I second shoot weddings with a friend and awesome photographer, Kelly. Kelly and her sister Kim have started “Sisterly Occasions”, a party planning business.  They offer an array of services like photography, wedding coordinating, cratering, and more.  If you are local to the area, I highly recommend them.  You can ‘like’ their facebook page here to get more information.

The wedding was held at Fauquier Springs

Meet the Groom, Gregory. I got to hang out with the guys while they were getting ready and boy did we have a blast!

See the limo in the background? That’s the Bride, Stacy arriving for ‘first look’ before the ceremony.

Meeting with the Minister before the ceremony

A few details about the reception…

The new Mr. & Mrs. Williams

And they lived Happily Ever After…

Thank you Gregory and Stacy for allowing me to be a part of your special day.

And thank you Kim and Kelly for having me tag along. We made magic!

The ceremony site at Whitehall Manor

The front of Whitehall Manor

Overall, I think everyone who saw this venue absolutely loved it. The ceremony site was exactly what I was looking for, there were plenty of gorgeous photo opportunities around the property, the reception area was beautiful. There was a good rain plan for the ceremony, and the catering/linens/everything were already on-site. Unfortunately, the price of the catering itself pushed us a little beyond a price I’d be more comfortable with. In addition, we were told that they are already booked for a lot of next October. I would be fine with a November wedding, except that I do have my heart set on an outdoor ceremony (unless it’s raining), and I feel like the weather (especially temperature) is a little more unpredictable in November. I don’t necessarily want to subject all of my bridal party and guests to sitting in the cold for 30 minutes just because I want the outdoor ceremony.

Next, we went to Fauquier Springs Country Club in Warrenton, VA. This is the first golf course I decided to look at. I don’t think a golf course would provide my ideal setting, but in some cases it would bring the total cost down, and the pictures I saw of Fauquier Springs made me think that it might be a good compromise.

Fauquier Springs Country Club - ceremony location

They have a new gazebo on the property that is used for ceremonies. My favorite part of the ceremony site was its placement on top of a hill, so that guests looking at the gazebo would be treated to a view of the mountains as the hill dropped away, instead of a view of a golf course. The reception area inside was fairly standard and would definitely work for our reception. Unfortunately, the staff could not guarantee that they would not rent out a second, smaller room to someone else at the same time, so there would be the possibility of having competing music, etc. (or we would need to rent a second room to prevent anyone else from using it).

Fauquier Springs Country Club - entrance

Fauquier Springs definitely fit into our budget. However, it was not my favorite venue thus far, and my mother also seemed ambivalent. Despite the lower price, it didn’t seem reasonable to spend so much money on a place that no one really loved. Fauquier Springs was out.

Finally, my mom set up a visit to the Mt Vernon Inn Restaurant in Alexandria, VA. The restaurant is next door to George Washington’s historic Mt Vernon Estate (the Estate itself is not open to weddings). This has been my mother’s favorite venue since she read about it, so we finally managed to get out there and look at it. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures (and neither does their website). I can say that the restaurant itself was very nice, and would make for a lovely reception. They have a small sunken courtyard in the back that is used for weddings, and I didn’t think it was very nice or anything like what I was looking for. There are limited photo opportunities outside of the restaurant since it’s right next to the Estate (where you cannot take pictures) and the parking lot/sidewalk are always full of tourists. Finally, the price was much higher than I had anticipated after hearing about how “affordable” it was – comparable to some of the other venues that I preferred! DJ also was not a fan of the colonial garb that the servers always wear. I think DJ and I were not impressed, overall; however, I am not sure whether my mother is still holding out hope or not.

I have two more venues for which I am currently trying to set up site visits. After that, I think I am going to sit down with the involved parties and try to make a decision. I’m sick of looking at places!