Small and Chic in Cville: From Weddingbee: The Cocktail Hour

In my post about our ceremony, I forgot to mention a surprise element that got added at the last minute. A chorus of little frogs started whirling outside the venue just as the ceremony started. As animal lovers, Marc and I were totally charmed by the amphibian symphony just outside the doors of Pippin Hill Farm and Vineyards. A friend who worked at the venue told me that they had never heard the frogs before that evening.

I know there was one near us while we were taking post-ceremony photos on Pippin Hill's patio and sure enough, there was one perched on top of one the lanterns that hung on the patio supports.

The sound those little frogs made was almost the same sound that the tree frogs in Jamaica made. We fell asleep to that sound every night on our honeymoon.

Our nephews and nieces were delighted over the little frogs. One of my nephews was giddy over having touched one before he jumped into one of the water cisterns outside the venue.

Frog habitat. Who knew?

I don't want to bore you with countless pictures of guests, but I thought I'd share these photos of my Maid of Honor and my sister-in-law mingling during the cocktail hour.

By the way, I sent my SIL two bridesmaid dresses and her seamstress made a maternity dress by incorporating fabric from one into the overall design of the other.

Dr. Bridesmaid had her camera in hand and was snapping pictures at this point. I was thankful for the images she took during the wait to get our wedding photos back. In retrospect, I feel silly for having considered an unplugged wedding. Guest pictures, especially when guests have great cameras, are a wonderful thing!

As is custom in our area, much of the food served was local. The servers passed friend Chesapeake Bay oysters with spicy mayo; stuffed baby potatoes with créme fraîche and pancetta; goat cheese lollipops with candied bacon, pecans, and herbs, Crozet strawberries with robiolo cheese and a balsamic drizzle; and sweet potato biscuits with Virginia ham and piquillo pepper spread.

The goat cheese lollipops were a surprise hit. Quite a few guests raved about them.

It seems silly in retrospect, but one of the things that upset me about the rain was the thought of the corn hole boards I had so much fun painting weren't going to be used. As soon as the weather cleared, DJ Best Man and Groomsman Blue had those boards out and set up.

I could see the guys carrying them from where we were posing for portraits and I wondered if anyone would even play. Though the rain had stopped, the ground was still wet.

As soon as the groomsmen started tossing the bean bags, people started moving over to the boards.

The children, who had never seen the game before, were hilarious. My oldest nephew is always pretty creative when it comes to making up games, so I think he orchestrated whatever "monkey in the middle" game is happening in the images below.

Despite taking pictures before the ceremony, I spent the entire cocktail hour planted at one end of the patio area taking more pictures. I didn't get to see the set up of the Pippin Hill tasting room, where the escort card board I made and some other decorations were set up.