At first sight: An elegant, easy-going day to remember

Candice Cloos said she met Patrick Haney the old-fashioned way: “in a dive bar.” Truth be told, she was trying to disentangle herself from a conversation with another man, when she noticed Patrick and shouted, “There you are!”

“Without missing a beat, he played along that we knew each other, and we spent the next five hours talking,” Candice recalled. The pair had their first date the next evening—and have been together ever since.

When it came time to plan their wedding, Candice said she wanted it to “feel like us.” Living a fast-paced life in Washington, D.C., the couple appreciated weekends away where they could relax, be outdoors, and spend time together. “One of our favorite spots is Charlottesville, where I went to undergrad and grad schools,” she said, “so of course it was where we wanted to be married. I wanted our wedding to capture my Virginia roots and have a rustic elegance that was beautiful and easy-going.”

Venue-wise, Pippin Hill fit the bill perfectly (learn more about Pippin Hill on page 43), and even the day’s rain brought a bit of magic because it “left behind lots of frogs that the children tried to catch.”

Every part of their wedding held special meaning, though, from verses read from a grandmother’s Bible to vintage champagne glasses that have been in the Cloos family for years to the couple’s first look, when Patrick presented his bride-to-be with a calligraphy letter he’d written. But for all the traditions, Candice and Patrick opted for one out-of-the-ordinary element: Following a rehearsal dinner at the C&O and late-night jazz at Miller’s, the pair spent the night before their wedding together at Keswick Hall. “It was so amazing to be able to start our wedding day doing things we love most,” she said. “Going for a walk outside with a cup of coffee and then swimming in the pool.”