Meet the September Bride of the Month: Brittany!

Hello ladies and gents! AVE is going to start to bring you a Bride of the Month. We work with gorgeous clients and love showing off their engagements sessions :)

Let me introduce one of our beautiful brides Brittany!

Wedding Date:

September 21st, 2013

Wedding Location:

We are getting married at The Thomas Birkby House in Leesburg, Virginia.

How did Michael pop the big question:

After much persuading from Brittany, Michael decided it was time to put a ring on it on a beautiful, but windy February day in 2012. Michael had been planning the day for months and knew that Brittany had always dreamed of a wedding with a view like that of Bluemont Vineyard in Bluemont, Virginia. Michael conspired with Brittany's best friends, Taryn and Sally, and asked them to plan a trip to the Vineyards for a girls day to set the scene. Brittany left the house that morning thinking that lunch at the girl's favorite spot, South Street Under, and some wine tastings and pictures at the vineyards would make for a perfect day with her close friends. Little did Brittany know that the entire lunch and ride to the vineyard, Sally was texting with Michael letting him know the progress of their travels.

When Brittany and friends arrived at the vineyard, Michael appeared out of the corner of the terrace and thanked the girls for their help, taking Brittany's hand and leading her to the spot where the view from the vineyard is best. When they go

t to the perfect spot, Michael professed his love for Brittany telling her that he knows that she dreamed of getting married at that very location, and though he did not know whether that would be their decision, he knew that they would be getting engaged there. At that moment, Michael got down on one knee and reached in his pocket to pull out the perfect round solitaire diamond that Brittany had always dreamed of, while asking her if she would make him the happiest man in the world and spend the rest of her life loving him. Of course, after very little deliberation and lots of tears filled with joy, Brittany said YES! Meanwhile, not realizing that the entire time the two had been standing there, Brittany's cousin, Shannon, mother, Connie, and dear friend/photographer, Sze had been watching the two from above on the balcony while snapping photos to make sure that the moment would be remembered for the rest of their lives.

After Brittany ran to hug her mother, cousin, and friends, Michael advised her to get ready for the party, as he had invited all of their closest family and friends in the area to join them for the afternoon at the vineyard to celebrate their engagement! It was a perfect day full of family, friends, and love to begin the journey that will lead them to their wedding day and the rest of their lives together! :)

(picture from the actual proposal!)

Tell us the story of how the two of your met:

We met through my cousin and her friends who just happened to all be friends with and went to high school with Michael. Though both of us had recently gotten out of long term relationships and were not looking for anything serious, as Michael was planning to accept a job offer in Richmond two days after our first date and then make the big move within 2 weeks. Life had a different plan because after hitting it off so well on our first date, Michael was offered a promotion when he put in his two weeks notice and decided to take the promotion and stay in Northern Virginia to see where things with his career and our relationship would go. Many dates and a year and 9 months later on February 25, 2012, Michael decided to make the best decision of his life and asked me to marry him (he would say after much persuasion from me ;)

What is the vision/design for your wedding day:

Our vision for the wedding day is an intimate, romantic ceremony and reception with our closest family and friends. We have put little personal favorites and touches into the decorations and planning. Our final count is 125, which was exactly what we were looking for to keep it intimate. I live by the saying, less is more, so I'm not the crazy Pinterest bride of this generation...I love simple. Our thoughts during the whole planning process have been the more clean cut and simple the better, and we are excited about what we have planned. 

What are you most looking forward to on your wedding day:

I think I'm most looking forward to that moment I've dreamed of since the day I fell in love with Michael. When I round the corner and come down the aisle knowing that neither of us have ever loved anyone or anything more and are about to commit to one another for a lifetime. I seriously get butterflies just thinking about it. I would say the other thing I am most looking forward to is having all of our loved ones in the same place to celebrate with us. The likelihood of ever getting all of those people together again in the same place is slim to none. 

Where will you be kicking your feet up when the party is over:

We leave for our 7 days and 7 nights stay at the Westin in Maui on September 27, 2013!!!! We wanted a week to decompress between the wedding and honeymoon. We cannot WAIT to get on the beach! 

Till next time, happy planning!!

Special thanks to Kristine Pringle Photography for the pictures!