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According to a recent survey, May is the 3rd most popular month to have a wedding, claiming the dates of nearly 10% of wedding ceremonies. Though June and August are more popular overall, these two summer months are some of the hottest in the year. With the Virginia humidity, those getting married outside often prefer to tie the knot in the more mild weather of the spring or fall, making May the peak of our wedding season.
The Museum’s Enchanted Garden is a popular wedding spot among Richmond locals, but Virginians aren’t the only ones who comprise the Garden’s wedding demographic. Couples will travel from other states throughout the country just to get married at the Poe Museum. Sometimes couples will even journey from other countries for the experience, making it something of a pilgrimage wedding destination. On May 10th, 2011, Canadian couple Ali Nikolic and Aaron Thompson were married in the Enchanted Garden of the Poe Museum. The Lumsden, Saskatchewan residents trekked across nearly 2000 miles of both Canada and America before arriving in Richmond, VA. With only prior email correspondence, I met the couple in person Monday May 9th, the day before their wedding. It was immediately apparent that Ali was a huge Poe fan; it wasn’t so much the portrait tattoo of the writer on her arm that gave her away as it was her obvious excitement to be at the Poe Museum.
The wedding itself was an intimate affair, with around a dozen people in attendance. Some came from as close as Virginia Beach; others fresh off the planes from Canada. All the men wore turquoise ties with the image of a gold raven. The day was sunny with a pleasant warmth not in the least bit stifling. Everyone was in the best of spirits, and I don’t think the weather should take too much credit for this. Ali and Aaron had even expressed that they wouldn’t have minded being wed under an overcast sky during a spring rain, which were the weather conditions that had been predicted earlier in the week. The couple said such a thing would be suitable atmosphere for Poe. But the rain never came, and the ceremony went on. Sitting the desk of the gift shop of the Old Stone House, I heard the sounds of the joyful applause of this small yet exuberant gathering of people, and looked out the window just in time to see Ali and Aaron pulling away from that consummating kiss. Shortly after the ceremony, before the couple left for the reception, I asked to take a picture of the two of them at the shrine; and here they are, Ali and Aaron, husband and wife.
Interested in the Poe Museum’s Enchanted Garden as a potential venue for your wedding? We allow rentals of the Garden year round! Email me at [email protected] for more information.
-Jamie