Paige & David, The Mill at Fine Creek

We started off our day arriving at the wedding venue, The Mill at Fine Creek in Powhatan Va. What a beautiful place! I had never been there before but was very excited when Paige explained that she and David had chosen it for their wedding day. The location is absolute perfection and did not disappoint. It was a little warm for the month of May but both the Bride & Groom had very nice, cool getting ready area’s that made the first part of the day a breeze.

Paige & David are both from the area’s near by but were planning their entire wedding long distance! They had moved to Ohio for David’s job and were going to be relocating again right after their nuptials to Wisconsin!! When I entered the getting ready area I was met with several lovely ladies who all greeted me but truth be told I wasn’t 100% sure which one was Paige. Then I heard in the far corner, with her back turned, “Meridith! I hear your voice!”. With long distance planning we did have a chance to exchange several phone calls, which always help, so Paige recognized my voice when I came in 🙂

After getting a chance to meet everyone I jumped right in to gathering together all of Paige’s details to photograph. I have to say her dress was my favorite. I’m totally in love with the color and bodice.

The gentleman had an entire cottage to themselves for getting ready. We’ll just say they made the most of it and were having a very good time.

Paige & David decided to do a first look before the ceremony which I couldn’t agree with more! First Looks are a great way to set the tone for the rest of the day. They really help to take some of the pressure off, give the Bride & Groom a chance to have a few private moments together before the whirlwind of the day begins, and also offers more opportunity for portraits together.

The ceremony site at The Mill is set down inside the ruins of the original Mill itself. It is a very romantic setting with overgrown ivy scaling the walls and tall trees creating a soft canopy. On a hot day such as the one we had, it made things very comfortable. Because the Mill is so nice just on it’s own, there isn’t a big need for many more decorations, although Paige had her own idea for a special decoration that was unique. A golden snitch hung in a window with ivy just to the side of where Paige & David exchanged vows. A very sweet and personal touch for the couple. My Harry Potter loving heart thought it was so cute.

After Paige & David exchanged vows, we captured all of the family formal portraits and before sweeping the Bride & Groom away for a few more portraits by the creek, there was fun family tradition that needed to happen. In Paige’s family it is tradition for everyone to take a sip from a freshly opened bottle of champagne in celebration. It was so much fun to watch as they opened the bottle and passed it around to each other to share in the jubilation. I probably could do a whole other blog post just with all of the pictures of that alone but this one is my favorite.

The Creek is the highlight of the entire property in my opinion. A perfect open view with little stone islands to stand on. Simply beautiful.

A gorgeous reception awaited after we were done with couples portraits. Plenty of fun, dancing, and other shenanigans took place for sure. Paige & David’s friends and families took celebrating them to the next level and it was a day they will not soon forget.