“Congratulations! You’re Engaged!” You can hear it 100 times, but it’s still exciting. If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed in the magical first days of your engagement, you’re not alone. Planning a wedding is an enormous journey that you are about to embark upon. But, have no fear – there are ways to make it as simple as possible!

First, take a deep breath, relax, and start at the beginning. There are three things you need to do as soon as you get engaged:

Create Your Preliminary Budget and Guest List

Before you can choose anything, you need to know roughly how many guests you are expecting and how much money you can set aside for your wedding budget. Start by having parents make lists of people they would ideally invite, and compare those to your own guest lists. Get an idea for how large the number could become, and then make it a point to have some serious discussions about your priorities and your resources. Find out, as graciously as possible, if there will be any contributions to hosting your special day and start a basic budget with a realistic number. You’ll refine your monetary and guest list goals later, but you need a point from which to begin.

Pick a Season

Most brides want to book a date early on so they can mark it on all their calendars and start counting down. While there is nothing wrong with picking a favored date (be it an anniversary, a special family day, etc.), it’s best to be flexible and select a certain season or month in case your favorite venue is booked for a certain day. Consider different times of day – if you prefer an evening wedding, perhaps the long days of summer is your ideal season.

Start Shopping for Your Perfect Venue

Once you know how many guests you plan to invite, how much you have to spend and when you are hoping to wed, it’s time to really invest some time in choosing your perfect venue. You can’t take any further steps, including booking vendors or spreading the word about your date, until you’ve secured the place where you will tie the knot. Don’t forget – the best venues book early, so make this one of the very first stops on your way to wedding bliss!

See you soon,
Paula & Martin Ramirez

Martin and Paula Ramirez are the proprietors of Historic Mankin Mansion Wedding Resort. They enjoy opening their hearts & home to host countless happy couples on their most special day. They have lovingly created a private wedding estate like no other and are honored to share their dream with so many beautiful couples!

Credit: PW Photography 

We have been gearing up for engagement season and we can’t wait to meet all the newly engaged couples!

One of the best ways to get a jump start on wedding plans is to join us at the upcoming bridal shows in Richmond. On Sunday, January 11, we’ll be at the Richmond Wedding Expo, held from 11:30am to 4:30pm at the Downtown Richmond Marriott. Tickets can be purchased for $12 at the door, or for $10 when purchased online HERE.

On Sunday, January 25, we’ll be at the Richmond Bridal Showcase, held at the Great Richmond Convention Center from 11am to 5pm. It’s always a whirlwind of a day- we just love meeting all of the eager brides! We’d encourage you to register in advance HERE to save $2 off of the admission price.

The shows are a great chance to meet our wedding pros in person, as well as view some of our favorite images from weddings past.  We’ll gladly answer any questions you may have. If you are a current Mansion bride, be sure to stop by and say hello!

We look forward to seeing you there!

See you soon,
Paula & Martin Ramirez

Martin and Paula Ramirez are the proprietors of Historic Mankin Mansion Wedding Resort. They enjoy opening their hearts & home to host countless happy couples on their most special day. They have lovingly created a private wedding estate like no other and are honored to share their dream with so many beautiful couples!

{Photo Credit: Mike Miriello}

We were over the moon when we saw that one of our recent couples had been featured in The Washington Post! Jaymie and Anthony’s “vintage vino” themed wedding stole our hearts from the moment they started planning their reception. Take a look at the article to get a glimpse of Jaymie and Anthony’s love story, not only with each other, but with their number one beverage of choice.

Our team at Historic Mankin Mansion wish this lovely couple a lifetime of love, happiness, and…. great wine!

See you soon,
Paula & Martin Ramirez

Martin and Paula Ramirez are the proprietors of Historic Mankin Mansion Wedding Resort. They enjoy opening their hearts & home to host countless happy couples on their most special day. They have lovingly created a private wedding estate like no other and are honored to share their dream with so many beautiful couples!

Tiffany and Lander were such a lovely couple to host at the Mansion! The beautiful yellow hues of the floral arrangements brought a sunny vibe to their wedding and looked fabulous with complementing grey tones. The honey pot favors were a crowd favorite – they caused quite a buzz at the reception! These two are truly a match made in heaven and we can’t wait to share these photos with you.

And if you happen to come upon the latest issue of Richmond Bride Magazine, make sure you check out their two-page feature. Our deepest gratitude to Bob Schnell Photography for these beautiful images!

See you soon,
Paula & Martin Ramirez

Martin and Paula Ramirez are the proprietors of Historic Mankin Mansion Wedding Resort. They enjoy opening their hearts & home to host countless happy couples on their most special day. They have lovingly created a private wedding estate like no other and are honored to share their dream with so many beautiful couples!

We wanted to take a moment to share the great news that Historic Mankin Mansion has once again been selected by Virginia Living Magazine as one of the top Wedding Vendors of 2015!

A special congratulations to our fellow wedding professionals who were also included in this honor.

We’d also like to extend our thanks not only to Virginia Living, but to our friends, colleagues and brides who support us every day. We sincerely could not do it without you.

See you soon,
~Paula & Martin Ramirez

Martin and Paula Ramirez are the proprietors of Historic Mankin Mansion Wedding Resort. They enjoy opening their hearts & home to host countless happy couples on their most special day. They have lovingly created a private wedding estate like no other and are honored to share their dream with so many beautiful couples!

We are green with envy at how beautiful Rachel and Phillip’s wedding turned out! Their green and grey palette worked wonders and their day was absolutely magical. Between the precious cake toppers and the fun doughnut truck, we don’t even have the words to describe how lovely the day was! Rachel and Phillip were lovely to work with and we are so excited to share some photos with you!

A special thank you to Photography by Nicole Johnson for these fabulous pictures!

See you soon,
Paula & Martin Ramirez

Martin and Paula Ramirez are the proprietors of Historic Mankin Mansion Wedding Resort. They enjoy opening their hearts & home to host countless happy couples on their most special day. They have lovingly created a private wedding estate like no other and are honored to share their dream with so many beautiful couples!

You may remember the wedding we featured a little while ago with a surprise flash mob to the tune of “Happy” by Pharrell Williams. Rodney the Ram also showed up to surprise these two VCU alumni! We just adore the contrast between the navy bridesmaids’ dresses and the pop of color from the bouquets. Here’s a closer look at that unforgettable night!

Our thanks to J&D Photography for sharing!

See you soon,
Paula & Martin Ramirez

Martin and Paula Ramirez are the proprietors of Historic Mankin Mansion Wedding Resort. They enjoy opening their hearts & home to host countless happy couples on their most special day. They have lovingly created a private wedding estate like no other and are honored to share their dream with so many beautiful couples!

We are delighted to announce that Historic Mankin Mansion has again been awarded top honors in the Aisle A-List awards presented by Richmond Magazine!

The Mansion has been named the Best Historic Wedding Site, Best One-stop Wedding Weekend Location, Best Reception location for Large Weddings, and Best Under-the-radar Reception Site, as well as honored as one of the Best and most Beautiful Ceremony sites, Wedding DJ’s, Outdoor Wedding Sites, Welcome Reception Locations, Rehearsal Dinner Locations, Reception location for Small Weddings, and Under-the-radar Ceremony Sites!

As always, The Mansion couldn’t do it without the tremendous support of our clients, friends and colleagues. Our sincerest thanks to each and every one of you as well as congrats to all of our fellow winners!

See You Soon,

~Paula & Martin Ramirez

 Martin and Paula Ramirez are the proprietors of Historic Mankin Mansion Wedding Resort. They enjoy opening their hearts & home to host countless happy couples on their most special day. They have lovingly created a private wedding estate like no other and are honored to share their dream with so many beautiful couples!

We are so thrilled to share our feature on The Lovely Find! We absolutely adored working with Jordy and Sarah and their wedding was definitely one to remember! From the fabulous bejeweled bouquet to the delicate butterflies throughout, their wedding was a showcase for style and class. A sincere thank you to The Lovely Find for the feature as well as Stephanie Yonce Photography for sharing her gorgeous images!

See you soon,
Paula & Martin Ramirez

Paula and Martin Ramirez are the proprietors of Historic Mankin Mansion, a wedding resort just minutes from Downtown Richmond. They enjoy new restaurant finds, Virginia wines and discovering fun events and activities throughout the area for their guests.

We can’t get over how elegant Abigail and Eric’s natural-themed wedding was! With a beautiful couple on a gorgeous day, this wedding was a recipe for class and style. Oh, and did we mention that we are in love with Abby’s stunning dress? We know you’ll love these pictures as much as we do!

Many thanks to Ana-Mation Photography for sharing Abby and Eric’s wedding with us today!

See you soon,
Paula & Martin Ramirez

Martin and Paula Ramirez are the proprietors of Historic Mankin Mansion Wedding Resort. They enjoy opening their hearts & home to host countless happy couples on their most special day. They have lovingly created a private wedding estate like no other and are honored to share their dream with so many beautiful couples!