There are many historical wedding venues in this part of the country, but Belmont Country Club, the site of Ben and Natasha’s June wedding, has a serious pedigree.
The Manor House on the property was built in 1799 by Ludwell Lee, son of Richard Henry Lee—a signer of the Declaration of Independence and aide de camp of General Lafayette during the American Revolution. How’s that for an origin story?
After Lee’s death in 1836, the house was purchased by Miss Margaret Mercer. She was the daughter of a former Maryland governor, and she transformed the large manor into a school for girls. The property changed hands several times over the next decades, and was purchased in 1915 by the McLean family. Mrs. McLean was one of the owners of the infamous Hope Diamond! (Other owners of that particular jewel include King Louis XIV of France and Harry Winston. It’s now in the Smithsonian.)
In the 20th century, the house and property were owned by Herbert Hoover’s Secretary of War, IBM, and the Toll Brothers, before finally becoming the Belmont Country Club in 2001. The site includes the original red brick Manor House, as well as a modern Clubhouse next door. Perched on the highest point of the surrounding acreage, this spot has lovely views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
This stunning venue and the day’s events were documented in fine art style by expert photographer Tigran Markaryan at Calypso Digital Weddings. Tigran and his team are pros at telling a story through photography.
Virginia wedding DJ Steve Hartka loved the song choices for this wedding! To start, the wedding party and the bride made their entrance to Umi No Mieru Machi by Joe Hisaishi. It’s an upbeat and hopeful instrumental song from the animated Studio Ghibli film Kiki’s Delivery Service. The lovely couple held their wedding ceremony on a pretty patch of round lawn in front of a solitary tree. And after their vows were said, they got a little funky with Kiss by Prince.
The 120 guests then made their way inside, to the Grand Ballroom inside the Manor House. The wedding party and the happy couple all made their entrances to phenomenal electronic dance song Genesis by Justice. For their first dance, Ben and Natasha chose indie track Arizona by Frances Cone. And then Natasha and her father danced to Broken Arrow by Rod Stewart. All-in-all, these were some unique song choices that were a blast to play!
During the reception, the guests snapped tons of photos with a photo booth (provided by Maryland’s DJ, of course). And after the reception, the entire crowd moved over to Bar Louie at One Loudoun for an afterparty. One celebration just wasn’t enough for this crowd!
It was a treat to help Ben and Natasha celebrate, especially in such a beautiful historic venue. Whether you’re getting married at a 200+ year old manor or a brand new industrial warehouse space, we’re into it. Contact us to check our availability and lock down your date for your 2023 wedding!
All photos by Calypso Digital Photography
Published on:
Monday, September 5, 2022
