Farm to Fork—eat local - drink local

Farm-to-Fork LoudounSM is a collaborative effort between the agricultural, culinary, and winery communities of Loudoun County, Virginia. … (it) brings the fresh bounty of Loudoun farms and vineyards direct to the tables of its finest eating establishments in a celebration of community and food.

http://farmtoforkloudoun.com/

Loudoun Farms: http://www.loudounfarms.org/ 

Loudoun Wineries

Almost 30 wineries make their home in Loudoun Country.

The oldest, Willowcroft, http://willowcroftwine.com/, opened in the early 1980s.

The vineyards at Willowcroft date back to the early part of the modern viticulture era of Virginia. They were planted at a time when advisors from the Virginia Extension Service still considered growing European varieties to be very risky business indeed. The first vines were planted in 1980, Those first vines died and were replanted the following year. The second planting survived. Many of those vines grow to this day, and you can see them in the home vineyard.

The newest will be in Taylorstown, http://www.taylorstowngeneralstore.com/index.htm, http://taylorstowncommunityassociation.blogspot.com/.

Most wineries have events during the weekend, music, festivals, dinner. Come out and enjoy the countryside: http://www.loudounwine.com/ , http://www.loudounfarms.org/Default.asp?contentid=54

Find at driving tour at http://www.visitloudoun.org/Experience-Loudoun/Wine-Country

DIY #2 How to Make Your Wedding Bouquet and His Boutonnière

Bouquets

Some brides are very skillful at creating flower arrangements. If you want to try your hand at your bouquet, you might take a look at these sites. As always, practice enough time before the wedding just in case you need to call in some help.

http://www.save-on-crafts.com/bouqmakbas.html

http://video.about.com/weddings/Make-a-Wedding-Bouquet.htm by Lynn Jawitz

http://www.my-wedding-reception-planning.com/make-your-own-bridal-bouquets.html

Be sure to put the bouquet in a vase of water until the ceremony.

Boutonnières

Boutonnieres are a little easier since they require a minimal number of floral items. Start with these and see if you will feel comfortable making the bouquets.

http://video.about.com/prom/Make-Your-Own-Boutonniere.htm

http://www.perfect-wedding-day.com/make-a-boutonniere.html

http://www.diy-weddings.com/DIY_Boutonniere.html

With these, we might want to keep them refrigerated until the event. Or make then a little longer, place in a jar/vase with water, and cut off to size before pinning them on.

Don’t forget, the boutonnière is pinned on the left lapel.

http://prom.about.com/od/formalaccessoriesshoes/ss/How-To-Pin-A-Boutonniere.htm

Your Wedding Officiant

Whether the person who marries you is a friend or a minister, this is your officiant. Each state has its own rules. Visit Virginia’s http://www.vdh.state.va.us/vital_records/marry.htm to find out theirs.

If the officiant is from another state be sure to call the Circuit Court in the county where you will marry for s/he may need to sign a petition and provide a filing fee.

A friend can marry you by getting a One-Time license. In Loudoun County the rules are:

To be a Civil Celebrant or One-Time-Ceremony Civil Celebrant, the individual(s) must reside in Loudoun County.  A petition must be filed and a $84 filing fee paid to the Circuit Court.  The completed petition will be forward to Circuit Court judge for his review and approval.  Once the order has been approved, the petitioner must post a $500 surety bond and take an oath before the Clerk.

http://www.loudoun.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=3645

Information about the decision process when selecting an officiant is available at

the National Association of Wedding Officiants: http://www.nawoonline.com/tips.htm

and from Martha Stewart: http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/article/hiring-a-wedding-officiant?czone=planning%2Fengagement-cnt%2Fget-organized

and from Brides.com: http://www.brides.com/wedding-ideas/wedding-ceremonies/2006/12/civil-ceremony-success

 and from ezinearticles: http://ezinearticles.com/?Selecting-an-Officiant-For-Your-Wedding-Ceremony---What-to-Know-Before-You-Walk-Down-the-Aisle&id=4316652

PS:

To obtain a marriage license see http://www.loudoun.gov/index.aspx?NID=1162  

DIY#1 Tie a Tie

Althought brides can hire assistance or buy everything needed for their weddings, some will go the way of DIY for parts of the event.

There are many DYI projects for weddings and the internet has a myriad of assistance for brides, and their DYI wedding projects. YouTube and the Images search on browsers are most helpful because weddings are a very visual event. 

An example is learning how to tie a bow tie. Sites like http://www.tie-a-tie.net/  and http://folds.net/bowtie/  provide visual diagrams as well as directions to be able to tie any type of tie.

While there are many great sites out there describing how to tie a bow tie, you might want to look  at these early. For unless you practice, this may not be an easy task for you.

New Sign

Check out our new sign -- ready for our summer season. The Copper Beech as leafed out and the gardens are beautiful.

Summer Comes to Leesburg

Beginning of Spring

The cooler weather and the many moist days give the area green, green grass and longer lasting flowers.

Virginia has a wide and beautiful variety of flowers and foliage. This weekend was the culmination of the azalea blooms. Virginia is known for their azaleas. The United States national Arboretum is in the NE section of DC: http://www.usna.usda.gov/Gardens/collections/azalea.html,

Admirers come to the U.S. National Arboretum’s Azalea Collection every spring to witness one of Washington’s premier spring attractions.  Thousands of azaleas cover the flanks of Mount Hamilton in a blaze of color.  The first warm days bring out the flowers, and the slopes take on a surreal, almost luminescent glow.  Few shrubs have more impact on the spring landscape–azaleas are an enduring favorite in gardens throughout the country.

The Arboretum has many other displays and collections as well http://www.usna.usda.gov/

Other interesting web sites supplying information on our plants are:

From the Charlottesville Garden Club information on Container Gardening—some useful information and other links. http://www.gardeninginvirginia.org/

Garden forum for Virginia: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/vagard/