GOING HOME

One of my favorite things about weddings in Loudoun County Virginia is that it takes me home. I always love going back and seeing my old stomping grounds, my family and of course running into familiar faces. In this case, Sarah and I went to high school together and have known each other for quite some time. Her wedding guests included many other familiar faces from our high school and even one of my past brides from just over three years ago!

DETAILS

Sarah and Andrew's wedding was full of fun, laughter, and personal touches. Her maid of honor put together a STUNNING floral arrangement for the backdrop to the ceremony, family and friends helped with baking hundreds of cookies for an incredible cookie bar, Carl Winslow was there in spirit with their #carlwinslow923 hashtag, and an heirloom ring from her grandmother was the official wedding band for the day.

THE RINGS

Oh yikes. One of my worst fears. There are a few things that I am super anal about when it comes to my couple's weddings. Their gifts, cards and things of sentimental or monetary value. I always count cards, tell multiple people the count, and make sure that they are secure along with any gifts pretty early in the night. Heirloom items that have been in families for generations are always handled with great care and supervision and packed securely once they have been used for their purpose. In Sarah's case, one of those heirloom pieces was her wedding band. It was her grandmothers ring, and moments before the ceremony, it went missing. SO... what happens. When the best man approached me saying he couldn't find the ring, my first response was "Are you sure?". "Yes, I never had it." "Ok, let's go look." Keep in mind this is 15 minutes before the ceremony is to begin. Sarah's wedding band was so much smaller than Andrew's that it wasn't noticed at first in the bag they came together in. Crisis averted. I thought.

While lining everyone up to start the ceremony, Stephen (best man) approached me. He had a look. The only thing I said... "you lost it didn't you...?", his response, "I don't know where it went". So, we, myself, Andrew (groom) and Stephen (best man), headed back to the groom's suite and literally tore the couch cushions out and scoured the floors. No luck. He reached back in his pocket and that's when he realized there was a hole in it. We knew he hadn't been far so it was somewhere inside the building. I turned to him and handed him one of my bands. "Put this on your pinky, DO NOT lose it, we'll find hers". He looked at me kind of confused, I assured him we would find it, but she needed a ring to get married with. We left the groom's suite and went back to the line up. The remaining groomsmen, parents and bridesmaids looked at us and asked "Do you have it?", my response, "Everything is under control". What else do you do in that situation, you lie. I didn't feel like anyone else needed to be in on the secret.

We began the ceremony. As I sent the last of the bridal party, I walked into the Bridal suite and told my bride it was time. I also let her in on the secret. I told her that her ring was missing... that's when she told me it was her grandmothers. My heart sank for a brief second. I told her it would be fine, that Stephen had one of mine and not to look shocked when it was placed on her finger. I never once questioned telling her. You get married one time right? The last thing I wanted to happen on her wedding day was for her photographer to snap a picture of an unfamiliar ring being placed onto her hand. I could think of 100 different ways that picture could look, and a look of shock or what in the world, was not how I wanted her to remember those moments for years to come. I do not regret those 20 seconds, from walking in the door to her suite, telling her the secret, lining her up at the door, fluffing her dress and sending her down the aisle.

I normally get to spend the ceremony watching from the back, this time, myself and the Venue owner as well as the catering staff went on lockdown. We locked all of the exterior doors to the venue, flipped the couch cushions in the grooms suite (again), scoured the floors to the venue before the chairs and tables were set into place, and crawled on our hands and knees in the men's bathroom just to be sure. No luck. The ceremony was ending, I had to go get my bridal party. First question from Sarah "Did you find it?", my response "No yet, but we will." Now that we had man power in the bridal party, I let them in on the secret. At first they laughed at me and said "you're good!", "what a poker face", and after a chuckle the search began. The groomsmen went to work, a strip search started on the Best Man, maybe it fell in a shoe, or sock? A few moments after he shut the door we heard cheers. He didn't get too far, before it was found. Not on him, or even in that room, but laying on the floor between two tables. It was very clear that it fell out of his pocket, down his leg and rolled into the place it was found. After a sigh of relief, a few candid photos of Andrew placing the REAL ring on Sarah's finger, the weight was lifted and they were left with a story to tell their future children.

WHAT I LEARNED

It takes a village... and quick thinking. Telling everyone would have caused more stress than needed. Once the critical parts were over, the collective effort of the catering staff and bridal party got the job done and found the ring. The rest of the evening at Shadow Creek was picture perfect. Many thanks to everyone for pulling together and finding what some may call a tiny piece of metal, but something that held so much sentimental value.

Eventfully Yours,

Kari

Vendor Love

Venue: Shadow Creek

Coordination: Two River Events

Florals: Rick's Flowers

DJ Grant: Play Productions

Cake & Cupcakes: Sweet Lilies Bakery

Catering: P.I.G.S.

WEEKEND RECAP

What an incredible weekend we had here at Two River Events! We welcomed our Fall season with a double header weekend! Gina and Brandon got married on Saturday at Cousiac Manor and Journey and Nick were married at The Inn at New Kent Winery on Sunday. I have had such a fun time getting to know both couples and I am thrilled that I was part of a new chapter in their lives!

THE BACK UP PLAN

In the few years I have been operating my business, rain is always a factor when planning an outdoor wedding or ceremony. I hate to ask the question in the planning process "What if it rains?", but it is a question that must be asked, thought about and planned for. Most couples (especially Brides) don't want to think about rain on their wedding day. Sure, people claim that it is "good luck", but I think that is just what the first person who had a rainy wedding said to stay optimistic. Of course it isn't ideal, but making the best of any given situation is the next best option. What can do you if Mother Nature is working against you? Not much, just go with the flow.

In the few days leading up to Gina's wedding, Hermine made landfall as a category 1 hurricane in Florida. What did that mean for us? Well the direction that she was heading next, was directly at us! In the couple days leading up to wedding, I gave Gina space. I knew she was watching the weather, I knew her family was watching weather, I knew her friends who coming to the wedding were watching the weather. So... I waited. I waited until we had more of an accurate forecast. Once we knew it was going to rain, we started talking seriously on the subject. Of course I asked months prior "what if it rains?" and I knew that answer, but that answer is always dramatically different less than 24 hours prior to your wedding. We talked about the possible scenarios, we talked about the #1 and #2 preferences. I knew exactly what Gina and Brandon wanted. However, it wasn't so much rain in this forecast we were concerned about, it was the wind, and BOY was it blowing! The day of their rehearsal, I arrived a few minutes earlier than her. I walked the property, I surveyed again and really broke it down into a few game plans.

Her goal: get married outside.

My goal: make that happen.

We walked the space together and talked about the options, we talked about how the number one plan was to get married under the trees. We talked about the back up, then the back up to the back up, the "if we have to" back up and then the hail mary. Then we rehearsed. We rehearsed Plan A, hoping the karma gods and any good juju would bring nice weather for the next day.

THE BIG DAY

I arrived on property quite a few hours before I needed to for their wedding. Mostly, I wanted to watch the weather, I wanted to be able to prep a few things sooner in case we needed to make a last minute decision, I just wanted to be prepared. It was windy, but it wasn't raining. Most of the storm had made its way to the East far enough that the major rain was gone from the area. I told Gina we'd make a decision at 2:00. If it wasn't raining at that point, we'd have this thing outside. So we waited. Of course, at 2:00 it started raining, and it did for an over an HOUR! I was so afraid the feeder band sitting on top of us wouldn't go away. By about 3:15 it was clearing out. We pressed forward. I set up for a ceremony OUTSIDE, in a TROPICAL STORM. The winds were still blowing, it was still a little overcast but it was outside. It was everything Gina and Brandon wanted.

WHAT I AM THANKFUL FOR

Honestly, in one word: Gina. Gina was the most understanding and stress free bride she could have been on the day of her potentially rainy and terribly windy wedding day. When I saw her first thing she was smiling. She didn't start the day off with what if questions. She didn't tell me how it was going to be. She was rational. She was happy. She knew at the end of the day, she was still getting married to the love of her life rain or shine, she was making the best of it. I could almost scream from the rooftops with excitement about how amazing it was to be trusted. She trusted me to make the right call. She trusted me to make it happen, make sure her, her family and friends and the staff were safe. She was REASONABLE. I could go on and on about the sense of relief it was knowing that either way she was going to be happy. Would I have waited 30 minutes if I knew the rain was going to cut out, OF COURSE. Would I have gone out and dried chairs a third time, ABSOLUTELY. Would I have carried her dress all through the grass and crouched down like a wedding planner ninja to avoid the pictures, just so she could have a semi-dry dress for the rest of the night... you bet ya! I would have done whatever I needed to, to make sure that a less than perfect day, was a little more so for her... all because she trusted me to do so. THANK YOU Gina, for being incredibly rational on your wedding day. I am SO glad that the rain cleared out... it may have been a little windy during your ceremony, and while I was trying to light your fire pit (the first three times) for the s'mores, but it was no match for a few broken down boxes and a little... ok, ok, ok maybe a lot of tiki torch fluid. It just needed some patience, and you had it. For that, I am thankful.

To sum: Have a back up plan. Be understanding. Roll with the punches play the cards you have been dealt.

Eventfully Yours,

Kari