planning

Libby Hill Park: Richmond on the James!

Well, dearest readers, we finally have an officiant and have chosen the venue for our upcoming nuptials on May 24th, 2013. Something modest and under-budget because that’s how we roll.

highclere_castle(Image source)

I have just discovered Highclere Castle can be rented for weddings to the tune of £15,000+VAT. Yeah, no big deal, right?

Actually, we are delighted to announce that we will be getting married in a more cost-effective venue that is slightly closer to home: Richmond’s Libby Hill Park!

Here’s a boring, nearly five-minute video of it:

According to the city’s Parks & Recreation website, Libby Hill is one of the three original parks  in Richmond. My favorite thing about it is the nice view of the river. In fact, this is how Richmond got its name–it resembles a view of Richmond on the Thames in England, hurrah!

In the event of rain, we plan to camp out and have a very short ceremony under the porch of the park house.

Libby Hill Park House

Libby Hill Park House, Richmond, VA

One of the many benefits of having such a small, weekday morning wedding is that we didn’t have to make an official reservation for the park. I doubt anyone is going to be using the park on a Friday morning. And if other people are milling around, there’s enough green space that we will be able to find some room to get married.

Our officiant, Mr. Mehfoud, is a Richmond celebrant who has been marrying couples since 1978 and even married stepdad Steve’s cousin and his wife Laura two years ago. When I spoke to him on Tuesday, he said that he knows his short, secular ceremony by heart. We’ll be married quickly and unobtrusively, but officially and awesomely!

Now that we have the majorly important things (venue, celebrant, photographer) in line, it’s time to start planning the road trip in earnest. After Harrison turns in his dissertation draft next week, we’ll start poring over the road trip books we got for Christmas and scouring the Interwebs for cool destinations.

And also, Kayla and I started a collaborative board on Pinterest today, just for the sheer joy of distracting ourselves with wedding crafts. Because who wants to write a comprehensive exam on ESL grammar when you can make decorations out of coffee filters and whiffle balls…

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8 thoughts on “Libby Hill Park: Richmond on the James!

    • Yes, so Richmond! (Though gladly, “So Richmond” now and not “So Richmond of the 1980’s.” Yikes.)

      I’ll admit, I did not watch all of the video….

  1. I’m not sure whey they had to show the roads with stoplights and traffic, but the venue itself looks lovely. If I ever get married, I’d like to marry outside.

    • Right?? Video= so weird! I am excited to get married outside, unless it rains. Then I will have to try my hardest not to be a grumpy face.

  2. Damn, I was so hoping for Highclere. The other park looks nice too, 😉 LOL! It will be perfect!

    Your wedding board is fun! My sis has one that she shares with me 🙂

    • I’ve gone slightly insane with the wedding crafts, I mean, just marking them. It’s not like I actually need mason jar-drinking glasses or table runners or fifteen kinds of bunting. Still, maybe I will use these around the house. Houses always need bunting, right???

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