On the weekend of October 27-29th of October, I traveled three hours away to my cousin’s wedding outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. My family planned to meet me thirty minutes away from Charlottesville to get lunch before arriving at the hotel because they were traveling from my hometown, Hampton. I was leaving from my apartment at Longwood University which was about an hour and a half drive to where I was meeting my sister, mom, and dad. During the drive, I mainly stayed on the same one-lane curvy backroad for the majority of the ride which was nice because I didn’t hit any traffic. I met my family at a Mexican restaurant, and we filled up our stomachs before driving the remaining thirty minutes to Charlottesville. As soon as we arrived at the hotel we immediately had to rush inside and start getting ready for the wedding. We arrived at the Holliday Inn which is where the people attending the wedding were staying as well as the bride and the groom. After we checked in we took our bags upstairs and began getting ready. Hotels nowadays have done away with mirrors in the room so I set up my front camera on my phone in front of the window and used it as a mirror. My mom was rushing us the whole time we were getting ready and when we walked downstairs to leave the bride and groom were just checking in and hadn’t even been to the room yet. So here my family is standing in the lobby fully ready to leave while the bride and groom’s families are in sweats and seem like they’re in no rush at all. We waited around for a little and then we began to drive, there was a shuttle available, but we preferred to drive separately because we can leave whenever we wanted. We arrived at the wedding, and it was in a beautiful white barn in the mountains with a large lake and a beautiful white arch. This was a gorgeous location, and it was the perfect weather. The ceremony lasted around 15 minutes and it was at the perfect moment between golden hour and the sun setting. There was a DJ who had music going prior to and after the ceremony. I didn’t expect myself to tear up because I’m not very close with my cousin, but I did because it was such a beautiful moment to experience and there was so much love and genuine love between the bride and groom. Once the ceremony was over we went into the barn, which was newly renovated, and sat down to eat dinner and listen to speeches. They had Firestone pizzas catered as well as some other sides and options as well. Prior to us making our plates they did a bridesmaid and groomsman entrance where they all entered the room and did a dance while the DJ played music. The bride’s father and the groom’s best man gave speeches while we ate which was very entertaining. Once everyone finished eating the DJ started to turn the music up and everyone was on the dance floor having fun. Being around all of my family for a special occasion and celebrating my cousin and his wife was such a breath of fresh air. This trip and experience reset my mood and made me realize how much I miss seeing my family and how much they mean to me even though I don’t see them as often.
Travel Experience- Wedding in Charlottesville
