Caitlyn & Jake: A Stunning Micro-Wedding at The Virginia House

Real Wedding

June 28, 2021

Caitlyn & Jake
The Virginia House
Richmond, Virginia

The Story

Caitlyn & Jake met on Bumble and connected over the fact that they’d both just visited the Gullfoss Waterfall in Iceland, only 3 weeks apart. They love traveling and cooking plant-based meals together. They visited Cape Town, South Africa for a friend’s wedding, which they described as a plant-based mecca, sharing some of the best meals of their lives there.

While staying at an Airbnb in Boone, North Carolina for Caitlyn’s birthday, Jake set up tealight candles and flowers all over the balcony overlooking the mountains. The sun was starting to set as he presented his gift to her: an old, leather-bound book lined with parchment pages. Jake had written out the story of their relationship from the very first date, with pictures on every page featuring some of their favorite memories. When Caitlyn flipped to the last page in the book, it said “Will you marry me?”

The Wedding

“I could write a novel with all the great things I have to say about Compass Rose Coordination! We hired Jenna as our month-of-coordinator, but she actually communicated with us throughout the entire five months we were planning our wedding. I was anxious throughout much of the planning process simply because it’s not something I looked forward to doing. But without fail, every time I talked to Jenna she put my mind at ease and had answers for everything. She made me feel like it was going to be the perfect day because she was on our team. And it truly was!”

Caitlyn & Jake’s small ceremony was held at The Virginia House, a hillside manor overlooking the James River in Richmond, Virginia. Originally built in the sixteenth century, this romantic Tudor style home was relocated from England in 1925, and is now owned & operated by the Virginia Historical Society.

“Due to the pandemic, we had a wedding where 99% of our guests attended via Zoom. Our parents were the only in-person guests. Because of that, we had a LOT of tech equipment: multiple camera set ups, tripods, Bluetooth microphones and speakers, a 40″ TV that had to be set up and connected to our laptop to run the Zoom. When we told Jenna about our plans for the virtual component, she consulted with her fiancé who is a tech guru, and they were actually able to give us a lot of important advice on how to best orchestrate the virtual set up and logistics for the day of the wedding. And if that wasn’t already above and beyond, he actually came with her to the wedding and was instrumental in making sure all of our equipment was set-up, audio was working, and cameras were positioned and streaming properly.”

“Not only is Jenna incredibly talented and resourceful, but she is SO kind and has a can-do attitude. On our actual wedding day, she was a warrior. I never once saw Jenna in slow motion – she was directing, organizing, and executing our wedding vision in a way that was even more perfect than we had imagined. We just showed up and got to enjoy the day. It was like buying an airline ticket, and then showing up to board the flight and being upgraded to first class.”

“When I say that we could not have had the wedding without her, it’s not an exaggeration. Truly, she made it all possible, and the live stream via Zoom was executed flawlessly. We are so thankful for Jenna and Evan and will always recommend Compass Rose Coordination without hesitation.” -Caitlyn & Jake