Charlottesville Brides? HELP!

hollybee13

Good morning! 

My fiance and I are getting married on June 8, 2013. We are planning on entering the lottery for the UVa Chapel, but if we don't get the chapel for our wedding, we need an alternative sight preferably in the C'ville to Madison County area.

We really want the chapel because my fiance is a 2010 graduate of UVa and most of our dates have been centered around UVa sporting events or things that Aaron was involved in while he was a student there. UVa is basically my second college home. My freshman year of college I spent more time at UVa than I did my own college (Bridgewater College).

Any ideas of where in C'ville/UVa we could have our wedding if we don't get the chapel? 

Avion22

I guess it depends on what kind of wedding you want.  If you want a church wedding, I won't be much help.  You'd probably have to be a member of most churches to get married there, but I know there are a lot of beautiful ones.

There are some lovely historic homes and vineyards that make good ceremony and/or reception venues.   Ash Lawn (James Monroe's home) is really lovely, and not terribly expensive.  I don't think you could do an indoor wedding there.... There are about a gazillion vineyards where you could do something outdoors or indoors (Barboursville, King Family, and Veritas all come to mind, but there are a ton more).   If you're looking for something super-fancy and budget isn't an issue, then maybe look at Keswick.   There are some B&Bs that are really nice and would be good for a smaller wedding (there's a really pretty one in Orange, but I don't remember the name of it....)

pyronfirecat

^ what she said. 

sassybanana

I liked White Hall Vineyard for a smaller wedding. It was just a little too small for the 100+ guests we expect.
Frye Springs is close to the campus and has a wedding hall. I haven't visited the site myself, but had a few recommendations.
We're getting married at King Family Vineyards 10/26 and it is beautiful!

Apricot12

I second that the vineyards are all lovely!

But if you're looking for something very "UVA," the Colonnade Club is right on the Lawn and makes for a lovely combo ceremony/reception site. You could have an outside ceremony in Garden VII and reception inside the Club Solarium (or vice-versa depending on how many people you plan on attending). Their rates are also fairly reasonable - only $200/hour for the entire building, and you could have guests stay at the overnight rooms in the Club which are available at really cheap rates ($125/night). I think they have the same one-year-out lottery system.

I also saw a post of a couple married at the UVA McCormick Observatory in case your FI was a science major! And aparently Darden has started to rent out their facilities (http://www.innatdarden.com/weddings-events/index.cfm) but that probably doesn't make much sense for people who didn't go there.

Also, don't worry too much about the lottery system. They make it seem like it's impossible to get a slot, but honestly, there are plenty of slots still open for this summer (this website has all the reservations listed for this year)<<linked. It doesn't fill up quite as quickly as they make it seem, especially if you're flexible about what time you have your ceremony. Good luck!