Where do you perform wedding ceremonies?
I am located in the Wintergreen area, near the Blue Ridge Parkway, Crabtree Falls, Charlottesville and the University of Virginia. I have found many beautiful locations in this area for wedding ceremonies. Mountain overlooks, bed & breakfast inns, wineries, historic homes, etc. as well as many beautiful indoor and outdoor locations on the Wintergreen Resort property. I am also authorized to perform wedding ceremonies at any location in Virginia and have traveled to Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, Norfolk, Culpeper, Richmond, Harrisonburg, and Warrenton to join couples in marriage.

Tip: If you are planning a destination wedding, you want to be sure there is someone located at the destination that can help you with planning, details and wedding arrangements.

Can you recommend an appropriate location for our wedding?
Yes. I have information about many different locations (both indoor and outdoor) that are suitable for weddings. We would need to discuss what kind of atmosphere, etc. you are looking for. I will make recommendations and give you contact information, and then you may make the arrangements. If you want an outdoor wedding, have a viable rain plan already in place from the beginning so there is not a last-minute scramble to move.
See list of wedding sites >>

What time of day is good for outdoor weddings?
Remember, with outdoor weddings you need to consider where the sun is in the sky at particular times of day. The sun is more directly overhead from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. which is not good for photography because harsh shadows can make unflattering pictures. A little later in the afternoon or earlier in the morning may work better if this is not too inconvenient for out-of-town guests. But then again, if you are in a shaded area this is not a concern.

How about a rehearsal?
If your wedding includes bridesmaids, groomsmen, ushers, "seating of the mothers" and/or readers, I strongly recommend a rehearsal so you will feel more confident when the "real thing" happens. This can be done the evening before or earlier in the day before the wedding. Most often, the rehearsal is scheduled for the evening before the wedding. In preparation for the wedding rehearsal, I send my client-couples a list of ten tips to help make their rehearsal time more productive. I encourage them to forward the tips on to their wedding parties.

Do you require pre-marital counseling?
No. But if you want,you can print out this compatibility questionnaire. You can discuss your answers with each other and that will help you to know you are making a commitment you will keep.

What is the fee based on?
The services I provide for larger, traditional weddings on weekends include writing a personalized ceremony, preparing the keepsake booklet, wedding photography, development of your web site, coordinating the rehearsal, performing the ceremony, filing the legal document with the court and hosting the web site for 3 months. I will require a non-refundable down payment of 50% to reserve the date on my calendar. The balance will be due at your rehearsal. I accept Visa and Mastercard credit cards or personal checks. For smaller weddings or elopements, you might want to see my special packages for small weddings

How do you dress?
I try to fit in with the style of your wedding. If it is a formal or semi-formal wedding, I wear a long black skirt and tuxedo-type jacket or a black robe. But I have been known to wear denim or a snow suit to fit in with the wedding style.
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Choosing an Outdoor Wedding Location
Outdoor weddings can be beautiful. Whether on a mountaintop, beside the riverbank or in a graceful garden, outdoor weddings can capture nature at its finest moment and weave it into your dream. But it can also be a nightmare. This article will help guide you toward a pleasant outcome by pointing out possible pitfalls and giving some tips on how to avoid them.

Advice
I recommend that you visit prospective outdoor wedding sites at the same time of day you expect to hold your wedding. This way you can anticipate what the elements will be like at the time of your wedding. Some elements to consider:

• Sun (outdoor wedding advice)
  If you have ever been to an outdoor wedding in which the guests were squinting into a glaring sun and mopping the sweat off their foreheads, you know what I’m talking about. When you notice all the guests shielding their eyes with the program, you know it’s bad. Another issue with the sun is its location in the sky at the time of your photo session. From 11 am—3 pm, the sun is more directly overhead. This makes it difficult for your photographer to get good pictures because of harsh, unflattering shadows. If, however, you have a shaded area for the photo session, this is not a concern.
  
• Wind (outdoor wedding advice)
  Try to avoid a windy corner lest your flower arrangements, hairdos and dresses fly askew. The most unfortunate wind-related event I have ever seen was when the wedding arch fell over. Thank goodness no one was hurt...but still, it ruined the moment for this young bride and groom.
  
• Rain (outdoor wedding advice)
  “It won’t rain on my wedding day” may seem like positive thinking. But there are some cases in which results are not affected by positive thinking—and weather is one of them. Therefore, HAVE A VIABLE RAIN PLAN already in place. If your wedding is going to be held in the garden of a public facility like a museum, historic home or hotel, ask their wedding planner about their policies. Most likely you will need to pay the full price for reserving an indoor location just to have it as a back-up, but it is well worth it. If the weather is nice, you may be able to use that same room for another purpose such as the reception or as a changing room. Many wedding facilities offer a tent option, and tents these days can be quite elaborate and comfortable. But again, don’t expect anyone to put up a tent on the morning of your wedding if it has started to rain. The tent will need to be arranged well in advance and you should expect to pay for it whether or not it is used. Think of it as insurance.

The Outdoor Unity Candle
The Unity candle is a way that many people like to show the blending of two families and the joining together of the lives of two distinct individuals. There are alternative ways of representing this other than trying to keep a flame lit outdoors. Believe me - the flame will go out if the candle is outdoors. The wording that goes in conjunction with the Unity candle ceremony talks about the importance of "keeping the flame alive" and this can become a joke when the flame goes out. Unless comic relief is your intent, remember: Unity candles are for inside only. My client-couples can ask me about the alternative ways of showing unity and I will gladly share them.

More advice
Another bit of advice is to ask the wedding planner at your prospective wedding site about their amount of experience with outdoor weddings. This will let you know whether or not they are able to anticipate potential problems and solve them. They should be able to offer answers to small details such as

• from where does the bride enter?
• are there dressing rooms for the wedding party?
• are the musicians going to be in a place where they can be heard?
• is the reception site clearly separated from the ceremony site?
• will non-wedding guests be kept from wandering into our ceremony?
• will noise from other activities be abated?
• is there a location for use in the event of rain or bad weather?
• if the weather is questionable, what time must a decision be made regarding whether we are inside or outside?

Very, very small outdoor weddings
So far, we have been talking about rather large weddings. But I should offer a little advice about very small outdoor weddings. Here there is a great deal more freedom in terms of choosing the location. Many people contact me who want to get married on a mountain overlook at some particular time of day such as sunrise, sunset or by moonlight. The first question I ask is “how many people will be attending?” If it is just the couple or perhaps the couple plus two or three friends, this is entirely possible to do with no back-up rain plan. The logistics are easy in this case. It is possible to get married in a national forest or park anywhere as long as there are no chairs, no music, no decorations and a fairly brief ceremony. As long as other visitors are not disturbed or made to feel uncomfortable in any way, there is nothing wrong with getting married in any location you like. Besides mountain overlooks, I have performed many small weddings in such locations as: a library garden, a visitor center, a public courtyard, a balcony, a park, courthouse lawn, a public beach and a university flower garden. If your wedding is very small and very simple, you can use your imagination to create the kind of setting that represents you and your uniqueness.

As a Virginia wedding officiant, similar to a Justice of the Peace, I offer wedding services for both large and small weddings - from the casual, intimate wedding to the large formal wedding.

See special packages for very small weddings >>

And finally
My last bit of advice about choosing a site for your outdoor wedding is to have fun with your planning! These moments that you spend together creating the setting that speaks most about you will set the stage for your lifetime together. Cherish them!

Blue Ridge Weddings: Your online source for information and tips on weddings, wedding officiant, justice of the peace, elopement packages, destination weddings, beach weddings, mountaintop weddings, winery weddings, unique weddings, outdoor weddings, weddings in unique locations and more.

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