Keswick Vineyard – Alexandra Michelle Photography Blog

This session was a DREAM! No but actually, it was seriously perfect in almost every way. Let me start by giving you the background. Okay, so Areizo (Rei) and I are sorority sisters and she contacted me a little ways back to see if I’d be available and interested in doing a one year anniversary picnic session with her and her husband Tom. After hearing her plan for the session and the details she gave I knew I wanted to photograph it. She had the whole thing planned out exactly how she wanted it to be, she wanted to do a picnic and get back in her dress and eat their cake at the place where they got married, Keswick Vineyards. Idillic right?

Well leading up to the session, as I always do, I started checking the weather and I began to get a little worried when I saw that it was calling for rain, lots of rain. We talked and decided we were going to just go with it and worse case scenario we’d get some umbrellas. It rained on their actual wedding day so the prospect of rain on their anniversary didn’t scare them one bit (a great metaphor for marriage if we wanted to go down that route… another time though).

So Saturday morning came and I packed up the car and heading out to Keswick. I rolled up and had no idea just how great this session was about to be. It wasn’t until Rei opened up the back of the car that it really sank in. I saw the car packed to the brim with staging details and knew this session just went to a whole other level of amazing!

She had it all, literally. Everything was packed to stage the perfect picnic set up for a romantic vineyard anniversary session. Honestly every detail in the images below, down to the wildflowers, is all her. She packed framed pictures, milk jugs, picnic supplies, blankets, pillows, antique books, flags, etc. etc. etc. It was perfect. Guys don’t really get how great this is but girls definitely do, it’s all in the details. You see this session would have been lovely with just the two of them celebrating their love but having all the extra little details just added another level of fun and set the stage for a romantic picturesque anniversary that they can look back on as unique.

I can’t say enough how genuinely impressed and grateful I am for these two and especially all they did to make this session one for the books! Besides all the little details that they brought to the table, returning to the place where they started their journey into marriage was also very magical. The site is GORGEOUS! If you are looking to get married in Virginia I highly recommend this location. The coordinators and home owners were the nicest people and so accommodating. They welcomed Rei and Tom back as old friends and couldn’t be happier to get to see them still celebrating their love. Oh and the rain!? It held out until the very last moment when we were literally getting into our cars to leave. Talk about perfect.

Rei and Tom – I loved getting to be a part of this special time for you guys! I couldn’t be happier sharing these images to the world as they are so beautiful. Y’all are so kind and have a love for each other that will take you through any rain storm coming your way. Good luck on your new business adventure and raising those chickens!! Thanks for an amazing session and sharing your one year anniversary with me. Congratulations!