Winter Wedding Inspiration for the Southern Belle | Rixey Manor

Jan 14, 2016

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I fell in love with Rixey Manor the first time I saw it. There is so much history in this part of Virginia…the tip of the South (the icing on the cake!). Isadora and Ben (more than just owners…they LOVE the manor and it shows) welcomed me as not only a photographer but a neighbor. I literally live down thw street. Over the last year, Dora and Ben have become friends as well. My son loves running around the grounds and talking to the horses, chickens and dogs as well. And this past January I had the opportunity to help at a wedding in a different role form photographer behind the scenes. So it is with great affection that I share just a small portion of these images from a collaborative shoot designed to show the warmth of Rixey Manor, even in the dead of winter (last February was brutal!).

Cold and Inspiring!

This inspirational shoot was done before the ballroom and rooftop terrace were complete and we still had so much to work with. Isadora and I had fun dreaming up ideas and ways to help brides have a gorgeous winter wedding. Among other ideas, we quickly envisioned a Southern Belle style shoot but with a twist…in the snowy cool of winter. Snow may not be the typical Southern style, but I loved the idea of a pastel palette with vintage fur stoles and the snowy Blue Ridge Mountains in the background as well as a men’s cigar and whiskey room in the library by the fireplace.

The amazing team of wedding professionals created a shoot that encompassed the vision of a wedding weekend at the Manor. We styled a ladies’ tea and dessert and a men’s skeet shooting, cigar, and whiskey hour that would take place theoretically the day before the wedding. We also collaborated on a front lawn ceremony with repurposed doors from the Girls at Main Street Weddings and a rooftop reception complete with what are traditionally summertime blooms…magnolias, anemones, garden roses, and ranunculus. Perhaps one of the most important details of the shoot is that the bride and groom are not only in love, but married with two children…I love to use real life couples as models when possible and give them the opportunity to have “anniversary” photos together. So our team was absolutely thrilled to provide them with so many images of the day, including a genuine first look!

Abby Lenon, a former designer from L.A. now happily living down the road from us with her beautiful family, helped design and assemble the rooftop tables and settings along with the owners of Ava Laurenne Bride, Gabe and Wendy Rivera and Currey Fountain of Roadside Chive. Seriously, is it not amazing?! Currey also assembled the tea party details and cigar/whiskey details along with pasties and that gorgeous cake from Gateau. Oh my! And Caitlin’s elegant stationery paired so very well with Suz Somersall’s one-of-a-kind engagement rings. And the rest of Suz Somersall’s jewelry in the shoot…wow…I mean that gold cuff! And of course, my dear friend Teddi of Bobbypins and Blush outdid herself with hair and make up. I could also go on and on about these models…oh my word!