By Rita Pike
This wedding is featured in the fall 2021 issue of Virginia Bride Magazine
BRIDE: Reagan Robey, 27, Pediatric oncology / Specialty care Nurse at UVA Children’s Hospital
GROOM: Whit Brown, 32, MBA Student at UVA’s Darden School of Business, Retired army helicopter pilot
DATE: July 11, 2020
LOCATION: Omni Homestead Resort
NUMBER OF GUESTS: 22
Reagan and Whit met at his parents’ house in Floyd, VA, when Reagan came over with a colleague, Whit’s girlfriend at the time. After some time, they wound up dating and ultimately, late on Christmas night after everyone else had fallen asleep, Whit and Reagan, sitting by the Christmas tree with their dog, Jackson, Whit had one more gift for her: a ring.
After Reagan said “yes,” they began planning their special day. “We hired Garden Rose Event Design for our partial wedding planning. We replanned our wedding 3 times, so it’s safe to say it was harder than we imagined.”
Ultimately, the couple decided on a light, romantic color scheme, focusing on florals, greenery, and misty touches of blue to capture the brightness and alluring mood of the day. “We wanted it to feel both elegant and timeless.”
Reagan wore a classic, ivory satin ballgown with sweetheart neckline, banded off the shoulder straps, buttons down train, and pockets from designers at Essence of Australia. For her veil, she had a long ivory with lace choice by Giselle Bridals. She wore a short pair of silver heels with gems by Mischka Badgley. For her “something old,” Reagan has a portion of her great grandmother’s monogrammed tea towel sewn into the dress.
For her jewelry, Reagan wore primrose, floral stud earrings with silver crafted petals covered in crystals by Olive and Piper. Her maid of honor wore a smaller matching version. Reagan also wore a family brooch from the 1800s, made of pearls and pinned into the bouquet during the ceremony. Reagan also received a pearl necklace from Whit and wore this as her “something new.”
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the couple had a scaled down wedding party, which included one maid of honor and one junior bridesmaid, two groomsmen and two best men. The bridesmaid and maid of honor wore “floor-length, V-neck chiffon mist-colored dresses from Azazie.” The groomsmen wore “navy suits that were either purchased or rented from the Black Tux. They wore brown shoes and Hawaiian print socks” in honor of the family’s trip to Hawaii the year prior. The guys’ ties were mist colored, with trout fish patterns on them in honor of the groom’s love of fishing and his trout fishing trip the day before the wedding.
“Both the ceremony and the reception were held under the pavilion at the Shooting Club. The ceremony took place with one corner overlooking a panoramic view of the mountains. The band was in one corner and the bar was in another. The dinner table sat all the guests, a benefit of a small wedding, and was set up on the side of the room in a T-shape with long greenery runners with votives. The place settings were set up traditionally with a gold charger, light blue napkin, and each seat had its own wedding, personalized hand sanitizer. Patio bistro lights were strung draped across the ceiling.”
Reagan says to fellow brides planning their weddings, “Be gentle with yourself, take deep breaths, laugh at the mishaps, stay open minded, but trust your instinct, rest, and believe when people say one day it will all be worth it.”
CREDITS
CEREMONY AND RECEPTION SITE: Omni Homestead Resort Shooting Club, Hot Springs VA, 540.839.7897
PHOTOGRAPHY: Kimberly Smith Photography, 434.435.1454
VIDEOGRAPHY: Neil Fox at MNF Productions, 540.355.0019
CONSULTANT: Garden Rose Events & Design, 810.347.5664
OFFICIANT: Ben Law (friend)
GOWN: by Essence of Australia from Studio I Do, 540.904.5088
VEIL: by Giselle Bridals from Studio I Do, 540.904.5088
SHOES: Badgley Mischka
HAIR AND MAKEUP: GlamHouse Day Spa, 540.266.7973
BRIDESMAID DRESSES: Azazie
FORMALWEAR: Black Tux
INVITATIONS: Minted and Zazzle
VENUE SIGNS: Elizabeth Burrow Events, 540.597.2382
REHEARSAL DINNER FLOWERS: Mark Frye with Creative Occasions
FLOWERS AND RENTAL EQUIPMENT: Mary Cantrell at Country Garden Florist, 540.862.4143
CATERING: Thomas O’Doherty, Omni Homestead Resort, 540.839.7897
ENTERTAINMENT: Five Dollar Shake through Kings Entertainment / Perry Caligan, 540.989.5464
CAKE: Thomas O’Doherty, Omni Homestead Resort, 540.839.7897
FAVORS: Thomas O’Doherty, Omni Homestead Resort, 540.839.7897
TRANSPORTATION: Thomas O’Doherty, Omni Homestead Resort, 540.839.7897
ACCOMMODATIONS: Thomas O’Doherty, Omni Homestead Resort, 540.839.7897
