Real RVA Wedding: Jennifer & Kent at Historic Mankin Mansion

Jennifer & Kent

June 27, 2015

How They Met

Jennifer tells us, “Kent and I met in college at James Madison University through a ministry called Young Life. We had a lot of mutual friends, so we often ended up at the same events but never dated in college. About a year after we graduated, we were at a mutual friend’s wedding and ended up talking the whole night. We started dating a few weeks later!”

How He Asked

When Kent decided to propose, Jennifer’s dad happened to invite them both to go on a business trip with him . . . to Paris! The groom tells us, “Despite having to plan a proposal in a place where English isn’t the primary language, I miraculously put together a plan. We took the train down to the Luxembourg Gardens, and I found a great place to get down on one knee and propose. We then proceeded to “have a wedding.” I found a great little café to have cheese and wine for our cocktail hour. We walked to the Notre Dame to plan our ceremony. We then made a stop at the famous Love Lock Bridge to symbolize our covenant. Finally, we had dinner on the 56^th floor of the tallest building in Paris with seats that overlooked the Eiffel Tower. After some fantastic food and drink, we caught a cab and celebrated with Jennifer’s family underneath the Eiffel Tower.”

Jennifer & Kent chose neutral colors because there was so much natural greenery and flowers at both of their venues. Jennifer says, “I loved the look of the fresh, clean look! The bridesmaids wore champagne dresses and the groomsmen wore black suits with champagne bowties. Kent wore a black suit with a black bowtie.”

View More: http://annamarieakins.pass.us/kent-and-jennifer

The Perfect Place

Jennifer says, “Our ceremony venue was an easy pick for us because it was the church I grew up in. It was also where my parents were married so that made it extra special for us.”

“I was determined to tune everything else out during that part of the ceremony and really take in the beauty of that moment when we committed ourselves to loving each other forever! My other favorite part was being introduced at the reception as Mr. and Mrs. Graham! It was so fun walking in and knowing what a fun night with friends and family we had in front of us.”

The bride tells us, “After a lot of reception venue shopping, we fell in love with Historic Mankin Mansion! It was romantic and charming and we could just picture our guests really enjoying the gardens, the history of the mansion, and the beautiful reception space! The staff was extremely welcoming and pleasant and very impressive from the start.”

“We really didn’t love the idea of having an overall theme for the wedding, so that freed us up to choose from a variety of decorations. A good friend, who is very talented with calligraphy, wrote scripture verses, some hymn lyrics, and quotes in her beautiful handwriting that we had framed and placed all over the reception space! She also did the reserved signs for our both of families and bridal party at the reception. The flowers were gorgeous and complimented the frames well. Other than that, the strung up lights made the tent and space have a nice dimmed lighting.”

“Kent’s favorite part was our first dance. We danced to Feeling Good, by Michael Buble. It was both fun and romantic and we had a great time rehearsing it beforehand!”

Jennifer and Kent wanted their guests to have a great time on the dance floor, so they did a reverse anniversary dance that ended with everyone on their feet, which made an easy transition into an all-night dance party.