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About Us

We were married October 27, 2007 in Virginia on the grounds of the Jamestown Settlement with a reception at The Williamsburg Winery. We had a beautiful day...after it had rained non-stop for the past 3 days it cleared up the morning of the wedding. We could not have asked for anything more and are so thankful for such a memorable day with our friends and family. These boards and bios were an inspiration during my planning, I only hope that I can provide a little of the same to a fellow bride.

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Wedding Photos: Please credit Brad Howe.
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Ceremony Location - Jamestown Memorial Church: A

Planning from out of state and the fact my parents don’t belong to a local church made finding a ceremony site somewhat difficult. But I came across the Jamestown church on wedding planner Shayna Walker’s website and then looked them up online. While the church does pose some restrictions and stress, since it is not temperature controlled and is quite a hike for guests it is just a very intimate, romantic location and you can’t beat the location amidst the James River and beautiful lush trees and it worked out perfectly for us. We were worried at rehearsal because it had been pouring rain, and had guests had to walk through that on the day of it would NOT have been good. But we were blessed with a beautiful sunny day and everyone loved the location and kept asking how I found it. We had quite a few out of town guests and I think they loved being able to see a bit of historic Jamestowne as well. Another restriction is size but we were able to fit just over 100 guests with no complaints. Cost for the church is comparable to what we would have paid at other locations, since we were not a church member and the staff at the Preservation society were very easy to deal with.

Officiant - Doug Johnson: A

I found Doug on one of the James City County websites and emailed him. He responded quickly and was open to incorporating whatever ceremony details we came up with. Doug did seem a little

Reception Location - Williamsburg Winery: A+

When choosing a location we knew we wanted something different, after our first visit to the Winery I was sold. The location is beautiful – so romantic. Our reception was in Wessex Hall (the largest of the rooms). Although the room is certainly no ornate ballroom it has a beautiful, rustic appeal. The layout of the room worked perfectly for us and since it was a beautiful day we were able to keep the balcony doors open and create a more open welcoming space. The appeal for the Winery to me is in it’s simple but rustic elegance, it also seemed to work great for the historical feel of our wedding weekend (the ceremony was on Jamestown Settlement). Our guests were blown away by the venue and found it to be very charming. Michelle was the planner at the Winery, we did not have to have too much contact with her but she was always quick to respond and everything went smoothly the day of. All the staff we encountered during our trips planning, at the wine tasting, and the day of the event were very pleasant and accommodating.

Caterers - Catered Affair by Second Street: A

When trying to find a caterer I contacted a couple of the preferred vendors for the Winery but had a hard time getting responses or quotes kept continually coming in over my specified budget. I found Second Street and was able to get quick response, a quote that was within my budget and offered the menu items we were looking for. Kathy was easy to work with and had done work at the Winery before so knew the unique challenge it represents for caterers. The food tasted great, we had a pretty basic menu but it gave us the options of a couple different meatless pastas, chicken marsala, breadsticks, carved whiskey peppercorn roast beef, rolls, salad, and potatoes. We also did a breads and spreads station along with fresh fruit for cocktail hour. Presentation was very nice and the staff were pleasant and quick to respond to requests. Catered Affair also manned our other bar at the Winery and did a great job, Kathy allowed us to bring all the alcohol we purchased to her the Friday before the wedding and then sher staff handled everything from there.

Cake Creator - Sassy Sweets: A

The cake turned out just as we requested and tasted unbelievable. Lois uses a very moist pound cake recipe that was delicious. She was a very sweet woman, I had no troubles with her at all. Lois is one of the vendors recommended by the Winery.

Florist - My Favorite Things: A

Jennifer did a fantastic job. Since I was planning from MI, we did most of our correspondence via email exchange and she had no problem with this and was always fast to respond. I made sure to be very detailed (probably enough to drive her a little batty) in my pictures and descriptions so I knew we were on the same page. I LOVED all of our arrangements from bridal party to centerpieces, everything really tied in with my wedding stationery, location and attire. I loved the touch of grapes and pods in the centerpieces to give it a bit of an organic feel. Also, we had several tall arrangements on the food tables that were not included in my budget and I didn’t pay for (evidently she had extra flowers to use), it made the tables look much more elegant and I’m very thankful things worked out that way. The room looked beautiful, it went from a big dark empty room to an inviting, intimate romantic space.

Photographer - Brad Howe: A+

I was turned onto Brad by a fellow knottie who was married at the Winery and after viewing his portfolio I was even more sold. Brad's prices are reasonable for the area and he and his staff do an excellent job. He has a great eye for composition and to be honest both Dave and I hardly noticed him there, which was exactly what we wanted. We feel he was truly able to capture the moments of the day and can't wait to begin working on our album. If you are looking for someone who will pose you and make sure your head is tilted the exact right way, Brad's not for you but if you like more of the photojournalistic style Brad's your guy. My husband and I both don't do well when we feel posed so we knew we needed someone who would more or less allow us to be ourselves but still be able to get some great pictures.

Disc Jockey - DJ on the Side - Chris Phillips: A

Once again, I came across DJ on the Side based on some recommendations on the local board and after my first contact with Chris I was sold. The prices are average from what research I had already conducted. Chris is a genuinely nice guy and was repeatedly checking in and offering me any assistance I needed since he knew we were planning from so far away. Even offering to go take some pictures of the Winery for us:) We didn't get to meet till a couple days before the wedding and after going over the music again I knew he got "our style" and we would have the kind of music we loved. Chris kept people dancing all night and was very unobtrusive. I highly recommend Chris or his other staff at DJ on the Side.

Musicians - Grace Notes: A

Grace Notes was another recommendation from the local board. We had a hard time finding ceremony musicians, the few we could find we already booked and then I came across Grace Notes. Very easy to work with, nice song selection, played beautifully and their prices are reasonable.

Transportation - Dreams in Motion: A

We used the Limo Bus and found their prices to be reasonable and the accommodations were clean and comfortable. Our driver was knowledgeable of the area and knew exactly where he was going.

Invitations - Teresa Lang: A-

Teresa is an ex-Knottie (MrsAmazon) who does wedding paper design on the side. She has great vision and does beautiful work. We didn't think we'd be able to get invitations like we wanted because they weren't in budget but since she works from her home Teresa offers a fabulous product at a great price. She even pre-printed the envelopes with addresses and the branch motif, they were beautiful. We got SO many compliments on all of her work. Her customer service/communication was a bit slow and definitely got me a little nervous when it came time to order programs and place cards and I couldn't get a hold of her for weeks, but she came through and even did the place cards, table numbers and expedited shipping for free even though I never even suggested her doing so. We loved all our wedding stationery, it really set the tone for the wedding. Sorry to say, last I spoke to her she was closing up shop indefinitely.

Rental Company - Williamsburg Event Rentals: A

We were happy with the quality of all our rental items, Jennifer was helpful in helping us decide on the linen colors.

Hair and Makeup- European Beauty Concepts: A

This is a great salon, I went off knot recommendations since I don’t live in the area I had no local stylist. The salon recommended Heather and she did a fantastic job and was such a fun person, felt like we really got to know each other during the trail and day of. If I lived in the area I would definitely start going to her on a regular basis. We completely changed from an up-do to down and more soft/romantic for the day of and she totally agreed that this was a better decision, I loved it and got quite a few compliments. She did a great job with the make-up and gave me the more natural look I wanted. I don’t like to wear a ton of make-up but knew more was needed for today. I did bring in some of my own products. All the girls there were very sweet, ordered me food when they were getting lunch, kept checking up on me and were saying prayers that our weather got better, which it did? Only one of my other bridesmaids got her hair done, with Isabelle and it looked great also.

My Dress - Watters 6043B via Netbride: A

I LOVED my dress, it came in exactly as ordered and I saved around $900 making it something within my budget. Netbride was very easy to order with and the dress arrived earlier than scheduled. Watters does appear to run a bit large, I probably could have ordered a size smaller but wanted to be safe.

Bridesmaid Dresses - Bill Levkoff 557: A

Loved this dress. I wore it for my best friend's wedding a few weeks before mine, it is very lightweight and comfortable but also flattering for most figures. We were able to save quite a bit of money going with Netbride and service was great.

Wedding Coordinator - Shayna of WIlliamsburg Weddings: A

Shayna was terrific. I was hesitant to spend the money on a "day of coordinator" but I'm a full time grad student and work full time AND was planning from out of state. I wanted to arrive in Virginia and not worry for those couple of days. Shayna is well worth it, I was so stressed at rehearsal because it had been pouring rain all day and we felt like we were running around like maniacs, she really eased my mind and was such a positive calming influence. Shayna facilitated all of the rehearsal and all of my vendor interaction the couple weeks prior. Knowing she was there making sure everything was going smoothly really allowed me to not think about it at all. Shayna truly allowed us to experience our day and not worry once about a things, not to mention she is just a very kind person who truly enjoys her profession.

Rehearsal Dinner- Catered by Second Street hosted in Private Dining Room of Jamestown Museum: A

This worked out perfectly for us because our rehearsal was on the island at Jamestown and almost everyone in our wedding was from out of state and not familiar with the area so this was very easy for them to get to. It was not a glamorous room by any stretch but we had the place to ourselves. Kathy came up with a great menu for us that was very reasonable and included crab cakes, chicken, salad, veggies, dessert and beverage service. We brought in our satellite radio and some fresh flowers for the tables to give it a little more ambiance. The food turned out great and everyone enjoyed themselves. This is probably only a good option for anyone getting married at the Jamestown Church, but I definitely recommend it.

Other Vendor - Wedmore Place – wedding weekend hotel: C

When we saw that Wedmore would be opening the same year we were elated to be able to walk to our room after the reception and the descriptions of this small luxury hotel made it sound like the perfect cap to our wedding weekend. Unfortunately we stayed here the first week they opened and while I expect some hiccups it was certainly below expectations. There were several places in the room, particularly the bathroom that needed paint touchups and what looked to be sloppy calking jobs around the trims. The bathroom was oddly laid out with narrow corridor and a mirror that was difficult to use, especially since it was the only one in the room. The only trash can was outside the bath room and as a female guest having a trash can in the restroom is a necessity. I had to ask at least 4 times before one was brought in. The room never appeared to be cleaned during our stay, I also had to ask numerous times to have the trash removed. All of the ammenities were not available while we visited either, the massage, gym, breakfast room, etc. The staff seemed ill prepared for opening and very confused for the most part although they were all very friendly and some went out of their way more than others to accomodate us while taking photos the day of the wedding. This hotel has great potential, the rooms are all quite unique, the hotel is set in beautiful surroundings and the detail and period pieces throughout allow you to see the painstaking detail that went into the planning and building of the hotel. I’m thankful for some of the beautiful pictures but for what we paid I honestly would have expected an apology or upgrade, at least an offer to make a return visit because this hotel was definitely not up to the standards of a luxury hotel.

Other Vendor - Bridesmaid's Earrings– Linda Trent Jewlery: A

I wanted to mention this vendor because I loved the earrings I found for my bridesmaids, one because they were beautiful and unique but two because I was supporting an artist. I came across Linda’s work on Etsy and thought the smoky quartz drops would look beautiful with the brown dresses and weren’t your typical chandelier’s you see so many of us use in weddings now. She offers tons of sales, at the time mine were on sale for $32 and buy 3 get one free. They are well made and she has tons of great pieces, coming from any accessory addict!

Other Vendor - Thank You cards: Shutterfly: A

We did a photo thank you card on Shutterfly and they turned out fantastic, so easy to do, only takes a couple minutes and the turnaround is super fast. There is usually some discount available. Got great feedback on these, everyone loved being able to see some of the photos.

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