Lake Anna Wedding Celebration

Lake Anna. Mineral, Virginia.

Our second wedding celebration. The one with the ceremony.

When we pictured our wedding celebration, we knew we wanted something different.

(My blog post explaining how we came up with this whole idea is coming soon!)

The Group: Family

We rented two houses across the lake from each other on Lake Anna.

We found these 2 gems simply by searching on STR sites.

The Culp House included Matt’s parents, his two brothers and their families, and his aunts and uncles.

The Mongeau House included my parents, my brother and his family, and three of my closest girlfriends with their significant others.

If you’re interested in either of these gorgeous homes, please check out my referral links! We had an exceptional stay, and can’t say enough good things.

Vacation Rentals Worth Booking

Day 1: Travel Day + Welcome Toast

My brother Dan and his family made the trip from upstate New York, from a little town called Cazenovia.

Matt’s brother Bob’s family took two flights from Tennessee before being scooped up from the airport by Matt’s parents.

Matt’s Aunt Judy arrived a week earlier from Australia.

These are just some of the people who journeyed to be with us. We were so grateful to have more than just one day to spend together, especially knowing the effort everyone made to be there.

To make the Mongeau House feel welcoming, I printed out photos for each guest, adding a personal note on the back to thank them for the role they’ve played in my life. The photos were taped to bedroom doors so guests could find their rooms and get settled in. Matt and I also wrote notes for our own parents and each other’s.

After exploring our amazing lake houses, Matt and I picked up a catered meal we had pre-ordered from Vito’s on Lake Anna. The menu was Penne Vito, Chicken Alfredo, Lasagna, Caesar Salad, and House Salad – simple enough to set out buffet-style while everyone mingled. Highly rec! They made online ordering a breeze, and pickup effortless as they brought out the food on a rolling cart, and loaded up our trunk.

The Culps arrived at Mongeau House, and we made one big circle in the kitchen – about 25 of us. Matt and I took a moment to thank everyone for being there. We acknowledged the time off work, the time and cost of travel, and the coordination it took for everyone to be part of our week.

Then, we went around the circle and had each person introduce themselves. This was something Matt and I felt strongly about, because we’ve been to weddings where, by the end of the night, we couldn’t even tell you who the mother of the bride was. Or you’ll have the groom’s parents come up and say, “oh, are you friends with our son?” We didn’t want that. These people are so important to us, and we wanted to make sure everyone felt seen and introduced, and had a chance to connect. What followed were some truly heartfelt words that made our hearts so full.

The rest of the night was spent eating, drinking, and playing a round of Jeopardy – wedding couple edition – so everyone could get to know us a bit better!