If Virginia is for Lovers, we must be lovers…because we’ve spent more time in the last 12 months in Virginia than any other state. We’ve been back to shoot for some old friends and have also discovered some fantastic new inns. We will cover this “Virginian Odyssey” in a number of separate blog posts; there is just too much to flesh out in one post. Today we’d like to do a little show-and-tell about the remarkable Inn at Warner Hall.
The Inn at Warner Hall in the Tidewater region near Williamsburg is a stunner–one of the most beautifully-renovated historic properties we’ve photographed in our 8 years in this business. The quality is evident at every turn. Every guest room is elegant, spacious, beautifully decorated and (lucky for us photographers) there are windows everywhere. Innkeepers Theresa and Troy Stavens transformed this property into an inn and supervised its epic and immaculate renovation. There is a tiny bit of history here: it was the home of George Washington’s grandparents (GW learned to waltz in the grand parlor) and the property has close connections to Queen Elizabeth II (who has been here), Robert E Lee and Captain Meriwether Lewis. Read a little more about the history here. Situated at the end of a long and dramatic driveway, the property has views of and frontage on the Severn River. Our challenge was to capture the grandness of the property, the views from both inside and out, and add a sense of “approachability”, i.e . mood and romance, through propping, styling and the use of models.
Here a few highlights:
The wonderful long entry to The Inn at Warner Hall
The beautiful parlor where George Washington learned to waltz as a teenager
The Elizabeth guest room has a great view of the river
The non-water views are also great, like this view from the Meriwether Room
The boat house is a popular place to watch the sunset
The Inn at Warner Hall offers a “dinner basket” that you can enjoy anywhere on the extensive grounds. This couple took it down to the boathouse.
The second floor porch is a great place to chill
An adorable couple breaking after a ride through the Gloucester County back roads around the inn
If you are a member of the press and want to see or use any of the 180 high resolution images from this shoot, just email us for the password to the Jumping Rocks Media Bank page for Inn at Warner Hall.