The Fete Blog

Friday is going to be a tremendous day in the wedding industry. Across the world, thousands of couples will tie the knot on 11-11-11– and one such couple will be Briana and Ian, the winners of Charlottesville’s Free Wedding Project. The Project started a few years back, when photographer Jack Looney and a few other local event professionals decided to give back to the community they love so much. Jack put together a fantastic group of vendors who all donated their time on one specific day and threw a contest for couples who just didn’t have the opportunity to plan a big, traditional Charlottesville wedding to win one. The first one was a huge success and Jack and the Cville wedding community have been doing it yearly since.

This year’s Free Wedding will take place on that magic date, 11-11-11, at King Family Vineyard. Briana and Ian, this year’s winners, are a fabulous couple who have had the incredible experience of working with a huge group of top-notch, talented vendors. On the day before their Big Day, here’s a sneak peek at this year’s winning couple:

Briana Michelle Shelton & Ian Alexander MacRae
11/11/11
King Family Vineyards

{a sneak peek of the papers designed for Briana and Ian by the awesome paper company Rock Paper Scissors}

Him: Owner/enterprise specialist at E-N Computers Her: Medical laboratory scientist

Our love story: Our love story is very hard to pinpoint in minimal words. I would say that we are a couple that has learned through our years together how to love fully, appreciate each day and find joy in the everything life has in store for us.

Why was the Free Wedding Project right for your relationship? The Free Wedding Project seemed like a “sign” to us this year. We have been chatting about our wedding day and dreaming for a few years. The time just hadn’t felt right until recently and the project vendors offered more than we could ever dream of in a wedding. What a wonderful gift to us as well as to our friends and families.

What’s one thing you love about Ian that you don’t always tell him? I love Ian’s totally goofy nature, he will just do some thing completely off the wall and it will just make me crack up! I have also learned to love his extremely bad joke telling and it has rubbed off on me (I feel sorry for my friends and family). I love the joy he finds in nature and how he has nursed a baby mockingbird back to health after falling from a tree.

What’s one thing you love about Briana that you don’t always tell her? I love your football throwing skills. I love that you enjoy being active. I love sharing friends and family together. I love you napping on my shoulder.

Something old: My engagement ring has stones in it that were Ian’s grandmothers.

To sum up the Free Wedding Experience in 3 words: “Generosity, Humbling, Fantastic”