With names like “Rose” and “Valentine,” Jennifer Rose and Rob Valentine’s love was fated. They began dating on and off throughout high school, and both attended the University of Virginia. After graduation, they parted ways with Rob venturing to D.C. and Jennifer moving to New York City.
When Jennifer later enrolled at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, she reconnected with Rob, who now works in Richmond real estate. They once again dated but stopped when Jennifer moved to Atlanta for her job. It seemed as if the stars would never align for them.
Then came 2020. Jennifer was now allowed to work remotely and could return to Richmond—and Rob— for good. When they weren’t renovating their new home, Jennifer and Rob would visit his family’s home. Tucked away in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the house and surrounding acres were the culmination of a dream for Rob’s grandfather. This hideaway has been the treasured spot for so many of the couple’s memories from high school to college and beyond.
For Rob’s birthday in 2020, he suggested that they spend it in the mountains. After a quick hike, Jennifer was admiring the mountain view, when Rob stooped down to one knee. Their families were waiting to surprise them in a nearby home, then ready to celebrate at Farmington Country Club. Jennifer adds, “Little did we know, we would be back exactly 15 months later for our wedding.”
For the October 2021 event, Jennifer and Rob enlisted, Dickie Morris of Just A Little Ditty, for help. “We were so grateful for her creativity, brilliance, patience, and kindness throughout the entire process and even more grateful to call her a friend for life,” the bride says.
“I wanted the aesthetic to be fun, welcoming, bright, upbeat, surprising, and vibrant. I was over the idea of white florals with greenery,” Jennifer shares. Every aesthetic decision was made with this in mind. The couple sent out their save the date cards, which showcased a whimsical mountain design on the front and an envelope liner colored with sunset pinks and blues. The formal invitations featured florals and bright tones with a custom map of the mountain. They even used a personalized crest that appeared all throughout their wedding from the napkins to the skewers. Kathryn Leonard created the entire paper suite that fulfilled Jennifer’s dream of creative, bold, and inspiring invites.
Jennifer worked with OTM stylist Anny Choi to curate her stylish outfits for the bachelorette weekend and wedding events. Jennifer’s Friday night outfit was a custom hand-painted crinkle chiffon dress in vivid pink and earrings from Happy Isles, and for the wedding reception, Anny expertly selected a fun Paco Rabanne dress.
The pandemic prevented Jennifer from even thinking about taking a trip to a bridal atelier in New York. And while she visited a D.C. trunk-show, she left empty-handed. Eventually, she approached her favorite tailor in Richmond, who she lovingly refers to as a “fairy godmother,” and together, the two designed Jennifer’s dream dress. “The dress itself was layers and layers of white silk organza for a fun and full skirt. The architectural, asymmetrical bodice took many tweaks to get just right, and then we added a touch of femininity with a subtle sweetheart neckline and a loose ruffle to soften everything up,” Jennifer recalls. They added an overskirt of thin silk organza. “It was just the right amount of sheer that in some lights it was almost hard to tell it was pink, and then in other lights, it struck the perfect contrast against the white bodice.”
“I have never loved veils,” Jennifer explains. “I wanted to wear my hair down, so it would have movement as it normally would.” Fielding Pierce Briggs styled her hair, keeping it half-up and pinned with white florals, while Stephanie Parker applied Jennifer’s flawless makeup.
Jennifer added her grandmother’s diamond and sapphire starburst earrings to her bridal ensemble. The whisper-thin gold bracelets Rob had given to her over the years were her sentimental “something old.” Her dome ring of yellow-gold and white diamonds—a wedding gift from her mother—served as her “something new.” And lastly, Jennifer’s mother cut dahlias from her garden for the bouquet, a befitting “something borrowed.”
The bride never envisioned her wedding party in matching uniforms and told bridesmaids to wear a dress of their choosing. Her sisters, the maids of honor, worked with Anny to find a pink and blue floral Needle and Thread dress and a pink and red floral Borgo de Nor dress. Each also donned Loeffler Randall penny knot mules.
Rob worked with OTM stylist Chris Legaspi to select a custom dark navy Alton Lane tuxedo with a black shawl collar. “The fun part about Alton Lane are some of their unique touches,” Jennifer explains. “They added one orange inseam to the jacket, as a nod to our UVA connection.” The groom also wanted a one-of-a-kind bow tie, so he turned to Brackish for an all-white goose feather piece. His final touches were the Hermès cufflinks Jennifer gifted to him for the wedding.
“What was very important was that our nieces and nephews were in the ceremony,” Jennifer notes. She collaborated closely with the owner of the children’s boutique Dear James in Houston for their special ensembles. “This was probably one of the only moments I felt stressed,” she confides. After placing the order in June, the handmade pieces were coming from Portugal and only arrived two weeks before the wedding. Thankfully, every single outfit fit perfectly, and the kids were able to wear their linen sets with the espadrilles Jennifer bought them from Spain. Rob’s mother also surprised the couple with a ring bearer pillow that featured their wedding crest needlepointed on it.
On October 16, 2021, Jennifer slipped into her Monique Lhuillier x Hanky Panky robe from Over The Moon and got ready with her mother and sisters, who were wearing short-sleeve Weezie robes with gray piping. While getting ready separately, the bride and groom also took time to open letters they had written to each other previously, building anticipation for the ceremony.
The wedding was held at the Cabin on Bucks Elbow Mountain. While the venue and vista were already gorgeous, the florists, Joey and Randy of Floral Image Design Studio, truly made it breathtaking. They wisely resisted to do an arch or arbor because they did not want to block the natural view and instead created a beautiful floral masterpiece on the ground for the altar.
“I knew I wanted the ceremony to feel fun and not stuffy, so the music was playing and the bar was open, as soon as people arrived!” Jennifer mentions. The bride waited in one of the cabins and peeked out the window to watch the guests mingle. When “Wildflowers” by Tom Petty began playing, the procession descended down the aisle.
Rob’s uncle, the talented architect who designed the property’s cabin, officiated. “It felt so special to have him marry us in a place that is special to all of us with one of his creations as the anchor for it all. He spoke such kind and thoughtful words, and I couldn’t imagine a better officiant,” Jennifer shares. The newlyweds left the altar with scores of flower petals and confetti tossed in their direction. Their florists actually secured the petals in music sheets of Tom Petty’s “Wildflowers.”
Next came a champagne toast with hors d’oeuvres of blinis and caviar, prosciutto and figs, and ham biscuits. Guests adjourned to the Farmington Country Club for the reception.
Jennifer has always been an ardent admirer of St. Frank textiles, a company that was founded by a fellow UVA alum. She ordered yards of their multicolor frazada fabric and turned the material into runners for the long high-top tables surrounding the dance floor. Complementing, the fabric, they alternated table linens in greens, blues, yellows, pinks, and oranges. Hanging paper lanterns from Houses and Parties by Rebecca Gardner and greenery draped from the ceiling.
The club’s chef came up with the brilliant idea of making homemade pasta in a huge parmesan round in front of guests. When Jennifer told him she was a vegetarian, he was inspired and designed an edible garden. He also honored Rob’s favorite dish, twice-baked potatoes, and whipped up twice-baked bites. For dessert, the Funfetti wedding cake was topped off with dehydrated blood oranges and accompanied by other sweet treats.
To fuel the party further, delectable espresso martinis were passed out. A pizza truck drove in before the sparkler send off. “My mom of course could not let guests leave without a party favor,” Jennifer laughs. “We have been making a white chocolate trail mix forever at Christmas time and on special holidays, so my mom made about 20 batches with custom ‘J <3 R’ on the M&Ms and passed those out as friends were leaving.”
