June 2, 2019 • Sinkland Farms, Christiansburg
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Photos by Chelsa Yoder Photography
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Despite growing up in the same small southwest Virginia county, Vanessa Quesenberry and Blake Conner didn’t actually meet until her sister Tamra’s wedding weekend in 2016. “We knew of each other, but we hadn’t actually met until the rehearsal dinner,” says Vanessa. Blake, who works on his family’s tree farm in Floyd County, is also a musician who sings and plays guitar locally; a friend of Tamra and her fiancé Jonathon, he was singing at their wedding. Vanessa remembers being “very impressed” with his musical talent. A month later, when the two met again at Tamra and Jonathon’s house, she and Blake talked for hours. “He asked for my number, and the next week we went on our first date,” says Vanessa. “The rest, as they say, is history.”
Blake’s musical talent also came in handy for his marriage proposal in July 2018. Vanessa, who works in the advancement department at Radford University, had just learned that she was being promoted. Blake invited her over for a celebration cookout at his house that evening. “When I pulled into the driveway at his house, I saw him sitting on the picnic table in the backyard with his guitar. He asked me to come and sit beside him, and he played some songs. I knew my day was about to get a lot better. When he played Cody Johnson’s song, ‘Diamond in My Pocket,’ he knew that I knew. He got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife,” recalls Vanessa.
The couple, who both grew up on farms, chose Sinkland Farms for their wedding and reception because of the venue’s outdoor ceremony space and renovated dairy barn. “We loved that it is home to lots of farm animals like ducks and chickens that can often be seen wandering around the barnyard,” says Vanessa.
Her “rustic elegance” vision for the wedding was played out with natural décor, including large floral arrangements of dusty blue, white, and peach blossoms offset by greenery. Music was also central. At their reception, Blake performed James Taylor’s “You’ve Got a Friend” for Vanessa’s dance with her father. During the ceremony, Blake played the guitar and sang Wendell Kimbrough’s “We Will Say In That Day,” one of the couple’s favorite hymns to sing at church. “The song is all about giving thanks to the Lord, which was great because that is also what we want to do,” Vanessa explains.
Details
Photographer: Chelsa Yoder Photography, Floyd, ChelsaYoderPhotography.blogspot.com | Videographer: Cambo Films, Roanoke, Facebook.com/CamboFilms | Planner & Floral Design: Susan Sink, Sinkland Farms, Christiansburg, SinklandFarms.com | Gown: Martin Thornburg, MartinThornburg.com | Caterer: Squealer’s Authentic BBQ, Galax, Facebook.com/SquealersAuthenticBBQ | Cake: The Galax Cakery, Galax, Facebook.com/TheGalaxCakery | Lighting: Sinkland Farms, Christiansburg, SinklandFarms.com
This article originally appeared in our February 2020 issue.
