A Tented Backyard Virginia Wedding Reception

Welcome to Merritt and Sean’s tented backyard wedding reception, just outside of Middleburg, Virginia. You can revisit their at-home wedding details and a backyard wedding ceremony. So much gorgeousness from Katie Stoops Photography.

The Tented Reception Logistics

Today I am gushing over this wedding reception. The Skyline Tent Company Sperry tent was set at the bottom of the hill. This was below the home, where the ceremony and cocktail hour occurred. The tent overlooked the pond. The slope of the ground was close to a 14-foot grade for just the tent, so we had a pretty significant leveled floor installed. It was important that the guests entered the tent at floor level, rather than be greeted by a tall wall of structural supports and a flight of steps to enter. As you can see, the entrance to the tent was right off the driveway, and we dressed it up with a ton of greenery and a gorgeous wreath. We also put a light here so that guests would be able to depart the tent safely at the end of the night.

All the Pretty Details

The awesome silver chairs for this tented backyard Virginia wedding reception came from DC Rental. These linens and cushions came from La Tavola, who is based in California, which meant that Merritt actually got to pick them out herself in person. All of the gorgeous florals were created by Lavender Green. The lanterns over the dance floor were from Pottery Barn and installed by Skyline Tent Company. Merritt and Sean sat with their wedding party and their guests at a long head table, while the remainder of their family and friends sat at round tables around them.

Merritt and Sean are both car enthusiasts and work in the automotive industry. Merritt had her floral vessels custom-designed in California. The base of the stand is a car brake disk, and the stem is a camshaft from a car engine.

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The Deck!

In the weeks before this tented backyard wedding reception, Merritt’s parents decided to add a deck onto the pond side of the tent. Skyline Tent Company was happy to oblige. We brought in some furniture from AFR, as well as cocktail tables and more of the Pottery Barn lanterns for decor. I still kick myself for not having any throw pillows, a decade later. When you stood on the deck, it really did feel like you were floating over the pond.

Menu Details

Design Cuisine catered this tented backyard Virginia wedding reception and they more than knocked it out of the park. When guests arrived at the tent, the tables were preset with an amuse-bouche of a trio of compressed melon. The first course was a Caprese napoleon with basil sorbet. Dinner was a choice of filet mignon, halibut, or roasted chicken.

After the Dinner

The wedding cake, adorned with engine turbine-inspired pinwheels and atop a cake stand made of camshafts, as well as the groom’s Nissan Skyline cake, were made by chef Jason Reeves.

Immediately after the cake cutting, we had a surprise fireworks display from Digital Lightning. The Fabulous Classics from Atlanta kept the dance floor packed all night long.

At the end of the night, Merritt and Sean left the reception in a vintage Cadillac from Prime Transportation.