Sara & Matt’s Wedding at Charlottesville’s Pippin Hill Farm – Part 1

• Weddings

We’ve got a special treat for you this week, as we got to not only photograph Sara & Matt’s relaxed wedding celebration, we got to do it brand new Pippin Hill Farm just 15 minutes south of Charlottesville. Enjoy, and be sure to return this afternoon for the continuation of Sara and Matt’s party. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Oh, and when you’re ready to view the complete gallery, you can view it here. The password is Sara’s maiden name and is case-sensitive.

Matt gave these gorgeous handmade ties by Otis James to his groomsmen and each one was personalized with the recipient’s name on a hand-sewn tag in the back. (Watch Otis’s short intro video on his website and you may never buy a department store tie again. Seriously!)

Gotta love a happy & beautiful bride!

Just adore this shot Bill got of Sara reflected in the hubcap of their vintage ride to the ceremony.

Sara gave each of her bridesmaids a beautiful, handmade gift, as well – Ditty Bags! Very familiar to Charlottesville brides, but every gal in the country should have one of these treasures. (I adore what Dickie did for our friend, Erin – took her favorite shirt and turned into a gorgeous little Ditty!)

Sara sneaks a peek outside the bride’s room of the reception room below.

Time to celebrate!

Dear s&m,

If there were a dictionary entry for “chill couple”, your photo would be there! You brought from Colorado your no stress, no worries, it’s-all-good attitude, which permeated the entire celebration. How could it not when nearly 40 of your friends accompanied Matt in lazily tubing down the James River the morning of the wedding? It was a good start to your day, aside from your poor groomsman, Matt, who neglected to use sunscreen prior to the excursion. But even he took it in stride. Sara, the view of you, in your dress and veil with a glass of champagne in hand, taking a moment to relax in an easy chair to watch the baseball game before you left to get married exemplified the attitude that day.

Given it was summer in Virginia, we got pretty darn lucky with the weather. Whereas the day before it was hot, sunny, and humid, the day of your wedding it was merely pretty darn warm and humid, and the clouds during your ceremony on the hill overlooking the mountains, helped keep people cool. At least until dancing that night, that is. Things really heated up on that dance floor, decorated with tall trees on either side in the rustic, soaring two-story Granary, thanks to Attraction band. Your guests were treated some amazingly good food that night, what with the various food stations positioned around the ballroom. One of the stations, our clear favorite, featured bacon on a stick. Bacon on a stick! Now that’s the way to do it! So tasty, and very possibly it was the best “vendor meal” we’ve ever eaten (we did eat our Farmer’s Market vegetables too). Seriously.

As if that wasn’t enough,  your guests were treated to Carpe Donut (yum!) at their leisure throughout the night. If fresh, hot donuts still hadn’t sated their sweet tooth, the sundae bar and s’mores (complete with a raging bonfire) most certainly did. Sticky, a little gooey, and darn tasty. And that we were present for Pippin Hill’s first big wedding ever was icing on the cake for us. (We’ve already been back to further admire the views with family & friends and sample some wine this time!)

Everywhere we turned there was a thoughtful touch – lemonade in mason jars with lids for your guests pre-ceremony (with yellow stripey straws!), elegant straw fans on each and every ceremony seat, personalized wine bottles & doughnut bags, navy flip flops for the ladies, and your beautiful light green & dark blue invitations & programs – all helped create such a lovely, relaxed feel. Sara, you and your Mom, along with Lynn, made your wedding day feel like the perfect, lazy Summer day to us. The kind where, as a kid, you spend your day splashing in the pool (or the James River), chasing fire flies at dusk (or sitting under candle lit lanterns on a breezy porch) and playing flashlight tag in the dark with friends (or running through sparklers). It fit you and your daidback personalities to a T. That is no small feat – take it from us – and we know your guests will remember your wedding day and time with you fondly for years to come.

We’re so glad we could all be a part of it, capturing you both amid those gorgeous mountain views. If the hills were 14k ft. tall, we might have been back in Colorado. 🙂 Thank you for including us in your celebration; we’re thrilled we could document it for you and your families.

xoxo…
…a&b

P.S. Be sure to check back later today for more fab details and some super fun party pics in Part 2!!