Ok, you’ve got to love this…. this little competition in the NY Times Opinion section attracted dozens of silly and creative submissions. Here are a few of the ones I liked, but you really must check it out ’cause there are so many more… maybe you have an idea to submit?

Last night Ike Allen (Publisher) and Jennifer Carroll (Creative Director) hosted a wonderful launch party for their newly in-print The Wedding Planer magazine.  When you’re out and about ’round town be sure to pick one up… it’s a great local resource.  Big Congratulations to Ike and Jennifer on a beautiful and informative first issue.  I know we all wish you much success!

Here are a few shots from the X-Lounge party Last night:

Happy Wedding Season Everyone!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

The Hook in the snow!

This issue is very special to me because on pages 24 & 25 they’ve featured a very sweet article about lil ol’ me! And, if that weren’t fantastic enough, in another article on pages 28 & 29 they featured a wonderful couple of mine, Brittany & Keith, who I married last autumn up above beautiful Albemarle County in one of Blue Ridge Balloon Company’s balloons.  You might remember the post I did here on the blog about this wedding back in  October.

Thanks to Stephanie Garcia who wrote both articles and also to the wonderful Jen Fariello with whom I had a great time taking pics  for the article one afternoon over at West Main Bridal & Couture. Thanks Stephanie… Thanks Jen!

Hi Everyone: I’m writing today to let you know that tomorrow I am leaving town for a month of travel in India.  This is a journey that I’ve wanted to make since I was a teenager and it’s finally happening!  So, I wanted to let you know that I will be gone from January 14 through February 16th but, fear not, the blog will go on!  I have a minimum of 4 posts per week queued up and ready to go so there won’t be any gap in your ability to get a dose of Charlottesville weddings here on the blog.  With my ability to access my e-mail somewhat questionable while I’m away it may take a few days for me to be able to approve comments or respond to any messages you send my way… but I promise I’ll get back to you just as quickly as I can.

Lastly, the Best-Of series was planned to run through December and January only but because I’ve received so many wonderful submissions it will be continuing into the first part of February as well.

Thanks to my readers and all the wonderful Charlottesville wedding professionals for your unwavering support of the Charlottesville Wedding Blog… I’m looking forward to all the wonderful 2010 weddings we’ll get to enjoy together!

Many Blessings,

Claire

I‘m so grateful for all of you that I’m going to share my absolute favorite non-wedding blog with you: Cute Overload.  So, just to tie it in…. if you’re stressing out about any little thing to do with your wedding (or not) then I highly suggest that you hop on over to Cute Overload right now. If something there doesn’t bring a smile to your face then you definitely need a break…  pet your cat, or take your dog for a walk, or just generally take a break from wedding planning (I promise it will still be there when you return) and re-discover your sense of humor .  Here’s my favorite Thanksgiving post:
Will be back with more Charlottesville weddings tomorrow… Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Happy 2nd Birthday

to the Charlottesville Wedding Blog and a BIG Thank You… to all the beautiful couples who have allowed me to share the joy of their big days with my readers and the fantastically talented wedding professionals who have been featured here in the past 24 months… specifically, but in no particular order thanks to:

Barboursville Vineyards
Jillian’s Video Productions
Inn at Old Virginia
Oak Ridge Estate
Holland Photo Arts
UVA Gardens
Veritas Vineyard & Winery
DJ Derek Tobler
Clifton Inn
DelFosse Vineyards & Winery
Montfair Resort Farm
Boar’s Head Inn
Pat’s Floral Design
University of Virginia Chapel
Encore Quartet
First Colony Winery
The White Pig B & B
Piedmont Chamber Players
Madison Trio
The Dinsmore House
House Mountain Inn
Eve Watters
Blue Ridge Balloon Co.
Allegra’s Studio
Stonefire Station
Jennifer Carroll Events
Inn at Sugar Hollow Farm
Jen Fariello Photography
Jason Keefer Photography
Clover Forest Plantation
Ash Lawn-Highland
Rob Garland Photographers
Rafael Scarfullery
Keswick Hall
Peter Richardson Guitar
Adam Barnes Photography
Whitehall Vineyards
Weekday Wedding Company
Billy Hunt Photography
DJ John Garland
The Rosebrook Inn
Jennifer Colina Photoraphy
Montfair Resort Farm
The Linden Trio
Terra Voce
Maliha Creations
Pat’s Floral Design
Wintergreen Resort
Virginia Schweninger
Skyland Resort
Albemarle Baking Co.
The Colonnade Club
Jan Smith & Honeybird Music
Will Kerner Photography
Henna by Colleen
Hark Photography
Omni Charlottesville
Rock, Paper, Scissors
West Main Bridal & Couture
Albemarle Vintage Limousine
Dottie DiLiddo Photography
Happy Rickshaw
Adrienne Wager
Weehah!
Jennifer Caroll Designs
King Family Vineyards
Floral Images
Spin City Dance Studio
Hotcakes
Dominique Attaway Photography
Kimberla’s Bridal
Meredith Montague Photography
Glenmore Country Club
The 1804 Inn
University Florists
Blue Mountain Weddings
Jack Looney Photography
The Greencroft Club
David Jones Photography
Barb Wired
Kluge Estate Winery
Angie Brement Photography
Hedge Fine Blooms
Andre Hilliard Photography
Sam Hill Entertainment
The Event Company
Aimee Susanah Photography
Elan On-Site Salon Services
If So Inklined
Sarah Cramer Photography
The Photosmith
Elizabeth Larson Photography
CB Photography
Taviametal
Festive Fare
Eagle Eye Photography
20 South Productions
Cakes Unlimited
The AV Company
Easton Events
Skyline Tent Company
Rothwell Photography
Blue Ridge Floral Design
DJ Rick Haggard
Erin McDermott Jewelry
Farmington Country Club
Plumblossom String Quartet
Stoneblue Productions
Cityspa
Blue Ridge Light Forms
Harvest Moon Catering
Primitive Earth Soaps

On August 15th (more or less) the Charlottesville Wedding Blog will be a big 2 Years Old!!! …wow, I can hardly believe it!

If you’ve been following along over the months you’ve seen me try lots of different things here…

• “best of” series (which I plan to do again later in the year);
• “Bride Online” sharing various finds around the web;
• Ceremony readings;
• Green wedding tips;
• lots of Real Weddings;
• engagement shoots;
• local products and services;
• interviews;
• announcements;
• videos;
• guest posts
• featured vendors.

and lots more… so, as we head into year 3 here on the blog it would be truly fantastic to hear what you’d like to see more of (or less of) and what other types of features you’d find useful and would like me to include.

One of my own wishes for this blog is to find ways to get more people involved: brides, grooms and wedding professionals in the area, so I’d love to hear any ideas you might have about that.

I’d also love for more of the wonderfully talented wedding professionals in our area to share their work with my readers: yes, I’m talking to you… photographers, caterers, bakers, florists, planners, audio, video and all the rest… my readers want to know about what you offer and I’d love to feature you here… so get in touch!

Please post your thoughts and ideas as a comment or, if you’d prefer, please e-mail me directly: revclaire@sacredgroundceremonies.com

Thank you to everyone who has made the past 2 years of blogging so much fun for me!

~ Claire