A Hunt-Country and Equestrian-Inspired Wedding in Middleburg

Julie, director of public affairs at APCO Worldwide, and Harrison, an attorney at Jones Day, dated for about a year and a half before Harrison proposed in a rose-petal-filled, oceanfront scene at the Ritz Carlton in Santa Barbara on Julie’s birthday, while the pair were road-tripping along the Pacific Coast Highway. “The best birthday ever,” says Julie.

For their September wedding, the couple took inspiration from their Middleburg location, where Julie says she escapes the city to go horseback riding and fox-hunting on the weekends. “I wanted the wedding to incorporate that special Virginia hunt country and equestrian feel.” A 400-year old tulip poplar tree served as the ceremony backdrop, and Julie walked down the aisle to Pietro Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana” played on the harp and a string quartet. The English-garden style and green scenery of their venue also inspired the secret garden design, which included flower-market-style baskets of flowers, a farm-to-table menu, and whimsical on-theme linens printed with green branches, birds, and flowers. For their honeymoon, the newlyweds traveled to the Greek islands of Crete and Naxos, where they learned how to prepare traditional family recipes on an outdoor, wood-fired oven.

See the photos from their big day below.

The Details

Amy Moeller

Fashion & Weddings Editor

Amy leads Washingtonian Weddings and writes Style Setters for Washingtonian. Prior to joining Washingtonian in March 2016, she was the editor of Capitol File magazine in DC and before that, editor of What’s Up? Weddings in Annapolis.