Tied in a Bow November 2014 | Page 29

but I felt an emotional connection and a sense of belonging that made me excited about being their wedding photographer!

As we walked around the house, Elizabeth’s mom Teresa would say, “Oh, we need to change that wall paper”, or “We really need to paint that,” or “We need to get that old thing out of here.” But, I kept saying “Oh no, its perfect, please don’t change anything!”

Her husband, Tom, and their son, Ben, now joke that I have saved them a lot of work! Ha!

To me the setting is so perfect because every corner of the house provides a warm emotional connection to a time and way of life that in this hectic world we all secretly long for. From the browned faded love letter, to the dial up phone and the water stained floral wallpaper, it is just too timeless and magical to ‘mess’ with.

The Wassums named their venue ‘The Virginia House on Reed Creek Farm’ as a tribute to Tom’s great Aunt and the life he still recalls. The house was built in 1810 and the land was entrusted by the King of England as the Reed Creek Farm in 1783. Tom’s childhood home is located on the same property and he smiles as he tells about living close to the land and working with the various animals that once graced the landscape. Although the farm no longer has any animals

other than the many deer which cross the creek every evening and wander into their yard down the road, there is still a field of hay, which keeps the land ‘grandfathered’ as a farm.

I asked Teresa Wassum what led her to offer their farm as a wedding venue and here is what she said:

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