Charlottesville Wedding by Jason Keefer Photography
Welcome back SMP-ers! I’m hoping that today’s first picture perfect wedding will lift your Monday blues and get you excited about all of the wedding goodness up for grabs this week. We’re kicking things off with a wedding that managed to find the perfect balance between total elegance and total fun. And it all came down to the adorable personalities of the bride and groom. Photographed by the husband and wife duo at Jason Keefer Photography in Charlottesville, this wedding will make you smile from ear to ear. Click here to see even more pictures!
lots more not featured details right here!
Keri and John met while playing on the same flag football team that a mutual friend had organized. After three months of Keri waiting for John to ask her out, he finally did after a Saturday night Halloween party. That Monday morning, Keri walked into the start of a new school term where she would be a teaching assistant, and wouldn’t you know, John was sitting in her class as a new student!!
They both live and work in Baltimore, MD, John a nephrologist and Keri an epidemiologist. They are both extremely intelligent and have a huge affinity for knowledge, particularly history, so having their destination wedding at James Monroe’s Ash Lawn-Highland was a perfect fit! Keri has been a bridesmaid 8 times, so she had a pretty clear vision of what her day would entail. She adapted several ideas and styles and mixed them into a flavor of her own… a little bit of classic southern elegance and charm, a little whimsy, DIY and splashes of color. Keri’s clean and simple bouquet of white roses and white calla lilies were a perfect example of southern elegance and grace. The colorful lanterns hanging in the reception area were hung up by John and Keri and their families on the morning of the rehearsal (check out the gallery to see the space). The stationery and place cards were from Paper Source, but Keri added her own DIY touch by adding little jewels by the guest’s names! Keri and John utilized several of James Monroe’s lush and beautiful tucked away gardens for their first look, ceremony and lawn games. They wanted their guests (who have traveled far and wide from places like Maryland, Florida and Iowa) to be able to relax and have fun before and after the ceremony, so lawn games such as bocce ball and horse shoes were provided along with our photobooth and poloroids!
Photography: Jason Keefer Photography / Hair & Makeup: Virginia Glenn of Reflections Salon / Gown & Shoes: Adele Wechsler and Nina heels purchased at Hitched Bridal Salon, Washington DC / Bridesmaids dresses: J Crew Bridal / Suit: West Main Bridal / Hotel: Omni Hotel / Event Coordinator: Liz Wiener (friend) / Music: DJ Ran Henry and Charlottesville String Quartet / Catering: 20 South / Floral creations: Amy Webb of Blue Ridge Floral Design / Cake: Kathy Watkins of Favorite Cakes / Officiant: Dr. Graham Redgrave (friend) / Stationery: Paper Source (and many DIY aspects!) / Ideas + Design: Kerry Amato, Unexpected Delights
J.Crew is a member of our Look Book. For more information on how members are chosen, click here.
15 Comments about “Charlottesville Wedding by Jason Keefer Photography”
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September 27, 2010 at 8:43 am
I'm planning a Charlottesville wedding, so this post is SO helpful! I hope my wedding will be as lovely as Keri and John's!
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September 27, 2010 at 8:52 am
Charlottesville is just about the most perfect place I can think of to have a wedding! I love their simple, elegant style. The wedding looks wonderful!
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September 27, 2010 at 9:08 am
GORGEOUS wedding!! And I agree with Park's about Charlottesville. It is SUCH a beautiful city :)
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September 27, 2010 at 9:13 am
Where is her hair flower from? Beautiful.
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September 27, 2010 at 9:21 am
Ah! I am a Charlottesville native and just shot a wedding at Ashlawn this past April- so excited to come to the blog and see my hometown! Cville really is a gorgeous place for a wedding and to live... I particularly love the table settings in this wedding.
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September 27, 2010 at 11:22 am
Thanks for your compliments! John and I loved our wedding day because we had so much fun!
Ash Lawn - Highland is an amazing place because of all the Presidential estates in Charlottesville, Ash Lawn has a thoughtful, but laid-back team that encourages you to use the entire estate to your liking for your event. We took full advantage of the gorgeous estate and made our day our own. We love the fact that we will be able to return to the place where we were married for decades to come.
In response to Sinead - the flower for my hair was purchased from Mikiye on etsy.com. I am happy to answer any other questions.
Thanks again for your compliments!
Keri -
September 27, 2010 at 11:27 am
I love the centerpieces, and the bride was so pretty.
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September 27, 2010 at 11:43 am
The centerpieces were fun to put together! Ash Lawn is so gorgeous as it is, we did not want to compete with the outdoor beauty with tons of flowers...we needed just enough to add to the festive mood. Of course bud vases are the perfect vehicle for such a need! John and I collected bud vases from family and antique stores, and the bright jewel-toned flowers nicely complimented the paper lanterns that covered the ceiling of the reception pavilion.
In addition to bud vases, we had three centerpieces for the guest tables. My parents collect milk glass so we used their compotes with medium-sized floral arrangements. I have an heirloom oil lamp from the farm house in which my grandmother grew up, so we hunted down numerous oil lamps from antique shops. Finally, I found these amazing sliver mercury glass globes at TJ Max when my matron of honor (and wedding consultant extraordinaire) came to Baltimore for a weekend to help me plan the centerpieces. These centerpieces gave the reception a fun, but antique chic feel and reflected our love of history. We had 12 votives on every table to give the outdoor venue a romantic evening glow.
The King's table was the brilliant idea of my matron of honor. We bought the cylinders, candles and rocks from Micheal's and the branches from bloomsandbranches.com. One of my favorite pictures from our wedding is the candlelight from the King's table on our faces as we listened to the toasts.
Many of these ideas were inspired by other weddings I poured over during our planning process and came to fruition over a bottle of wine with my matron of honor, Kerry). If anyone wants more details, I'm happy to share! Also, check out Kerry's blog for more ideas...she always features fun, creative things for all types of parties and home projects (http://udelights.com/ ).
Keri
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September 27, 2010 at 12:39 pm
Beautiful post and a beautiful wedding!!!! Congrats to all involved!!
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September 27, 2010 at 1:01 pm
I live in Cville too and I just love it. We are having our wedding in Staunton next October at the Frontier Culture Museum, but most of our family will be spending time here before we all head there for the weekend. I love to see weddings here, because they are always so lovely and so well thought out!
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September 27, 2010 at 2:45 pm
This is so fantastic -- I love that even though everything about the wedding is 100% gorgeous and refined, the photos also capture what fun it was! Looks like everyone had a total blast. :)
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October 14, 2010 at 3:55 pm
Keri and John,
The photos are simply fantastic,they really project the wonder time you had. Thanks for the kind words about ALH and personal best wishes to you both.
Baylor -
November 29, 2010 at 3:26 pm
Hi Keri-
I'm having a wedding at Ash-Lawn next June and was wondering if you were selling your paper lanterns? I'm DIYing a little myself and using Amy as my florist! Your wedding was beautiful! Congrats!
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March 4, 2011 at 6:15 pm
Hi Keri -
Absolutely beautiful wedding! I am getting married at Ash Lawn next fall and I hope our evening is as amazing as it looks yours was! I agree with you that Ash Lawn is such a beautiful, natural setting and the staff has already been so accommodating and easy to work with. I was born and raised in Albemarle County and I feel so lucky to now be getting married there!
A funny coincidence, my brother was actually working as catering staff for your wedding and he told me how special of a night it was...long before the folks as Ash Lawn sent me this link to showcase their property and give me ideas for my wedding!! Fun to see it all captured here. Congrats!!
Emily
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[...] are so thrilled that Keri and John’s beautiful wedding is featured this morning on Style Me Pretty! Jason and I met this lovely couple in 2007. Keri was a bridesmaid at another wedding that we had [...]