Latest news with #CommonHouse
Axios
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Axios
Pride, music and art pack Richmond's weekend
The weekend is almost here. Check out what's happening in town. Thursday 🤘 Innsbrook After Hours is back, baby — only now as After Hours Innsbrook with a Tribute Thursdays series. This week, it's Face 2 Face, a tribute to Elton John and Billy Joel. 6pm. Tickets start at $27.60. Friday 🪩 Common House is throwing a Pride Prom in celebration of Pride Month. 8-11pm. Free for members, $20 for nonmembers. 🖼️ It's the First Friday in June, so walk on over to the Arts District for First Fridays Art Walk. 5-11pm. Free. 🏰 Take The Valentine's History of Scott's Addition Walking Tour, which apparently has "perhaps Richmond's best selection of Art Deco and Moderne commercial architecture." 3-4:30pm. $20 for nonmembers. Saturday 📚 There's a Pride Book Fair over at Shelf Life Books in Carytown. 6-8pm and again on Sunday, 5-7pm. Free. ⚱️ RVA Clay Tour has some self-guided tours of local studios and their work. 10am-5pm, and Sunday, noon-4pm. Free. 💅 Richmond Makers Market is popping off at Basic City Beer Co. in Manchester with a all local queer makers and vendors, plus a drag show and "Queereoke." Noon-6pm. Free. 🎨 Family Day at VMFA celebrates Art of Africa: Mali with performances and entertainment, plus art activities for kids. 11am-3pm. Free. 🎸 Rocker Rick Springfield takes the stage at Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront for what's now the new grand opening concert. 7pm. Tickets start at $30.
Axios
13-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
A Vegas-style wedding chapel is opening in Richmond
Lucky in Love, a Vegas-style wedding chapel, is opening in Richmond next month. Why it matters: The downtown chapel will offer all-inclusive same-day weddings and elopements, plus planned micro-weddings — all for a fraction of the cost of a traditional wedding. The big picture: Chapel co-owner and licensed wedding officiant Tia Ballard is on a mission to give local couples their perfect day, regardless of their budget, she tells Axios. As a former teacher, Ballard saw firsthand how important strong families were for student success, so she decided to get ordained so she could help create them. "I wanted to build stronger communities this way — by marrying people," she tells Axios. That was four years ago. Since then, she's married more than 500 couples and now does it full time. Elopements are her specialty, but she's done " quickies at Common House," microweddings at local breweries and knot-tying in the woods. Now, with Lucky in Love, she'll "have a home base" and an opportunity to give even more local couples a stress-free, budget-conscious wedding. State of play: The team — Ballard and co-owners Savannah Manzie, a cosmetic artist, and Kasie Murphy, a wedding planner — is in the process of decking out the chapel at 402 E. Grace St. in red and pink with a vintage flair (think velvet curtains and crystal chandeliers). Lucky in Love will only handle the ceremony portion. For any festivities involving food and beverages, they recommend walking a few doors down to Wong Gonzalez, Lillie Pearl, Julep's or Rappahannock. Ballard says she wants to complement the existing businesses, not compete with them. The chapel has space for around 20 guests, plus the happy couple, who just need to get their marriage license from the courthouse in advance. Lucky in Love will handle the rest. Zoom in: Couples can choose from three packages: The "Virginia is for Elopers," which gets you "in and out" and legally married in 30 minutes. The second tier, "Picture Perfect Couple," includes an hour in the chapel and a photographer, with optional flower add-ons from partners Yarrow or Vogue. And "The Jackpot" package includes everything, plus a cake from Pearl Bake Shopee and a sparkling cider toast. By the numbers: Lucky in Love packages start at around $550 for the elopement and top out at $2,500. That's far less than the average cost of a wedding in the U.S. this year, which, according to The Knot, is around $33,000, Axios' Sami Sparber reports — and couples are bracing for pricier weddings following President Trump's tariffs. What they're saying: "People are caring less about tradition. [Couples today] are prioritizing home ownership over big weddings," Ballard tells Axios. What's next: Lucky in Love will open on Friday, June 13.
