OVER THE MOON
Social Circuit Notable weddings, a garden party at Oatlands and the Warrenton Hunt Ball keep social calendars filled in Hunt Country BY VICKY MOON
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n Virginia, the lineage of your ancestors, horses and even your home is everything. The recent wedding of Eleanor Maidson Macon Porter and Cameron Dulany Morison oozed deep family roots on both sides. Porter, the daughter of Delane and John Ridgley Porter III of “Oakley” in Orange, is a descendant of President James Madison. Morison, the son of Lucy Lancaster Reed Morison of The Plains and George Harris Morison of Aldie, has lineage to Richard “King” Carter, one of the wealthiest landowners in colonial Virginia, and the local legendary Col. Richard Henry Dulany, founder of the Upperville Horse Show. The wedding was held at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Upperville with the reception at the Morison family home, “Stoke,” in Aldie. In other wedding news, equestrian Paige Johnson, the daughter of Black Entertainment Television co-founders Sheila Johnson of Middleburg and Robert Johnson of Washington and Charlotte, married Dudley Payne III, an insurance broker and competitive amateur golfer from Warrenton. The destination wedding was held at the Ocean Club in the Bahamas during a four-day celebration. Guests included Paige’s friends from the horse show world: Georgina Bloomberg, Clara Lindner Belden and Bianne Goutal (who were all in the wedding party). Following the beachside ceremony and tented dinner there was music and dancing in another tent by the gardens.With music by Ne-Yo and DJ Cassidy,“It was all about the dancing,” said one guest. The spring and summer garden party circuit is in full swing, beginning with the Oatlands Gala in honor of Mimi Abel-Smith, a board member for many years.The 360-acre plantation/National Trust Property has a fine pedigree with an 1804 Greek revival mansion established by George Carter and was later the home of Edith and William Corcoran Eustis.
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Patricia McNeal, Oatlands Executive Director Andrea McGimsey, Mimi Abel-Smith, Barbara Sharp and Michael J. O’Connor pose with a hand-painted floor cloth designed by Sharp that was given to Oatlands by Mrs. Abel-Smith. (Photo Courtesy of Joey Darley, Scene2bseen.com)
A silent auction and cocktails kicked off the magical night, as Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, chatted with “Oatlands” board chairman Michael O’Connor and his wife Dawn O’Connor along with Chris Miller, president of the Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC). Add to this mix David and Cary Williams. David is on the board of PEC, Oatlands and Journey Through Hallowed Ground, and is a partner at the law firm of Cadwalader,Wickersham and Taft. Across the tent were Cate Magennis Wyatt president of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership; Kathleen Hughes, director of development programs at the Waterford Foundation; her husband/writer Neil Hughes; and garden guru Dana Westring. Bill and Liz Wolf had a grand time chatting with Aneesh Chopra, former technology whiz for President Barack Obama and now a candidate for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor of Virginia. And then there was Sanju K. Bansal, cofounder of MicroStrategy; Gene Gulland a partner at Covington and Burling; and Washington, D.C. attorneys Jonathan and Vickie Groves. Party favors included candies monogrammed with Mimi Abel-Smith and Oatlands.
Over in Warrenton, designer Barry Dixon and Will Thomas hosted the 125th Warrenton Hunt Ball. A parade of classic Virginia names — Maloney,Tufts, Reynolds and Montgomery — put in an appearance at Dixon’s historic “Elway Hall” for cocktails, dancing and breakfast at midnight. The 20,000-square-foot mansion (boasting 10 bedrooms and 17 fireplaces) comes with a pedigree as well. It was built by then-West Virginia Sen. Johnson Camden in 1907 for his daughter, Annie Camden, and her husband, Gen. Baldwin Spilman, and was purchased by Dixon in 1991. Renovation and redecorating is ongoing as Dixon frequently opens his home for charitable causes. And speaking of historic homes, consider the circa 1860 “Old Denton” on 58 acres in the center of the Orange County Hunt territory, which has served as home to generations of the fox hunting Young family. The main house was recently renovated, along with a three-bedroom guesthouse. A 10-stall courtyard stable will serve as a fine home for horses along with eight fields, run in sheds and a new ring. There is also a duplex tenant facility. The property is listed by Jim Thompson of Washington Fine Properties in Middleburg for $11 million.
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