A January Wedding That Was Cozy Warm

On January 8th I drove up to The Berry Hill Estate and Conference Center in S. Boston, VA to marry Jessica and Brandon. We were all grateful that there was no snow and that The Berry Hill Estate created a warm intimate setting for their winter wedding.

Rhonda vad der Schagt of the Berry Hill is wonderful to work with. She had everything well under control and was graceful and pleasant in the doing of it. Of course, she's that way whenever I work with her. It's a pleasure. This time I worked with DJ, Mel Manning whose business Manning2Manning also includes his wife, Cheryl, who is a wedding photographer. They're located in Raleigh NC. Mel was fabulous, getting even those tricky cues perfectly for the ceremony music and he reported to me that the reception went well and that Jessica and Brandon had a fabulous time.

A good thing too since they had to get up at 3am the next day to drive to Richmond to catch a flight to meet their cruise ship for their Caribbean Cruise. And they made it! The last wedding I officiated at The Berry Hill took place on the majestic front steps, and this wedding took place in an inner banquet room ready for the winter, complete with a welcoming fire in the fireplace. So I wanted to show you those pictures. Below is the ceremony site.

Here is our DJ, Mel, all ready just to the right of the ceremony site. He played a wonderful processional called the 'Romantic Wedding March' by Miranda Wong that he found on www.popcafemusic.com. It was a very unique and lovely rendition.

And this is the same room after the ceremony being set up for the reception while guests are at a cocktail hour.

I had to get a picture of Brandon and Jessica's cake. It seemed studded with seed pearls and, in it's simplicity, was one of the prettiest cakes I've ever seen. I hope you can see how the pearls drape over each layer so elegantly. Jessica and her sister made the cakes. Wow!


Jessica's flowers (you can see them in the first picture) were done by Enchanted Florist in Stafford, VA. Jamie and Richie Staggs of Jagg Photography out of Raleigh did their pictures. I can't wait to see them.

I hope that Brandon and Jessica are still basking in the Caribbean. They have very busy schedules back home and after planning such a wonderful wedding were grateful for the rest. They brought humor, graciousness, and kindness to all of the planning we did together. We ended their ceremony with the blessing.... 'So may this day be an open door through which Brandon and Jessica will go forth to build a happy, harmonious marriage. May the years deal gently with them; walking together, may they find life richer for journeying through it together.'

And may it be so.