We wanted to take a moment from our Best of 2012 series to share the great news that Historic Mankin Mansion has been selected by Virginia Living Magazine as one of the top Wedding Vendors of 2013!
You can find us in the latest issue under the Central Virginia category of “Venues: Weekend Destinations.” A special congratulations to our fellow wedding professionals who were also included in this honor.

We’d also like to extend our thanks to not only 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

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 are kicking of the New Year with our Best of 2012 series Marisse and Jeff’s is our first wedding and we are excited to share it with you!

The color palette with lavender, white and touches of black fit perfectly along with the April wedding. Check out all of the lovely details below!

So do you just adore this wedding and want their wedding to win? Simply comment on this blog post and let us know why you love this wedding so much. If you’d like to score an extra point for the couple, visit our Facebook page and comment under the Facebook post in which we share this fabulous feature.  The top three finalists will get one more feature and then the one with the most votes will win a $250 gift certificate to Zeus Gallery while our second place winner will receive a $100 gift certificate to Zeus Gallery.

Thank you to Daniel Min Photography for sharing these lovely photos will us.

~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.

It’s that time of year again we are ready to take a look back on all of our weddings over the past year with our 3rd Annual Best of Weddings Series and we need your help!

That’s right, if you’re a 2012 Historic Mankin Mansion Bride or the wedding photographer who shot the wedding, we’d love to showcase your wedding loveliness!

Each wedding will be featured right here on our blog early next year and the top three posts with the most blog and Facebook comments will be selected as finalists.  Each finalist will then receive one more feature and the one with the most Facebook and blog comments by the deadline will be declared the winner!

This year, we are taking it up a notch by having amazing prizes for the wedding that is decided to be the best. The winner will receive a $250 gift certificate to Zeus Gallery while our second place winner will receive a $100 gift certificate to Zeus Gallery.

We are looking for brides, grooms or photographers to send us photos and details from their weddings to feature in the contest. Here is what we need from you:

• 15-20 of your favorite wedding photos. Please note that images must be web ready (no more than 10 MB total) and can include watermarks. Please send the images via zip file on email  (or) send as a folder with your last name on it, via Dropbox.com.
• The Photographer’s name and web site so we may properly credit.
• Permission from your Photographer to showcase the images.
• A paragraph or two (up to 250 words) about your Big Day. Tell us about your favorite details and memories-or anything else you’d like to share about your wedding day.

Submission will be taken now through Friday, December 28 and should be sent to director@historicmankinmansion.com.

We look forward to featuring your wedding!

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 are ecstatic to chat a bit today about our recent features in The Lovely Find and Gig Masters!

On The Lovely Find Kristy shared her advice for future brides along with a few gorgeous photos by PW Photography that showcase the green and pink color palette. Check out the full blog HERE!

Gig Masters featured Holly and Phillip’s chic vintage style wedding! The tables were filled with mix matched teapots and cups filled with roses and yummy mini cakes in light pink and baby blue. See the full blog post HERE for all of the lovely details! And yes, Holly is the very same bride who recently won Virginia Living’s Most Beautiful Bride Contest!

We would like to say a big thank you to The Lovely Find and Gig Masters for the wonderful opportunity! As well as thank you to PW Photography and Twilight Images respectively for capturing these beautiful photos.

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.

Amberly and Erick had a fun movie themed wedding that was definitely a blockbuster. The color palette of grey and red really popped with the grey bridesmaid dresses and fun ruffled red shoes!

Their fun theme was carried throughout the event, and we particularly loved their favors: popcorn in traditional theater style containers!

Check out all of the beautiful images below captured by Jason Collins Photography.

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.

The first dance for a couple has to be one of our favorite moments when sharing the day with our brides and grooms- you can just feel the love in the air! We enjoy hearing all of the wonderful song choices that the couples make and believe us when we say that we have heard close to them all! Today, we thought it would be fun to share some unique favorites that will no doubt catch your guests by surprise.

We love Etta James’ song “At Last” just as much as the next person so we found something from the 60’s with a blues vibe that your guests will love! Sam Cooke’s song “That’s Where It’s At” is a love song that will make your heart melt.

“Lovesong” by The Cure has been covered by quite a few artists in the past but our favorite rendition has to be Adele’s. Her “Lovesong” has a magical and romantic feel that will certainly set the tone for the evening.

Joshua Radin and Ingrid Michaelson have a lovely song called “Lovely Tonight” that is the perfect indie tune to dance the night away to. This is sure to be a song that most of your guests have not heard before, but will become a favorite!

John Legend has the perfect 21^st century soulful sound that is ideal for a wedding. His song “So High” wins our vote for most swoon worthy song.

And last, but certainly not least, we’d like to give a nod to Virginia with Dave Matthews Band’s song “You & Me.” The song starts out slowly and then picks up a bit near the end, which is perfect if you’d like to invite your guests to join in!

What first dance songs are you considering for you big day? Feel free to share in the comments!

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.

Photo Credit: dmfoto

Wedding color combinations are endless and brides are finding inspiration everywhere and anywhere!  Now that we’ve shared some of our favorite patterns for the season, we thought it was high time we showed you what color combos are catching our eyes this season as well.

Pantone is the authority on the color of the year and typically, the colors they select trend quickly! They have recently announced their predictions with the Fashion Color Report for Spring 2013 so if you’re looking to stay ahead of the wedding planning curve, we suggest you check it out.  With ten colors featured, there are endless combinations and there is sure to be a little something for everyone. We are particular fond of Poppy Red, Nectarine, Lemon Zest and Linen. These would be perfect for an outdoor spring affair!

Photo Credit: Pantone

Neon has been all the rage in fashion and we are dying to see it come into weddings! We love it so much in fact that we created our own color palette for it. The chartreuse and hot pink would be perfect accents on neutral background of stark white and a metallic grey. This is perfection for a summer wedding!

With fall in full swing, we have also been eyeing autumn weddings, and quite frankly, we are in love! But what we love even more is a color palette that surprises us for the season. The mustard yellow and rich brown are a little expected for fall but with the touch of aquamarine, it is an exciting change! Accented with the grey and nude, it will tie everything together.

Photo Credit: The Perfect Palette Pinterest

What color palettes are catching your interest these days? Feel free to share in the comments!

See you soon,

~Paula & Martin Ramirez

Paula and Martin Ramirez are the proprietors of Historic Mankin Mansion, 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.

Bridal Market might be one of the most exciting times for everyone in the wedding business. Imagine tons of ruffles, tulle, sparkle and seeing all the trends before they hit the stores! We knew we had you at ruffles! It took us awhile to narrow down our favorites to just a few given the many amazing designers and swoon worthy gowns!

One trend that is sweeping the runways is color from pink (a la Jessica Timberlake), crimson and shades of grey. This Watters gown with a beautiful mermaid silhouette and sweet heart neckline is a trendy take on a classic style. Oh, did we mention the wedding veil decked out with floating rhinestones?

Photo Via: Project Wedding Blog

Elaborate backs to gowns are also a big hit and are beautiful for guests to admire while you say your vows. This ReemAcra is donned with crystals placed on a light tulle fabric to give the illusion that they have been placed on your skin. With the mermaid silhouette and bright white adornments it is the perfect gown for a winter wedding.

Photo Via: Brides.com

Full sleeves were all the rage in the past season and we can thank the lovely Kate Middleton for that. This season, you can achieve the same look with the more modern feel of a cap sleeve. Amsale got the look just right with this fitted gown in lace with a tulle train, which has a modern but timeless feel.

Photo Via: Belle Magazine

Vera Wang brought back the two R’s (ruffles and romance!) and we couldn’t be more in love!  The fitted top, ruffled bottom and cream color is perfection but we didn’t expect anything less from Mrs. Vera Wang.

Photo Via: Vera Wang Blog

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.

Patterns are always popular for weddings. During the past several years, we have seen stripes give a nautical vibe and polka dots used for a classic look.  Chevron seems to be taking center stage these days, adding a little bit of whimsy. We have been scouring Pinterest and have found a few that have caught our eye that we thought we would share with you!

Trefoil

This pattern is both classic and chic and with the endless color combinations, it is a perfect addition to any wedding. The print comes in a variety of sizes and styles and we think it just might be the next big thing!

Herringbone

Herringbone is similar to chevron with a little bit more of sophistication. Herringbone is all over the home décor scene, which means it is just a matter of time before it makes it into the wedding world.

Fret

Fret can be a multitude of different prints but we were fond of this knotted diamond version. It is the perfect print that can blend in and stand out depending on how and where you use it. We suggest donning your invites and save the dates with it!

Ikat/Tribal

The ikat or tribal print is perfect for an outdoorsy couple having a fun fete. With multiple color combinations and geometric shapes making up the print, it is a whimsical addition to table décor or paper goods!

Camellia Floral

We are kind of obsessed with this camellia floral print! It gives us all sorts of inspiration for a late spring or summer wedding. Even the colors are perfection! This floral would look gorgeous for chair sashes and even on some fun monogrammed koozies as favors!

So what patterns are catching your eye this season? Feel free to let share in the comments!

See you soon,

~Paula & Martin Ramirez

Paula and Martin Ramirez are the proprietors of Historic Mankin Mansion, a wedding resort and bed and breakfast 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 are feeling really lucky here at the Mansion these days and our brides are too!

Last week we announced that one of our very own Historic Mankin Mansion couple Sara and David won Richmond Wedding’s Best Proposal Story! This week we are happy to announce that Holly won The Most Beautiful Bride Contest by Virginia Living!

Holly and Phillip got married at the Mansion earlier this year and we loved sharing in their wedding day.

A big thank you to everyone who participated voting for all of our Mansion brides as well as to our friends at Twilight Images for sharing this lovely image with us!

And of course- congratulations Holly!

See you soon,

~Paula & Martin Ramirez

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