Weddingbee Blog

A big part of our wedding, and theme of our whole wedding weekend, is the city we live in: Richmond Virginia. Richmond is not only the capital city, but it’s also where we met, and fell in love. It only made sense to really feature its historic beauty for all of our guests to see, most of which will be traveling in and have never been here before. As I have mentioned before, neither Mr. Cloud nor I are originally from Richmond, but as we began to decide where we wanted to say, “I do,” and celebrate afterward, we wanted to pick locations that would not only be memorable, but would also show our guests a true slice of the city.

One good thing about going to a school with an amazing art program? Lots of stunning pictures of the area you live in.
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When I first moved here, it was as a college freshman attending Virginia Commonwealth University in the heart of the city. The campus is unlike many traditional college campuses mainly because of its location. As students you are sharing the area with offices, apartment buildings, and churches, all of which are located right smack between school buildings. In fact, most of the offices for the various university departments are located in restored row houses in Richmond’s fan district.

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Oh, and I mentioned the churches, right? Well there really is only one that I ever paid much attention to. Being a practicing Catholic, it made sense for me to attend the Catholic Church located in the middle of campus; only this was not your average college campus church. This was a grand, historic, not to mention stunning, cathedral.

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The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart was officially dedicated in 1906 and has recently undergone a beautification/restoration project. When I lived in the dorms my first year here I would sit in the park across the street on Saturday afternoons watching the brides arrive. It was breathtaking. I knew then and there that if I were ever going to get married in this city, then it would have to happen at that church.

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So when Mr. C and I got engaged, it only made sense for the church to be booked first. We had been attending the Cathedral together at that point for a few years, so as parishioners we had first pick at what weekend we wanted. I also requested permission to have the priest I grew up with come down from Northern Virginia to marry us, and the Cathedral has been more than accommodating.

(A quick side note: I know this is getting confusing with who lives where. Daddy Cloud was in the Army, but when he got out, we settled and I spend most of my life in the Northern Virginia area. My folks have since moved “home” to the Boston area where the rest of our family is, and where they were raised. Whew! Still with me?)

I am beyond excited. The priest who is marrying us has been there for my family through a lot of trying events and illnesses, as well as for me as I struggled with my own faith growing up, so it just feels right for him to do this, as well. And of course, I have Sound of Music flashbacks when I think of getting to walk down that very long aisle. Except in my case, my dad will be accompanying me the whole way, and there will be no choir of Nuns singing. Oh, and of course, no running from the Nazis after the honeymoon.

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I really just get giddy thinking about it! Are you getting hitched in a meaningful place, or having the ceremony performed by someone that is special to you?