Today we are sharing Wendi and Chris’ rainy Richmond Country Club wedding.

We started at The Jefferson Hotel, which was so much fun! She rented a suite for the night before and the night of the wedding, which meant that she got to get ready there. It has a beautiful balcony which made for a perfect place for portraits. It also had plenty of space for all of her bridal party and family members to comfortably and elegantly and get ready for the wedding day.

Thunderstorms were in the forecast all day that day. So it was really nice to know that we would have this beautiful place to take portraits where we would be protected from the rain. 

Wendi wore a veil where she was (I think) the 13th bride in the family to wear that veil. And I just absolutely love that legacy piece. It made us kind of nervous to touch and move it, but it was such a wonderful piece of tradition to have on the wedding day. 

Wendi’s Details

Also Wendi’s details were incredible. First of all they were ready to go in a box with styling elements like ribbon and a Mrs. Box. But they were also just gorgeous. She had a custom watercolor and a beautiful invitation suite, incredible wedding shoes, and jewelry. 

She plan time for us to be able to take bridals of her on the balcony, so we were able to get lots of details of that gorgeous veil.

They had a Catholic ceremony which means that they had a larger time in between the ceremony and reception than typical. So they decided not to do a first look. We took the trolley, almost right across the street to CCV. And that is where we took bridal party pictures and bride and groom pictures at the country club of Virginia.  

CCV – rainy Richmond country club wedding

We were hit with a little bit of rain while we were at CCV. But the great thing is the Country Club of Virginia has huge trees that can provide you some relief from the rain. They also have a wonderful patio area with an overhang so if it’s raining you can head under their first protection.

Their planner, Emily at Em Eliz Events was wonderful! Wendi & Chris’ rainy Richmond country club wedding would not have been as smooth without Emily’s help and organization!

Her florist for the reception was Chris’ aunt.  She did all the flowers for the reception and she did an amazing job! It’s just a hobby of hers. 

These two had such a good party.  They were up on stage singing songs.  The band was great.  I’m going to go out on a limb and say it was the best party reception to date. I just felt like every single person there was jumping up and down on the dance floor the entire time. 

Planning a wedding?  Here’s three things you should steal from Wendi and Chris’ wedding day: 

Hire a trolly – rainy Richmond country club wedding

It’s super convenient. It makes it really easy to hop on and hop off when you’re going to different locations throughout the wedding day. It’s a beautiful and classic. So not only is it fun and practical, but it also provides a nice additional photo opportunity on the wedding day. 

I also loved that since they had a long period between their ceremony and the start of their cocktail hour, they had a sort of “faux cocktail hour” for out of town guests. Since they had a lot of family members coming from out of town who might not know where to go or what to do in that hour in between events. They plan something for them which I thought was a really nice touch.

Throw a big party 

 Having a band is the way to go when you’re looking for a big, memorable party. Chris was an AMAZING dancer.. and they kicked off their reception with an amazing first dance.  They didn’t introduce the full bridal party, the just introduced the bride and groom and went straight to their first dance. 

But the biggest take away was having “props”.  About an hour before the end of the reception, they brought out the props.  We’ve seen props at receptions before – but these were the best we’ve seen. Stick on mustaches, crazy hats, wigs, beach balls, beards, glow sticks, light up tambourines – the whole 9 yards.  But then the real winner, was that they had printed huge pictures of their faces and put them on sticks for people to dance with.  It was HYSTERICAL – and such a hit. The guests loved it. 

SPLURGE on a great getting ready space 

Rent the suite at the Jefferson. It was AMAZING. They spent the night before, and the night of the wedding.  Then could also use it as the getting ready area.  AND I think they used it for a bit of an afterparty as well.  

You’re not going to regret this splurge.  And while you’re at it, splurge big time for the night of the wedding suite.  It was something Michael and I didn’t plan well for our own wedding and it’s a huge regret of ours.  Rent the Jefferson suite, or an awesome room at Quirk or the Graduate.  And have FUN. 

xo

Congratulation y’all.  Enjoy a few of our favorites from this rainy Richmond wedding day!

Richmond Wedding Vendors

VENUE | Westwood Club @westwoodclubrva

PLANNER/COORDINATOR | Emily Crawford @emelizevents

FLORIST | Tommy’s Garden @tommysgardenrva, and Groom’s Aunt

BAKERY | @Ukrops ENTERTAINMENT | The Groove Motive – East Coast Entertainment @eastcoastentertainment

HAIR | Nikki Jo Barton

MAKEUP | Stephanie Parker @sparker208

BRIDAL | Astrid & Mercedes @astridandmercedes

BRIDESMAIDS | Dessy @dessygroup

SUIT | Leviner Wood @levinerwoodcustomtailors

OFFICIANT | Deacon Charles Giovannetti

RENTALS | Classic Party @cprofva and Rent-E-Quip @rentequipva

PHOTO BOOTH | Richmond Photobooth @richmondphotobooth