Janie & Clay – Wedding

Janie & Clay were married at our Lodge venue in September 2019. They chose to utilize Mount Pleasant Manor as a place for preparations for the bridal party. They said their I Do’s at the Mountain Grove ceremony site, complete with one of the most stunning arbors we have ever seen. After the ceremony, the newlyweds along with their family and friends ate, drank, and danced the night away in the Lodge.  We wanted to share a glimpse into how these two hoos met and fell in love, so please enjoy their love story as told by the couple themselves!

Our story begins with Janie and Clay both choosing to attend the University of Virginia. While Janie and Clay didn’t meet until 2nd year, they were both friends with all of the same people. Clay ended up joining the SAE fraternity, which included a number of guys from Richmond – Janie’s hometown. Janie likes to say that Clay was the last guy in his pledge class that she met.

In their 2nd year, they both lived in the Wertland Square apartment building right behind the Corner. Nobody remembers exactly who is responsible for organizing an intramural flag football team that fall, but some combination of Jono McCusty, Nicole Freeman, Lauren Cricchi, and/or Stuart Sumner set it up. It was on that team that Janie and Clay met, and that was where it all began.

While Janie claims it took a while for her to convince Clay to date her, he likes to say it was all part of his plan. Regardless, she ended up convincing him in February of 2012, and they’ve been together ever since. After a number of semesters and then years of dating long distance due to study abroad trips and taking jobs in different cities, Clay finally joined Janie in Charlottesville in the fall of 2017 (hopefully marking the end of being long distance for good!).

Then, on May 4th, 2018 (for all you Star Wars fans out there), with the help of his friend Matson Roberts, Clay got Janie to the Lawn under the pretense of having drinks at Matson’s “Range” room (a room that borders the outside of the Lawn in Charlottesville). From there, Clay and Janie walked across the Lawn to make it to their dinner reservation, and Clay popped the question! Luckily there were a bunch of undergrads taking graduation pictures nearby and one kind girl gave them her bottle of André (read: high-quality) champagne. After taking some pictures and drinking their newly acquired André, Clay and Janie went to get dinner at Michael’s Bistro, where they had their first date, on the Corner.