Sharing the Exclusive Use Capon Wedding Experience

Today we welcome our first “guest” blogger... Leah Rudolph!  Although Leah and her family have been coming to Capon for many years, last weekend was a very special visit for them.  Leah shares her experiences from this visit when her daughter and (now!) son-in-law were married at Capon during an exclusive use weekend...

The Campbell-Rudolph clans thank everyone at Capon Springs and Farms for the extraordinary weekend May 29-June 1, as we celebrated the marriage of Julia Kay Rudolph and Ryan Patrick Campbell! The funny thing is, it's always extraordinary there. As Capon guests for over 30 years, the only surprises were good ones!

For example, we were surprised at the flexibility in meal planning when you have an exclusive use only weekend. We were able to have both 'chicken on the hill' AND 'steak on the hill' along with a delicious vegetarian lasagna for the reception dinner, pleasing all of our guests palates. The reception was the only meal we assigned seating. For all of the other meals we chose open seating, which encouraged all of our guests to mingle and get to know one another. Old friendships were restored and new ones ignited during the other delicious breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.

The Sunset Lodge decorated
for the reception!

A destination wedding at Capon can be very affordable, as well, for all involved. The Campbells and Rudolphs chose to underwrite half of everyone's room rate as meals are included (no one should have to pay for their attendance at a wedding reception!) and even with most people staying two nights, it cost us less than a traditional wedding reception at a country club or other venue. Guests were appreciative of this gesture and in turn were also given a coupon for a discount on a return trip!

One of the most important parts in the planning process at Capon is room assignments. Our guest list was dictated by the number of rooms (110) and types available. Tom graciously provided us with a room chart, we created a spreadsheet, and went to work placing guests where we felt they would be most comfortable well in advance. We are happy to say when it was all said and done over 100 rooms had guests in them! They were pleasantly pleased by the goody bags we provided, that included our thank you gift of a jar of Capon jam or jelly along with shampoo and conditioner that we purchased in bulk ahead of time. 

Staff at Capon were able to point us in the right direction for things such as rentals (we did upgrade chairs in Sunset Lodge), flowers, and were even able to obtain an antique car for the bride to arrive in style in! Finding musicians for the ceremony (a string quartet found through Gig Salad) and a really fun DJ weren't obstacles; we did choose our own photographer from the Philadelphia area, and provided a room for him.

Capon's own Jonathan has the credentials to officiate at a wedding and had the honors of doing so. The ceremony was held at the Bandstand and we used camp fire benches to seat the 180+ guests. It was so nice to have someone personally connected to our family have this honor and he did a fantastic job. In fact, he was so involved over the weekend, popping up all over the place, people laughed to see him conduct the ceremony! A marriage license for a wedding at Capon must be obtained from Romney but can be done in advance. They kept it in the safe at Capon for us.

And Ginny was our 'rock'. She worked hand-in-hand with the kitchen staff to make sure everything was just right, from the menu preparation, to the Sunset Lodge decorating, to the s'mores and campfire for the rehearsal dinner. She's unflappable and open to any ideas!

Having a destination wedding at Capon Springs was like being there on vacation with 200 of your closest friends and family and everyone was invited to every function, leaving no one feeling left out or unloved. Some comments all weekend were: "I feel like I've been dropped on another planet; such sweet staff - Capon is a little slice of heaven; it was an outstanding affair and was so memorable since it was an entire weekend with everyone - people will talk about it forever; it was just perfect, thanks to the Capon team; fabulous weekend at a fabulous place; we'll definitely come back here with our family; should we all come back next year for their first anniversary?"

We had two additional activities planned for the weekend, besides the usual hiking, ping pong, shuffleboard, and pool dips. Staff ran a delightful treasure hunt for younger children Saturday morning while golfing guests played in the traditional Capon Scramble. Yet others availed themselves of the spa services, and we received many compliments on those. One of our guests even offered an impromptu yoga session and Jonathan snuck in a Capon Spring House tour Saturday after lunch.

Everything at Capon is at your disposal for your event and staff are happy to assist. Do you need a golf cart for a handicapped guest? No problem. Do you need the digital projector for a surprise slideshow? No problem. Do you need a hairdryer or iron? They have them. And, the Capon Store did a brisk business in logo items such as sweatshirts and t-shirts, for those that inevitably didn't realize how cool it gets in the mountains at night.

Probably one of the most telling comments came from the groom's almost 80-year-old grandma, and mother of eight sons. In parting she said to me, "I wish I had known about this place years ago." It is our hope many of our family and friends return another time, with, or without us. 

God bless and thanks again. Hugs all around.

~Leah Rudolph (mother-of-the-bride)