Carolyn Landes • June 22, 2015

As every bride knows, once the excitement following the bending of the knee wanes, the reality of actually planning a wedding sets in — and one of the first and foremost decisions is figuring out where to do it.

With swamp air settling over the District, a potentially much cooler option lies nearby — in the pastoral beauty of the mountains of Virginia. Fortunately, the Commonwealth offers a number of options, particularly rustic venues that frame the pastoral setting so well.

Besides mountain views, Virginia’s countryside offers lush vineyards and bucolic meadows, all of which offer a natural alternative to incense-choking, high-arched cathedrals for the rustic wedding of your dreams. We’ve picked four of the best, within just a couple hours or so from D.C.

Goodstone Inn

Middleburg, Virginia

Middleburg’s Goodstone Inn offers a perfect balance of plush luxury and country coziness — a delightful setting for your rustic nuptials. Located in the heart of Virginia wine and hunt country, the inn combines an unhurried and intimate atmosphere with breathtaking views of the countryside and the Blue Ridge Mountains. With its historic guest residences restored in English and French country décor, an ivy-covered façade, an elegant pool and a restaurant serving farm-to-table gourmet cuisine, you and your guests will enjoy the finest of Southern hospitality and gracious service in a luxury retreat atmosphere.

Castle Hill Cider

Keswick, Virginia

This historic, award-winning indoor/outdoor venue offers couples endless possibilities to create a wedding pulled right from their imagination — from the intimate to the incredible. The property’s 11,000-square-foot, classically built post-and-beam barn provides an expansive year-round party spot. Terraced lawns with exquisite 360-degree views of Virginia’s countryside and the Blue Ridge Mountains create an idyllic backdrop for wedding receptions and photography. Castle Hill Cider received the 2014 Borrowed & Blue Honorable Mention Award for Most Desirable Wedding Venue in the Charlottesville, Virginia, area.

Trump Winery

Charlottesville, Virginia

While Trump Winery is relatively new, having opened in 2011, it has quickly established itself as one of the most sought-after wedding venues in gorgeous Charlottesville. The barn at Trump Winery is Virginia rustic elegance at its finest: high ceilings, expansive windows and French doors opening to a terrace with sweeping views of the vineyard, lake and lush countryside — make it the perfect backdrop for an unforgettable rustic wedding in high style. It is Trump, after all. And now the largest vineyard in Virginia, the winery offers a fine selection of sparkling, red and white wines to toast the new bride and groom.

King Family Vineyards

Crozet, Virginia

Another award-winning option, King Family Vineyards is tucked into the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains and offers the rustic wedding planner the popular Carriage House: a warm, sophisticated room decked out with chandeliers, exposed beams, rough-cut oak floors and a large stone fireplace to keep the festivities going during the cooler months. The rural farm setting has panoramic mountain views that guarantee your wedding album will not disappoint. Nor will the wines, which helped the King Family win Borrowed and Blue’s 2014 Best Vineyard Wedding Venue for the Charlottesville area.

Carolyn Landes • June 11, 2015

The Kennedy Center received “The Blue Star of Life,” a porcelain artwork from Japan, during a May 29 ceremony held in the Terrace Theater of the Center, marking the longstanding relationship between the Kennedy Center and the people of Japan. The dedication ceremony honored the occasion of the 160th Anniversary of the Japan-U.S. Treaty of Peace and Amity, as well as the anniversary of the birth of President John F. Kennedy.

“The Blue Star of Life,” a globe-shaped, porcelain vase of considerable dimensions, was accepted and unveiled by Deborah Rutter, president of the Kennedy Center, and others, including Ambassador Yoshio Karita, chairman of the Blue Star of Life delegation.

Japan has given other gifts to the Kennedy Center. As a gift to mark the 1971 opening of the arts memorial to President Kennedy, Japan presented the 3,000-pound, red and gold, silk curtain for the center’s Opera House stage. In 1975, Japanese Prime Minister Miki presented President Gerald Ford with the funds to build the Terrace Theater as a Bicentennial gift from the people of Japan to the United States.

Remarks were made during the ceremony by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Kristie Kenney and Japanese Ambassador Kenichiro Sasae as well as by students from Georgetown University and Keio University. Karita poetically likened the delicateness of the porcelain vase to the fragility of world relations.

Students representing Japan and the United States, including students from Sidwell Friends School and Georgetown University, participated in a “Pebble Drop” ceremony, during which a small satchel of pebbles was dropped into the belly of the vase. Since stone in Japanese is “ishi,” phonetically the same as “will” in Japanese, the pebbles symbolized the will of the world to seek peace and conserve the environment.

A special message from Ambassador Caroline Kennedy was read by a representative of the United States Embassy in Japan, expressing Kennedy’s gratitude for the gift. “The symbolism of the vase captures the best values, hopes and dreams of the American and Japanese peoples,” Kennedy’s note read. “I look forward to being able to drop my own pebble in the vase during my next visit to the Kennedy Center.”

Following the dedication ceremony, a brief reception was held on the Terrace level during which a toast led by student Jack Hannah of Sidwell Friends School was made. Hannah talked about his recent trip to Japan and the lasting impact the new relationships he forged while there have had on him. “Friendship is important,” said Hannah, becoming a bit misty-eyed as he alluded to the significance of strong international relations. “It makes things better for everyone, everywhere.” The group of American and Japanese dignitaries gathered around Hannah emitted a rousing cheers, appreciative of his sentiment.

On the anniversary of the birth of one of America’s most beloved presidents, who emphasized the importance of international peace and development, inside the halls created as a living memorial to his life, friendship was, indeed, alive and well.
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Carolyn Landes • June 10, 2015

Around 500 of the city’s most philanthropic glitterati gathered May 20 at Tudor Place in Georgetown for the Historic House and Garden’s 23rd Annual Spring Garden Party. This year’s social event was chaired by Elizabeth Powell of Georgetown.

Under an expansive, luminous, white tent surrounded by pristine gardens and an immaculately manicured lawn, guests gathered to celebrate and honor longtime leader and supporter of Tudor Place, Ellen MacNeille Charles, who was given a surprise horse-drawn carriage ride from her 31st Street home to Tudor Place, just up the street.

Charles, a board president emeritus, has made a lasting impact on Tudor Place over the years through her leadership, advocacy and special blend of experience, wisdom and good humor. She was presented with an engraved cup and artwork and gave a gracious speech, thanking attendees for their patronage of Tudor Place.

Interests that inform the life of Charles were woven into the party scene: tablecloths were chocolate brown and white to reflect the racing silks of Charles’s Hillwood Stable, the topiary showed her love of dogs (and show dogs), one cocktail was called BandBox in honor of her racing horse. The Foxcroft Chorale from Charles’s alma mater during the evening.

At the presentation, it was announced that the garden party helped to raise more than $300,000 for one of Georgetown’s crown jewels, as Tudor Place itself was bathed in artful lighting.

Party patrons mingled, sipping mint juleps and tasting light bites, including lamb chops and salmon. In the crowd of prominent Washingtonians and guests from around the country and abroad, ambassadors, architects, business leaders, community leaders and neighbors were dressed to the nines in their garden-party best.

Through its education programs, Tudor Place’s rich heritage provides a living classroom for subjects including American history, the environment and architecture for more than 3,000 school children every year in D.C. and the surrounding areas.
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