Happy Monday, Everyone! So THIS happened over the weekend! My handsome son and his beautiful fiancé tied the knot in the most beautiful ceremony ever. They got married at the Shirley Plantation in Charles City, Virginia. If you’d like to see a few highlights this week, pull up a chair!
My son proposed to his long time love December 21, 2016. So, we’ve all had nearly a year of talking, dreaming and planning this glorious occasion. It seemed so far away at the time and in between had several holidays, birthdays, an engagement party, a bridal shower and at long last the wedding weekend. All of a sudden, it was HERE.
My husband and I traveled down to Richmond, Virginia last Thursday night in order to begin the festivities. As fate would have it, a cold front came in with us so it was very chilly, but thankfully NO rain! After a quick rehearsal at the plantation, my husband and I hosted the rehearsal dinner at The Old Original Bookbinder’s Seafood & Steakhouse in downtown Richmond. (The original Bookbinder’s was opened in 1865 by Samuel Bookbinder and was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.)
This is the front of the restaurant in Richmond. It was formerly a tobacco warehouse and situated near the James River. There is convenient parking directly across the street. I love the old brick front building and brick pavers.
Bookbinder’s Restaurant is beautiful! It’s located in the historic Tobacco Row and has several different size rooms available to rent depending on the size of your party. For our rehearsal dinner we needed the largest room, which seats 70 guests. (because of our large family and wedding party.) The walls are old brick and the ceilings have exposed pipes and gorgeous mood lighting. Below is a picture of the room we rented as shown on their website. So picturesque.
For the rehearsal dinner the tables were covered in white tablecloths and we bought all white centerpieces from a local florist called Vogue Flowers. They did a beautiful job! We brought along some clear votives and candles for each table to further set the mood. And the food and service were divine!
While we were in Napa Valley a few weeks ago, my husband and I went to Schramsberg Winery and bought a huge bottle of champagne and had it shipped back for the wedding. We opened the bottle at the dinner and shared a toast with all of the guests. You can see in this picture the large scale of the bottle. It’s a whopping 3 liters!
And the groom and his Dad/Best Man popping the cork together. 
We bought these pretty stemless wine glasses as a favor for each guest, and they were the perfect size for a toast! And because they are stemless, they are easy to pack and cart home.
Here is the lovely couple relaxing over a drink at their rehearsal dinner. This was a fun way to end the evening before the big day! Over the course of the evening we shared lots of wonderful food, drinks, speeches, memories and toasts. Some of the toasts were funny, some sentimental, all heart felt. We feel so incredibly blessed!
This week I plan to share more wedding photos, some pictures of the lovely Shirley Plantation, and some of the fun touches that led to an unforgettable and unique wedding. We will all look back on this day with a huge smile and full heart. Congratulations to Chase and Brie! We are so happy for you and love you so much! xoxo Dell (and of course the entire family, wedding party, friends and guests!)
