Olivia and Will
June 1, 2019

How They Met
Olivia and Will first met in January 2011 through a mutual friend. Olivia was living off-campus and just coming back from studying abroad and Will had just moved back to Richmond, and the two ended up at the same apartment complex. Their mutual friend and Will’s eventual groomsman introduced them. They stayed friends throughout the years, but their real first date was in January 2014 at a restaurant in the Fan.

The Proposal
Will asked Olivia to marry him on Olivia’s birthday and one year prior to their wedding date. Will took Olivia on a surprise weekend getaway to The Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia. They went on a horse-drawn carriage ride through the property and ended the day with a short walk to their iconic spring house. Will explains, “I got down on one knee and popped the question with a photographer (somewhat) hidden in the distance, waiting to capture the moment!”

The Details
Olivia and Will knew they wanted to get married in a Catholic Church as both were raised Catholic and their faith is an important part of their lives. They decided on St. Bridget’s Catholic Church and Olivia explains, “I attended mass on occasions throughout college and we’re now members!”

For their reception, the two fell in love with The Bolling Haxall House for its history and architectural detail. With their celebration in June, they decided on an indoor venue, that way weather wasn’t a factor on their big day. Olivia describes their decor, “Since we decided against an outdoor reception, we based our design around bringing the outside into The Bolling Haxall House with hedge walls from Paisley and Jade, moss chargers on our head table, and large greenery-heavy centerpieces.”

Since these two love trying Richmond restaurants and wanted their guests to enjoy some local cuisine, they had RVA favorite Lunch and Supper cater their reception. “We were able to incorporate pimento cheese, fried green tomatoes…along with a late-night mac and cheese bar!”

Favorite Part of the Day
For Olivia, her favorite part of the day was sitting down next to Will at their reception right after their first dance and looking around the room. “I think that was the first extended period where time slowed down a little bit and it fully hit me that we were married!”

For Will, it was dancing the night away with all of their closest family and friends.

Biggest Challenge
“Definitely choosing the venue! Honestly planning my wedding was never something I dreamed of, but Bryce [our planner] made it so much more fun than I ever could have imagined. Instead of being stressed and overwhelmed by sticking to our budget and choosing between so many vendor options, we could fully enjoy being engaged and looking forward to our wedding day!”

Best Piece of Advice
“Hire a planner, or at least a Day-Of Coordinator, if at all possible. You do not want to be stressing about the details on your wedding day, and neither do your parents, sibling, friend, etc.!”


*All information in our Featured Weddings is provided by the couple. Richmond Weddings™ is not responsible for discovering and adding vendors who were not on the submission form completed by the couple.* All photos courtesy of Alyse Michelle Images.