Mandie and Alec held both their ceremony and reception at the historic Vinton War Memorial outside of Roanoke, Virginia. The Marine wedding held true to its colors in red, blue and touches of gold. The centerpieces were tall arrangements with red roses and branches coming from the top and the low centerpieces were arrangements made of a variety of white mums wrapped in ribbon so guests were able to take a bouquet home with them. Guests also took home canned apple butter from Jamisons Orchard, what a delicious treat!
Mandie & Alec
March 3, 2011
Elizabeth & Julio
December 17, 2010
Elizabeth and Julio married at St. Andrews Catholic Church in Roanoke, Virginia in October of 2010. Elizabeth had a very specific vision for her wedding incorporating bold tones of eggplant, burnt orange and pops of green which all came together marvelously. The reception was held at the Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center, the style and tones of the hotel were a great addition to the wedding décor. The tables were set with burnt orange pintuck linens and tall, colorful centerpieces. The menu cards designed by Diamond Events were tucked into a square napkin folded flat at each place setting. To top off the fall theme, the soup was served in a hollowed pumpkin. The guests were entertained by three different ensembles throughout the night, a Mariachi band that serenaded guests during cocktail hour and dinner, a hot salsa band that made their way from Washington D.C. to get everyone dancing and a DJ to make sure that no one went home early! And the remarkable coordinator that pulled this all of, our very own Morgan Leonard, who did a fabulous job!
Photography by Holtzlander Photography
Betty & Manh
October 19, 2010
When we first met with Betty and Manh they were living in Northern Virginia while planning their wedding in Roanoke. During their engagement the couple moved to Houston for work, resulting in many Skype appointments and two jammed packed trips back to Roanoke to create a wedding weekend that blended Chinese and American wedding traditions. The morning of the wedding friends and family gathered at the groom’s house to form a caravan of cars before driving to the brides home to perform a traditional Chinese tea ceremony. Later in the day the couple held a traditional American wedding ceremony in the ballroom of the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center with over 200 guests in attendance. Since the couple took pictures ahead of time they were able to enjoy cocktail hour with their guests. The evening continued to the sounds of RSP Entertainment while photographer Chelsa Yoder captured shots of guests on the dance floor. The five tiered Chinese flavored wedding cake was made by Cakes by Happy Eatery in Centreville, Virginia and then brought down and assembled by Diamond Events, what a task, but everyone was so appreciative it was well worth it!
Ashley & Jeremy
August 11, 2010
Recent Radford University graduates, the cute duo chose to host their nuptials at the Thrasher Memorial United Methodist Church located in Vinton, Virginia, a small town on the northeastern outskirts of the City of Roanoke. Immediately following the ceremony, the guests made their way across the street to the elegant Vinton War Memorial. The grand ballroom was decorated in colors of periwinkle, yellow and white and was matched by the simple yet tasteful glowing floral centerpieces that were created by Jim Taetz of Crystal Orchard. Ashley’s sorority sang their traditional song to her followed by Jeremy’s fraternity serenading Ashley in beautiful harmony. The mouthwatering dinner was catered by Blue Ridge Catering and the beautiful cake was created by Lisa Link. Matt and Matt of RSP Entertainment played great tunes that had everyone up on their feet. As the evening came to a close the guests formed a line outside of the front entrance and blew bubbles as Jeremy escorted Ashley to their get-away-car.
Event Design: Winery Wedding
July 27, 2010
Claire & Will
July 6, 2010
Claire and Will, both Virginia Tech graduates who fell in love (with each other and the area) chose to host their wedding weekend in Roanoke, Virginia. With friends and family coming from across the country, Hotel Roanoke provided the perfect location for their guests to easily access downtown Roanoke dining and shopping, while being within walking distance of the ceremony at St. Andrews Catholic church. The couple wanted to spend cocktail hour with their guests so they had their “first look” before the ceremony and went around the hotel with Jeremy Pegg of Enigma Productions and the wedding party for pictures. As their deacon, Mike Ellerbrock reassured them, “it’s just superstition anyways” to see each other before the wedding. In typical Claire and Will fashion, they finished pictures early and got the church just before a heavy storm blew through Roanoke. The ceremony went off without a hitch and the rain stopped just as the ceremony ended so everyone could gather on the front steps of St. Andrews for a group picture. Guests made their way back to Hotel Roanoke for cocktail hour, patiently waiting for the reveal of the Crystal Ballroom. One of our favorite parts of the reception is bringing the bride and groom into the room to show them how everything has come together and let them take in their centerpieces, cake and all of the details. The room looked magical; the blue glow of the centerpieces by Gloriosa looked amazing and kept everyone talking. The DJ and master of ceremonies for the evening were Matt and Matt of RSP Entertainment. Guests were dancing all night long, sometimes to the vocal accompaniment from the dance floor. As the night came to an end the couple had their last dance and made their way to their room looking forward to wonderful week in Belize. It was a joy to get to know both Claire and Will and feel honored they chose us to help make their wedding wishes come true!
Ceremony
St. Andrews Catholic Church
Reception Venue
Hotel Roanoke
Crystal Ballroom
Wedding Coordination
Diamond Events
Stephanie Hughes
DJ
RSP Entertainment
Matt Slusher & Matt Garrett
Florist
Gloriosa Flowers
Mary Jo Thompson
Cake Baker
Lisa Link
Photographer
Enigma Productions
Jeremy Pegg
Officiant
Decon Mike Ellerbrock
Courtney & Mike
May 26, 2010
Growing up in a small town might give some the impression that you would have a small wedding, but this was not the case at all for Courtney and Mike. Being the only daughter to the town’s local doctor resulted in a long guest list of patients, friends, neighbors and family. To accommodate everyone the couple chose to have two receptions, their first reception immediately following the ceremony at First United Methodist Church in Pearisburg, Virginia. In order to transform the church into a more elegant and brighter space from its current dark brick and low lighting, was quite a challenge. Over 60 candles were added to the ledge above the altar and side railings, ivory fabric was hung and bright floral arrangements throughout brightened the space. The hallway and gymnasium were lined in white fabric which covered all of the walls, an amazing transformation. During the reception guests enjoyed live music by harpist Whitney Dobyns as they watched the bride and groom cut their 6 layer wedding cake by Our Daily Bread. As the first reception came to an end, close friends and family made their way to the second reception at Rockwood Manor in Dublin, Virginia. Guests were greeted by a Jazz band and southern soul food by Professional Catering. As the evening went on dance music was provided by Russel Prusak and team of RSP Entertainment. The guests were fortunate to experience wedding games and tricks played on the bride and groom, a tradition that Courtney and Mike’s good friend directed and kept everyone laughing. To end the night the couple made a grand exit out the front of the house to everyone lined with sparklers leading them to the getaway car. Congratulations Courtney and Mike, may your life together be as spectacular and fun as your wedding day!
Church
First United Methodist Church
Pearisburg, Virginia
Evening Reception Venue
Rockwood Manor
Dublin, Virginia
Wedding Coordination & Decor
Diamond Events
Stephanie Hughes
DJ
RSP Entertainment
Russell Prusak
Florist
Neighborhood Flower & Gift Shop
Harpist
Whitney Dobyns
Cake Baker
Our Daily Bread
Photographer
Michael’s Video
Mike Azar
Photographer
Sarah Hazelgrove
Rehearsal Dinner
River Company
Radford, Virginia
In the Newspaper!
January 26, 2010
We are so fortunate to have had the pleasure of being interviewed by Katelyn Polantz, a reporter from the Roanoke Times and being featured in two articles in the business section on Sunday, January 24, 2010. Katelyn spent a busy Saturday with us, packed full of appointments. It was the perfect day to showcase all of the pieces that are involved in planning a wedding.
For richer, for poorer, wedding industry thrives
Recessions and boom times barely affect the number of ceremonies.
By Katelyn Polantz | The Roanoke Times
Photography by Stephanie Klein-Davis
The Roanoke Times
More couples opt for fall weddings
By Katelyn Polantz | The Roanoke Times
Kristin & Jan
January 17, 2010
It was such a pleasure to work with Kristin and her mom Kathy from the very early stages in the planning process. In our first meeting I remember Kristin commenting on the two main requests she had for her wedding “open bar and chair covers” and from that point forward I knew we were going to have a fun yet classy wedding to plan.
Our biggest challenge was faced very early on. The realization soon set in that until the release of the Virginia Tech football schedule in late February, many local hotels in Roanoke and Blacksburg cannot secure a fall wedding date; Kristin decided that she really wanted to get married on September 26, 2009 at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center in Roanoke, Virginia. As we impatiently waited for the schedule to be released, checking the website multiple times a day, the time had finally come and the unthinkable happened, a Miami home game on the September 26th and they too would be staying at the Sheraton and using their ballroom the morning of the wedding. Nonetheless, Ginny Morgan, the Sheraton’s Catering Sales Manager, went to endless lengths to accommodate the wedding, quickly flip their ballroom and still maintain their superior service.
Wedding Weekend:
No detail was overlooked for the entire wedding weekend. As guests arrived to the Sheraton on Friday they received Welcome Bag’s at check-in. The rehearsal dinner, held at the Roanoke Country Club was decorated for an elegant BBQ. The tables were draped in black and white checkered linens with hanging lanterns as the centerpiece. A delicious buffet of southern comfort food was served before Kristin and Jan began presenting their wedding party with their gifts.
The weather report for Saturday, 100% chance of rain. Luckily Kristin’s photographer, Noah Magnifico of Magnifico Photography, had lots of suggestions for pictures in indoor locations around Roanoke, including Hotel Roanoke. He was able to get lots of great shots of the wedding party without letting rain get in the way of his creativity.
After pictures, the wedding party travelled to St. Andrews Catholic church for the ceremony. As Kristin made her way down the aisle, the sounds from the organ and trumpet, made a stunning and grandiose entrance, I even got chills on my arm! Afterwards guests travelled to the Sheraton to begin cocktail hour while the family stayed for pictures.
The ballroom at the Sheraton looked amazing, warm taupe table linens, mocha napkins and tall candle centerpieces designed by Jim Taetz of Crystal Orchid. The table numbers were bottles of wine with the couples monogram and the chocolates favors were made by Baylee’s Best Chocolate. The delicious wedding cake was made by Gail Wilson and had orange mini calla lily’s cascading down the sides. RSP Entertainment did a great job, the guests were energetic and dancing for hours, nobody wanted the night to end! When the couple arrived to their suite they found the letter “K” on the bed made in rose petals with champagne and chocolate covered strawberries (I love surprises!). Congratulations Kristin & Jan, it was such a pleasure to be a part of your wedding!
Church
St. Andrew’s Catholic Church
Reception Venue
Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center
Ginny Morgan
Wedding Coordination
Diamond Events
Stephanie Hughes
Photographer
Magnifico Photography
Videographer
Mike’s Video
Mike Azar
DJ
RSP Entertainment
Florist
Crystal Orchid
Cake Baker
Gail Wilson
Transportation
Executive Limousine
Rehearsal Dinner
Roanoke Country Club
Samara & Kyle
December 23, 2009
Samara and Kyle had a beautiful ceremony at Colonial Avenue Baptist Church in Roanoke, Virginia. The bridesmaids had long, dark purple dresses and gold lanterns were hung from the pews. After the ceremony guests travelled to the Holiday Inn ballroom. Hundreds of candles lit the room with a soft glow, creating a warm ambiance. Roy “Papa DJ” and Russell Prusak of RSP Entertainment did a fabulous job, as always, they know how to keep everyone dancing and put on a great show. The Virginia Tech wedding cake make by Kelly Cakes intrigued all of the guests, and had the most adorable cake topper of two Hokie Birds dressed as bride and groom. Congratulations Samara and Kyle, it was a pleasure to be part of such a special wedding!
Ceremony
Colonial Avenue Baptist Church
Roanoke, Virginia
Reception
Holiday Inn Valley View
Roanoke, Virginia
Wedding Coordination
Diamond Events
Stephanie Hughes
DJ
RSP Entertainment
Russell Prusak
Photographer
Bert Reed Photography
Bert Reed
Florist
Petal Pushers
Cake Baker
Kelly Cakes
Susan Kelly
