needed to be in Central Virginia for the weekend for rehearsal, wedding and reception.
A family friend offered the grounds of their country home for the reception in October. A great tract of land adjacent to the house was available for a tent... but had to be leveled.
Outcome: "My daughter truly had her dream wedding, and the personal attention we received from start to finish actually made the planning enjoyable, as well as a very special time for me and my daughter." Janet McKay, Central Virginia
Pre-Wedding Logistics of Note:
- Mindy's Catering managed the site "leveling" to accommodate a larger reception with all the extras.
- A large tent was erected with a floor build-out, complete with a black and white parquet long rectangular dance floor.
- Guests were provided with specially printed maps for the weekend highlighting all the different locations of the events leading up to the wedding, as well as a range of hotel selections.
The Main Event
On the day of the wedding, guests were picked up at their hotel in chartered buses and driven to the 1752 church for the ceremony. Following the service, a group portrait of all the guests in the beautiful church lawn was taken, then the guests were shuttled to the site of the reception. The wedding party was driven in two limousines stocked with Vueve Cliquot champagne.
In addition to the large dance floor, through the use of elegant décor items, a separate cocktail and dining area was created. The centerpiece of the cocktail area was an enormous Tuscan urn filled with an entirely edible arrangement of flowers, asparagus bunches, cabbage heads, artichokes... a nod to the bride's interest in the culinary. The cocktail reception featured a raw bar with a schucker offering fresh oysters, clams and steamed shrimp, as well as an antipasto table and lots of passed hors d'oeuvres.
Guests were welcomed into the dinner tent thru a wrought iron gated entrance rented from a local garden vendor. The gated entrance was topped with a pineapple signifying the hospitality of the locale.
During cocktails and dinner a four piece chamber ensemble serenaded the guests.
Guests dined at round tables set with elegant pale pink and gold damask linens set "to the nines" with gold-beaded charges, gold rimmed glassware and hemstitch napkins. The head table was backed by lemon topiaries and beautiful fall flowers. The table centerpieces featured moss covered pedestals topped with floral arrangements and flanked by two foot tall white tapered candles.
Dancing was led by a nine-piece swing band in period attire "Zoot suits."
All night long the bar featured specially selected Virginia wines, Irish whiskey, specialty coffee drinks and Harp beer — celebrating the marriage of two cultures.
At the end of the evening, guests were again shuttled from the site back to their hotels, but this time the Bride and Groom hitched a ride to the honeymoon suite!
The Menu:
 FIRST COURSE
Chopped Salad of Romaine, Boston Lettuce and Radicchio
with Crisp Farm Bacon, Goat Cheese, Toasted Pine Nuts, Grilled Sweet Corn, Dried Cranberries, Grape Tomatoes and Buttery Croutons Basil Vinaigrette
1999 Chateau Le Peyrat Graves
MAIN COURSE
Roasted Tenderloin of Pork
with Spicy Sausage, Cornbread and Cranberry Stuffing Orange Scented Sauce Maderia
Norwegian Salmon Medallions
with Tarragon Parsley Sauce
Whipped Potatoes
Steamed Baby Vegetables
Grainy Country Bread and Petit Pain
Orange Blossom Honey Butter
1998 Santa Rita Cabernet Sauvignon
DESSERTS
European Cheese Display
Petit Fours and Chocolate Pastries
Six Tiered Wedding Cake
decorated with Gold Swirls Macademia Nut Coffeecake layered with Chocolate Mouse and Bailey Irish Buttercream
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