Goodstone inn Specializes in Small Weddings That Are Big on Personal Details
Story by Kaitlin Hill
With views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and ivy-covered historic ruins, Middleburg’s Goodstone Inn and Restaurant is an idyllic venue for weddings of any size. Lovebirds with larger parties can put some distance between in-laws on the 265-acre estate and have their pick of romantic ceremony and reception spaces. The Carriage House, Pool, Woodsy Garden and Farm Field make exquisite backdrops for memorable knot-tying. Couples with shorter guest lists might choose the charming Manor House, where nearly any room can be transformed into an elegant ceremony or reception spot.
In April, 2017, Mike Delorme and Jenny Harkin chose the Manor House for their nuptials. The Silver Spring, Maryland, couple, who initially intended to elope, enjoyed an intimate ceremony in the Manor House, surrounded by 23 of their closest friends and family. The choice to forego elopement and marry at the inn was an easy one for Jenny, after viewing the property on her sister’s recommendation.
The bride’s sister, Amy, remembers, “I absolutely had a feeling from the very beginning that Goodstone was it. It was them in so many ways.”
They exchanged vows in the home’s sunroom, filled with natural light and personal touches provided by the Goodstone events team and the couple’s guests.
“Everyone got involved, and everyone wanted to make it special,” Jenny says. Nieces and nephews read “The Monkey’s Heart,” and even the couple’s beloved dog, Ollie, made an appearance.
Though modest in size, their wedding was the image of grandeur, expertly planned by Goodstone’s Director of Events, Chelsea Grim. “She is such a warm, wonderful person who is willing to do whatever,” Amy says of Chelsea.
Chelsea worked closely with the bride and her family to ensure everything was even better than Jenny and Mike could imagine. Jenny says with a laugh, “I put my complete faith and trust in her, and she did not fail me.”
Chelsea’s close connections to the vendors were invaluable as she worked to design a wedding catered to the couple’s exact specifications. “It is clear that she works very well with all the vendors,” Jenny explains. Under Chelsea’s guidance, the florist painted Jenny’s headpiece at the last minute to get the color just right, and the musical trio played a new original song as she walked down the aisle.
Chelsea’s willingness to go above and beyond was manifest in the details of the wedding, but perhaps it was most obvious in the surprises she designed for the bride. Jenny, a longtime horseback rider was shocked and delighted when a Palomino showed up for her wedding photos. “It was amazing. It was a beautiful, beautiful horse,” the bride recalls.
Another surprise for the newly married couple sat on their cake. A miniature sugar replica of Ollie the Maltese dug its way out of the blush pink Gluten-Free Strawberry and Champagne cake from Stacked, the bakery Chelsea recommended. The wedding cake was gluten-free to accommodate the bride’s dietary restrictions, though none of the guests seemed to notice.
In fact, most of the menu was gluten-free. Chelsea worked with the Goodstone kitchens to create a custom menu. At the cocktail hour, guests indulged in gluten-free Bruschetta, an artisanal cheese plate with gluten-free crackers and Jenny’s favorite fois gras mousse with fresh strawberries.
Jenny and Mike’s wedding is evidence that small doesn’t necessarily mean minimal. Goodstone offers a variety of wedding packages to make elopements extravagant and small gatherings sublime. As part of the Manor House wedding package, Jenny, Mike and their families lodged at the venue, making it feel like their own home. Jenny described her wedding weekend as, “a big slumber party, and that’s what made it so great. I always loved slumber parties as a kid, so I would expect to do nothing less as an adult.”
During their stay they had access to the pool, spa, hiking trails and the Manor House’s gourmet kitchen, where they were served private breakfast each morning. As their wedding fell on Easter weekend, the Goodstone staff even coordinated an Easter Egg Hunt for Jenny’s nieces and nephews.
“We really do focus on every small detail in not only making your wedding day magical, but your entire weekend,” Chelsea said.
The couple’s praise for Goodstone and Chelsea Grim was echoed in the words of C.S Lewis, read by the groom’s brother just before Mike and Jenny became man and wife: “It is on this love that the engine of marriage is run.”
Certainly, the reading was given as words of wisdom to the newlyweds. But read differently, it describes the subtle excellence and attention to detail Goodstone is known for. Or as Jenny puts it, “It was perfect, and the second it was over I asked, ‘Can we do it again?’ ” ML