Erica + Matt - A sky high wedding at The Hof in RVA - April

Getting married on a rooftop in RVA is a dream come true. This couple’s sky high wedding gave us a bird’s eye view as they said “I do” at The Hof in downtown Richmond, VA. The night continued to soar even higher as the dance floor exploded into a dance off battle of epic proportions.

The Story

We started dating in high school! We lived down the street from each other and met through our mutual friend group. My best friend growing up was his best friend’s younger sister. Now we have been together over 12 years. Our first date was on August 8, 2006. We got dropped off by our moms and went to see Talladega Nights!

The Proposal

We live very close to the James River in downtown Richmond and are lucky to have a lot of nearby trails. Hiking together has been one of our favorite activities since living near the Blue Ridge Mountains in Charlottesville. We were out for a hike at Belle Isle on my birthday weekend with our dog, Arrow, and Matt asked me. He wanted to ask somewhere we could go back to visit. We used the spot as one of the main locations for our engagement shoot!

The Dress

I bought my dress from Sixpence Bridal in Midlothian, VA. My mom decided to come into town last minute and we had a hard time getting appointments at most of the bridal shops. After several disappointing experiences, Sixpence was the last place we went, and they were so nice! They allowed me to try on dresses no problem. My dress was the first I tried on there and I knew it was the one!

First Look

We had a first look before the wedding, and we would not have changed it! It was nice to have extra time together and it helped to calm our nerves. Seeing each other at the ceremony still felt special – we both cried!

The Paebaek Ceremony

The Paebaek ceremony (which uses rice liquor instead of tea!) was something we decided to include about a month before the wedding. It felt important to include some of Matt’s Korean heritage to really show the melding of our two families. The general idea of the ceremony is to pay respect to the parents by offering them the liquor. They then provide us with marital advice and toss chestnuts and dates for us to catch, which represent future children. Dates are for girls and chestnuts are for boys. Based on the number we caught, we can expect 8 sets of twins!

Favorite Moment

Can we say the whole day?! We both thought the ceremony was meaningful – so many happy tears! The toasts were great and gave us the opportunity to laugh with everyone. We both also had the best time during the reception. It was amazing to party with all the people that mean the most to us. We also loved seeing Linda dancing with Matt’s little brother and enjoying the music as much as we did!

Advice for future couples planning their wedding

Find vendors that you connect with and trust. We leaned on our vendors so much and were glad that they were friendly, supportive, and shared our more laid-back approach. And hire a day-of coordinator – it’s worth it! We would also say to not get too caught-up in the wedding industry vortex. There are a lot of things it feels like you must do, but at the end of the day, just do you. Plan a day filled with things you love and enjoy because that’s what it’s all about!