This past weekends weddings did not go as I expected. Of course I heard the weather predictions about snow but I did not in anyway believe it!! We were facing a nice calm day for our studio. Yes we had three weddings but everything was ready and all of the events were in Loudoun so we were in relax mode until I opened my eyes and saw that the snow was indeed here and accumulating. Goodbye calm and hello panic. Our cargo vans are atrocious in the snow in fact they are downright dangerous. To top that off two of the events were in very rural areas. FREAK!!!

I quickly called Whitehall Manor, Belmont Country Club, and Hillsborough Vineyards to make a plan. I started with Belmont because I thought that they would be the venue with the least amount of snow and much to my surprise they said they had staff members who were literally fishtailing in the parking lot. I asked for permission to come early which is about the only proactive thing I can do in these situations. In fact that was the plan for all three venues, leave early and allow for time in case of trouble. Whitehall although rural has a flat long driveway my biggest fear was Hillsborough. This vineyard boasts one of my favorite views in Loudoun but that’s because it’s sitting right on top of a major hill, get it Hillsborough. Not good in the snow I must admit.  We sent the cargo vans to Whitehall and Belmont, and divided the load to Hillsborough into two minivans. There was no way the cargo van was going up the hill at Hillsborough.  We arrived just as the plowing had begun and quite honestly we almost did not make it up the hill. One of the vans had to back up and start over several times.

This was a real snow, with real accumulation and I was honestly surprised by what I was seeing. This had to be a very tough day for my brides. All of my brides intended to marry outside amongst the fall foliage. The wedding party at Hillsborough even had to discuss the option of postponing until Sunday but thankfully they made the call to continue on Saturday and the wedding went off an hour early but perfectly.

Sorry I don’t have a lot of pictures to show you. We are simply pleased that we got all of the weddings delivered safe and sound.

Fall foliage.

My only hope is that my lilac, hydrangea, and other flowering shrubs will recover from this. Freezes are supposed to come after the fall, the falling of the leaves. The weight of leaves and snow was pretty hard on my bushes and I am worried we suffered some serious loss.

However there is always a miracle or two around here. While outside assessing the damage I found this one pink hydrangea in full bloom. The rest of the bush has been done blooming for months. There is always a fun little surprise on this property.

Happy Monday!!