Dec. 2, 2018 • The Farmhouse at Veritas, Afton
Photos by Lauren Louise Collective
When Richmond native and UVA graduate Heather Bien went to a concert with friends in Washington, D.C., in May 2016, she had planned on leaving early. “I had never heard of the musician before, the music was not great, and I thought maybe I should just head home,” she says. “But then I saw a handsome, dark-haired man at the bar and decided to stick around.”
By the end of the show—and with the help of an urging friend—Heather had struck up a conversation with Adam Shapiro, figured out he was single, and scheduled a date for later that week. A little over a year later, Adam proposed in the privacy of their first apartment together with a yellow-gold, halo-style ring set with his grandmother’s emerald-cut diamond.
When the couple went looking for wedding venues, they knew they wanted something smaller around Charlottesville. Veritas Vineyard and Winery in Afton had always been a favorite of Heather’s, but she never considered it as a wedding venue until a friend let her know they had a small reception space called the Farmhouse.
The couple had a traditional Jewish wedding complete with the groom’s maternal great-grandmother’s tallit as a chuppah and customary seven blessings. They were married on Dec. 2, 2018, and despite unseasonably warm weather, Heather wore her grandmother’s fur over her Augusta Jones dress.
“We wanted an intimate winter dinner party,” she says. “We fell in love with the Farmhouse, and since it’s also a bed and breakfast, it was the perfect size to accommodate our immediate families.”
Details
Photographer: Lauren Louise Collective, Washington, D.C., LaurenLouiseCollective.com | Floral Design: Starry Night Events, Richmond, StarryNightEventsRVA.com | Gown: Augusta Jones, AugustaJones.com | Hair: Jeanne Cusick, Charlottesville, CvilleMakeup.com | Caterer: The Farmhouse at Veritas, Afton, VeritasFarmhouse.com | Cake: Ukrop’s, Richmond, UkropsHomestyleFoods.com | Rentals: MS Events, Charlottesville, MSEventsCville.com
This article originally appeared in our February 2020 issue.
