Ballroom vows and estate views
H&M gathered their closest friends and family at Dover Hall Estate for a late-June celebration in the Virginia countryside. Planner/designer Kate Franzen of Glint Events guided the day from the estate’s ornate suites through its grand ballroom, where both ceremony and reception would unfold. The morning began in the Queen Elizabeth Suite, where the bride’s gown hung against hand-carved woodwork and toile-papered walls.
Blush and plum florals appeared throughout the morning, from boutonnieres arranged on silver platters to the bride’s bouquet resting against Dover Hall’s stone exterior. The groom and his groomsmen gathered in the billiards room, surrounded by trophy mounts and dark wood paneling, while the bride made her way down the estate’s spiral staircase in the turret.
Guests filled the ballroom beneath coffered ceilings and iron chandeliers, with floor-to-ceiling windows casting soft light across the polished floors. Gilt-framed paintings lined the walls as the couple exchanged vows before the stone fireplace.
The room transformed for dinner, with white linens and greenery runners stretching across long tables. Guests raised their glasses as toasts gave way to laughter, and the couple enjoyed their first dance as dusk settled over the estate.
The couple stepped outside for portraits on Dover Hall’s manicured grounds, the Tudor facade and ivy-covered stone rising behind them. The bride wore a Maggie Sottero gown from Tiffanys Bridal, its beaded bodice catching the late afternoon light as the two laughed their way across the estate.
The ballroom cleared and the dance floor swelled. Guests packed the space and lifted the couple into the air as the evening built to the final farewell.
The last light stretched thin across the lawn and the estate held its silhouette against the sky, windows burning gold while the party still endured inside.