Kendyl and Ben’s English Garden Wedding

Orange Hill Farm- Marshall, Virginia

Kendyl and Ben met at the fitness center at Loyola University of Maryland where they attended college. It is fitting that they met in a gym as they share a love of working out. Five years later Ben joined Kendyl and her family at Christmas time. As the family gathered around the tree to open gifts, Ben presented Kendyl with a goofy knock off diamond ring and then quickly dropped to one knee with the real ring.

Kendyl and Ben hosted their wedding at Orange Hill Farm, a private equestrian farm located in the beautiful horse country of Marshall, VA. Orange Hill is named for the stately orange trees on the property and the stunning orange sunsets. The ceremony was held in the backyard of the manor house with a gorgeous view of the property. Guests enjoyed cocktails around the swimming pool before moving to a sailcloth tent set on a grassy knoll, a perfect spot to dine and dance and watch the sun drop behind the mountains.

Inspiration for the design came from Kendyl’s desire to honor her paternal grandmother who lived in England was never able to have a wedding. Kendyl requested a proper, formal English Garden Party with an Alice in Wonderland touch of whimsy. The foundation of the design was a black and white palette accented with pops of orange to reference the venue and Kendyl’s favorite color. Cornflower blue and other complimentary colors of the sunset provided the accents. Guests dined at long tables set with English Garden style flowers mixed with  candelabras, taper candles and votives.  The custom designed wedding invitation provided a glimpse of what was to come. Guests enjoyed writing in their guest book which was a cookbook as Kendyl and Ben love to cook. We also adored Ben’s orange feather bow tie!

One of Kendyl’s favorite things to do on annual family vacations to Sea Island, GA is to play Bingo. To surprise and delight the guests a few games of bingo were played while guests enjoyed dessert and iced coffee. The whimsical black and white checkered dance floor and the great band was all that was needed to get the guests up and dancing the night away.