Northern Virginia Wedding – An Autumn Romance

Wedding Highlight

Bridesmaids at a fall Inn at Vint Hill wedding in Northern Virginia

The Planning Process

How did this epic Northern Virginia wedding come to be? Well, let us tell you!

Lauren and Jon met while attending Old Dominion University, hitting it off and continuing to date past their graduations. This Virginia-based couple took a chance at a job opportunity in Austin, Texas, and have spent more than half a decade building a life together in that growing city. These “Austinites” decided to get married near Jon’s hometown in Northern Virginia – a “short” 1,500 mile drive from their cozy home in Austin. With the help of both of their families back in Virginia, the couple was able to pull together all of their wedding plans, source décor, and visit vendors. We were honored to join the wedding planning army Lauren and Jon assembled, playing our role through coordinating logistics, including plated meal counts, the day-of timeline, vendor communications, and all those other last minute details!

Bride reading letter from husband at The Inn at Vint Hill

The Ceremony

The couple’s venue, The Inn at Vint Hill in Warrenton, Virginia, is a historic mansion originally built on a sheep farm in the 1860s. The stunning Northern Virginia wedding venue offers endless opportunities for couples, including options for a ceremony. Lauren and Jon chose to hold their ceremony in a lush area of the grounds on what turned out to be a perfect early October day. No weather plan needed!

When it was time for Lauren to make her entrance, she descended down the outdoor staircase with her father at her side. Throughout the ceremony, both Lauren and Jon looked overjoyed as they spoke their vows and listened to loved ones conduct readings. During the recessional, the couple stopped at the last row to grab Jon’s phone (which we’d snuck to the person sitting in the nearest chair) and took a selfie with all their guests in the background.

The Reception

Two things to note about The Inn at Vint Hill: the grand interior offers a blank slate for you to dress it up AND they’ve got a gorgeous permanent tent outside. The couple gave us ample décor, including floating candles in pillar vases and gold framed photos of the pair, to spread throughout the inside of the house. After we’d decorated, it looked like Lauren and Jon lived in the mansion! Take a peek below at one of the multiple fireplaces and built-in shelves that we decorated with their items. None of that was there that morning!

After a cocktail hour that spread both indoors and outdoors, guests entered the tent and started the party. The couple’s friends and family are masters of a good time, so the rest of the evening was filled with drinks and dancing. In fact, I think the guests would have stayed there dancing all night if that were an option! There was never a dull moment during the reception – from the first dance to the group sing-a-longs to early 2000s alternative tunes. We’d do this day all over again!