Elegant Boho Chic Wedding at Pippin Hill Farm :: Brittany & Tim
Brittany and Tim’s wedding is full of so many frame-worthy photos, we had a tough time narrowing down which ones we wanted to feature! From the scenic landscape to the bride’s boho chic look to the beautiful bunting decorations, Ash Imagery captured shot after shot of memorable details and moments. This is one you won’t want to miss!
Why did you choose this location for your wedding? We take a yearly wine tour in Charlottesville with my side of the family. We visited Pippin Hill the first year it opened and we just fell in love with it. When we got engaged we started brainstorming places and this one just keep coming back up. It felt right!
Tell us about your accessories. I wore something blue, a ring that used to be my Oma’s, and something old, a necklace that was also hers. My flower crown was from a small Brooklyn flea market. I had already purchased one that was shipped from Australia and 20x the price, but I ended up liking this sweet little $10 one better… what can you do Also I was obsessed with my bouquet.
Getting married on a hot and humid day? Brittany has some thoughts on that: “I would have had more fans in the dressing room. Even though there was air conditioning, it was HOT, and there was only one fan. And my nerves express themselves through a rising body temperature! Also, I was dead set on wearing my hair down – I’m happiest and feel most like me with it down. But again – it was hot and humid. I might have put it up if I wasn’t so stubborn.”
Brittany and Tim’s pup Leroy joined in the festivities – he even walked down the aisle to his own song, “Bad Bad Leroy Brown” by Jim Croce!
The Ceremony
“It was really special to have all of our friends and family there. Tim’s family and friends are from Vancouver and my family and friends are from Virginia and we live in New York and have friends here … so the people we love are quite spread out. It was so meaningful to have them all together to witness the promises and commitment we were making.”
Your ceremony in three words. Sweet, thoughtful, personal.
Did you include any traditions in your ceremony? We did not have any specific traditions in the ceremony – we wanted it simple and short! – but we did hand out glasses of rosé and fans as our guests arrived.
What was your favorite thing about your wedding ceremony? It was threatening rain that day and the sky was as dramatic as it gets. The clouds were rolling in and there were these spectacular rays of sun shining through with the misty mountains in the distance. Also, supposedly there was this big hawk that was circling close overhead as we were saying our vows – we were told that was a really good sign!
Who officiated your ceremony? Rev. Claire Goodman of Sacred Ground Ceremonies. We liked that she was open to non-religious ceremonies. She just seemed laid back, easy-going and experienced at this – we got a good vibe!
What was your ceremony music? The music was really important to us and we definitely put some thought into it. We wanted it to feel special but also just comfortable, easy-going and laid back. We picked through classic rock instrumentals. Our dog Leroy walked down the aisle to the song he was named after, “Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown”. And I walked down the aisle to an instrumental version of The Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love”.
What were your ceremony readings? We did an adaptation from The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer and also an adaptation of How Falling In Love Is Like Owning A Dog by Taylor Mali.
What were your vows like? Our officiant had a great list of vows for us to look through and we definitely used it as inspiration but also wrote in some bits that were very personal to us and to our relationship. Things like, we promise “to communicate fully and fearlessly”! We feel really strongly that a couples vows should be really personal. Couples should get excited to pause and take time to sit down together and think about what they want to promise to each other. Don’t plug and play!
READ BRITTANY AND TIM’S VOWS RIGHT HERE.
What was the best advice you received as a bride? Just enjoy. Also I was told to be ready for the pang of sadness that shows up the morning after. I thought that was a joke but it was so beautiful and emotional and intense (in the best way!) that the morning after Tim and I woke up and had a good cry together. We were sad it was over!
What advice do you have for other couples in the midst of planning a wedding? Breathe! This is such an incredible inflection point in your life. You should remember it as a really great time. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to make everything perfect. It will not be perfect. But it will still be meaningful and beautiful. Embrace a bit of wabi sabi. Laugh at all the ish that goes wrong. Don’t be bullied into food choices or design details or a dress or anything by people with strong personalities and loud voices. Be deliberate in your effort to be true to you two as a couple. Give reverence to this beautiful moment in your life! Also, more logistically speaking, open a specific email account for all your wedding stuff so you don’t have to dig through your personal email and flash sales and junk to get to important stuff like contracts. We wish we had done that!
The Reception
“We didn’t want anything to feel particular, stuffy, tight, or pretentious. We just wanted to create an atmosphere where people would be encouraged to let loose and have a great time. We really wanted a dance party.”
How would you describe your reception? HOT.FUN.DANCE.PARTY.
If you had it to do over again, is there anything you would do differently? We didn’t have a wedding planner. In hindsight, that would have been great. My sister-in-law ended up volunteering to be the day-of coordinator and without her I don’t know what we would have done! We got lucky that someone was generous enough to take that on.
Did you have any DIY details? We had a monogram created for us by Happy Menocal and then used the elements of the design throughout the wedding – for our save the date, invitation, menu, table numbers, favors and all other little signage (including gift bags). Tim actually designed all other signage using that artwork. It was a ton of work but ended up feeling really personal and was also fun to do. We did the seating cards ourselves – actually we were up with a hot glue gun making seating card and stuffing bags two night before the wedding! We found and purchased the bunting from Etsy. There were little things here and there we tried to think about – like at the last minute we realized it would be hot as hell and humid on the wedding day in Virginia so found these great palm hand fans for guests. Some of that isn’t so DIY but because we didn’t have a planner or designer, we were sourcing elements and doing our best to create a cohesive look and feel.
Did you have a signature cocktail? We did serve a cocktail but I wouldn’t say it was signature. We did a sangria (I do love sangria) and a Sazerac.
Menu: Canapes: Pippin Hill Garden Strawberries / Roasted Baby Potatoes / Cold Water Lobster / Wagyu Beef Coin, Grilled Croque Monsieur // First Course: Spring Gate Farm Butter Lettuce Salad // Main Course: Petit Verdot Marinated Beef Tenderloin
What type of cake did you serve? We did three naked cakes: a spiced bourbon cake, a carrot cake, and a hummingbird cake – all with cream cheese icing between the layers.
What was your first dance song? Our first dance was “Into the Mystic” by Van Morrison. Our father/daughter dance was “You’ve Got a Friend” by James Taylor and the mother/son dance was Paul Simon’s “Loves Me Like a Rock.”
What was your favorite moment or part of the reception? There were so many amazing moments, it’s hard to pick a favorite! Our first dance was so fun. My parents giving a speech was really sweet – they did an awesome job! We were gifted tambourines with our faces painted on them (Tim and I got one and so did Leroy!) – that was so fun! I wanted to do something different for the bouquet toss and so I invited anyone and everyone to join the dance floor to catch it for good luck. Also, Tim and his guy friends tend to drink scotch and smoke cigars when they are together so they had a moment during the actual reception where they stole away to do that together.
Please tell us about any special details or moments from your reception. Before our wedding we had gone to another wedding that had these amazing, ridiculous foam glow sticks. We ended up ordering a bunch and passing them out. They were fun and kept people on the dance floor! Also, no one really ever talks about the last song but we picked “Closing Time” by Semisonic. It’s super 90s and a bit cheesy but SO FUN and SO memorable. Everyone was on the dance floor singing it – it’s a really great, special memory.
Is there anything else that helps tell the story of your wedding? It was the best day – my favorite day! And potentially the only time in our lives when we’ll have all the wonderful, beautiful people in our lives in one spot. Pretty cool and incredibly special if you ask me.
