I want to start out by saying…THIS WEEKEND WAS SO GOOD TO MY SOUL! I have loved this season of life and having the ability to work in little weekend trips here and there. With covid we obviously had to put that on pause for a little, but we are BACK, baby.

When the guys told all of us they were planning a golf trip we decided that we too needed a weekend away with each other so we went to work planning our Charlottesville, VA trip. Huge shoutout to Rachel for carrying the planning on her back!!! She researched the best options, organized all of our preferences, made the reservations, and made sure that everything was taken care of. She even made a cute little itinerary!

I’ve always heard that Charlottesville is so gorgeous and now that I’m a lover of red wine, I finally felt like it was worth it to explore the “east coast wine country.” We were mainly in town for Saturday so we visited three different wineries and then headed into downtown for drinks and dinner.

In the morning after Hannah made her yummy breakfast casserole, we were picked up by our driver Kenny, who would be taking us around to all of the wineries. Rachel surprised us with a limo from A&A Limo Service, which was extra fun! This was one of the best decisions ever because he stayed with us at every stop so we could leave our things in the car and stay as long as we liked. Of course we had reservations so at every stop we lost track of time and then were rushing so we were thankful that he was always ready to go, haha! Plus he was SO fun and wasn’t annoyed at any of our music choices, which ranged from Miranda Lambert to Megan The Stallion (what would you expect with me with the AUX).

Our first winery was Veritas –– a perfect first stop! We each got a flight with whites, roses, and reds. They were all pretty good, though I’m not a huge fan of whites. We got a charcuterie board to share and were really impressed that it fed all nine of us! The best part of this winery was definitely the view. I loved the green rolling hills and while we had a table reserved, they have a huge lawn for people to bring their own snacks and picnic. Super cute!

Next was Pippin Hill, a MUST for everyone on the trip! I was really excited to go here because I know it’s a Virginia wedding photographers’ favorite venue for weddings. It did not disappoint at ALL. It was pretty busy but we were able to find the perfect spot on the lawn overlooking the vineyard and the mountains in the distance. It was SO beautiful. I would die to shoot a wedding here!!! We all got white and red flights again, plus different lunch snacks. Rachel and I split pimento BLT sliders and hummas and y’all….YUM.

Our last stop was Trump Winery, where we had the most awesome server. He was super knowledgable and funny, and again…we all got flights LOL. They are known for their sparkling whites, but I was still surprised when this was the first place I really enjoyed the white wine option.

I was so proud of us for managing to get a group photo at every location! It’s hard to round up that many people, even remember to take the photo, AND find a stranger that could work my camera! I usually just set up the shot and then showed them how to take it and it was easy. Since last year I’ve tried to get better at documenting every day life AND special trips, but it’s hard to balance remembering to do it and staying in the moment. I only spent 5 or so minutes at every stop taking photos and then put it away to enjoy the rest of our time…except at Pippin Hill where everyone got their own photoshoot. I couldn’t help myself!!!

That night we headed into downtown for drinks at The Fitzroy where we all got a different cocktail so we could try all of the options. Highly recommend “the secret garden”!!! Then we went to dinner at Maya, where we had amazing drinks and dinner. Our server was awesome, serenaded us, and even came out for drinks with us after we were done! We loved having him because he knew all of the best spots in town that were open. 10/10 recommend befriending a local!!!

We did plan on going to brunch in the morning but ended up skipping out because…well, we were over it and ready to get home LOL. I had a blast with these girls and I cannot wait for our next trip!!!