Welcome to the vendor series! I’m highlighting wedding vendors in the Shenandoah Valley and bringing them directly to you. We’re getting to know the vendors, learning about their businesses, and answering your questions so you can include them in your big day. This week we’re highlighting Bluestone Vineyard, a beautiful winery that hosts weddings in Bridgewater, Virginia. Their events coordinator is Lauryn Kelley and her favorite thing in the world is weddings. Keep reading to learn all about Lauryn and the venue!

The Event Coordinator

Lauryn is the event coordinator for Bluestone Vineyard. She plans every event that is hosted on the property, including corporate, business, and family events. Weddings are by far her favorite.

Although she’s incredibly proud of where she is today, Lauryn didn’t start in event planning. In 2018 she worked part time in the tasting room as a server. This is where she first starting interacting with weddings. Event staff would serve couples and their guests on the big day and Lauryn worked as many weddings as she could. She graduated from Bridgewater in 2018 with an internship with wedding experience. Lauryn moved up to tasting manager, and when Bluestone Vineyard’s event coordinator unexpectedly left, Lauryn jumped into the position mid-wedding season. She hasn’t looked back.

Lauryn is the girl that’s answering inquiries, keeping open communication with brides, and helping them plan for their day.

The Process of Having a Wedding at Bluestone Vineyard

When you fill out a form on Bluestone Vineyard’s website, it gets sent right to Lauryn. She starts the open communication, sends an information packet, and gets you scheduled for a tour.

On the tour you get a bridal folder with pages of information. There are explanations about the two different ceremony locations, what’s included when you book, ideas for indoor setups, and more. Lauryn then gives you the contract and walks you through it so you know what you’re signing.

After that, there are up to three more meetings. Each meeting has its own purpose, ranging from talking about vendors to picking wine to making a floor plan (everything can be moved except the fireplace!). Bluestone provides all tables and chairs and they have a program that logs all your info and details, so they try to make it as easy for you as possible.

Lauryn helps plan along the way, but she isn’t the wedding coordinator. She won’t contact your vendors for you, but she’ll help in other ways. She tries to be there all day for every wedding, so you’ll have a familiar face throughout the whole process.

“Your Style, Your Venue, Your Day”

Bluestone Vineyard’s motto is “You style, your venue, your day.” They do everything they can to make this true.

The building is designed for this purpose. You can move all the furniture around in whatever design you wish. The building is newer, so there are tons of outlets everywhere. The color pallet is modern and classy, so you can keep it as is or decorate it in any way you wish. There’s a gold underlay throughout the building that is easy to play off.

“You can add a ton of florals, you can add extra lighting, you can put a ton of additions, but you don’t have to,” said Lauryn. “If you want to go as simple as a wine bottle as you’re centerpiece, the room is still beautiful.”

They have a large bridal suite, a huge kitchen for caterers, extra outlets for DJs, and a foam spray ceiling that’s great for sound. They try to keep in mind other vendors, and it shows.

Loving Bluestone Vineyard

Lauryn did an internship in college with wedding planner Hayley Davis. Of the 10 weddings they did together, the one she did at Bluestone was by far her favorite.

“I loved it,” Lauryn said. “It was gorgeous. The staff here was really great and the wedding was beautiful. I still show couples today the photos from it. That’s when I fell in love with Bluestone. I came to help out that morning to get the room ready, and I remember looking around and thinking it was beautiful. It’s really easy to sell when you love it so much.”

Lauryn’s favorite part of the process is right before the wedding when everything comes together. “I’m not worrying if the beers are in a cooler or if the wines are ready. Everything is gorgeous. Somebody’s lighting candles and everything is coming together. I can take a deep breath.”

Little moments throughout the day stick in Lauryn’s mind, even if brides forget them. “This past October I got to hold a bride’s dress while she walked to the ceremony. It was just really special for me. That’s a huge part of the day. While they might not remember that at all, it’s something I remember. It’s just such a special moment.”

Tips for Brides

Lauryn has talked with enough brides and coordinated enough weddings to have a few tips for brides-to-be out there planning their own days.

Her biggest tip is to use your vendors. If you have questions, call or email them. Make a meeting. Go back and visit your venue. Don’t stress, we’re here for you. It’s all going to come together.

Lauryn advises that when you’re inquiring with people and you decide to not go with a vendor, please let them know. We won’t get offended, but we want to know to not reach out to you again. All vendors want you to have the best wedding day, and if it’s not with them, that’s ok.

The wedding is all about you and what you want. Don’t let others change your plans. Lauryn has a lot of families come with couples during meetings. That can be great, but families can have a lot of opinions. When this happens, she follows up the meeting with a phone call to the couple to make it clear what the couple wants and not the rest of the group.

If you’re interested in becoming an events coordinator or working in weddings, Lauryn suggests using connections.

“Use every little opportunity you can get,” said Lauryn. “Reach out. Even if they can’t do an internship, ask if they have suggestions. A lot of vendors will have a vendor they work really closely with. If for some reason vendors don’t reply, don’t be offended and don’t let that break your heart. A lot of vendors in wedding season are busy. So reach out to multiple people, but not all at the same time. Give it time. Be respectful. Explore all your opportunities. While it might seem little at the time, I got my job here because of my internship. It’s as simple as that. I wouldn’t have gotten it without that. So it really pays off knowing people and having those connections.”

Bluestone Vineyard still has 2020 and 2021 availability. If you’re interested in having your wedding there, go to their website to fill out their form and Lauryn will get back to you soon!

If you’re interested in learning more about Lauryn and Bluestone Vineyard, visit their website here!

Want to learn about other vendors in the Shenandoah area? Check them out here!

If you’d like to see Emma and Peyton’s wedding at Bluestone Vineyard, check it out here!

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