Picnic RVA

A love for picnics and being outdoors has led to the creation of Richmond’s first luxury picnic and charcuterie business. Picnic RVA, started by Polina Bukina, brings fabulous experiences for all events and specializes in outdoor picnics, charcuterie, and grazing tables. After seeing similar businesses pop up on the west coast, Bukina decided to try her hand at it on the east coast and launched the business last summer.

Since the pandemic has led to people valuing intimate and outdoor celebrations, Bukina has been able to take advantage of this by making social distance friendly celebrations a reality and she said there has not been a negative effect on her business.

Keep reading to find out about Bukina’s future plans for Picnic RVA, witnessing marriage proposals and more.

1. How did you get involved with charcuterie? Do you arrange them via theme?

Being a foodie is definitely one of my personality traits and my husband and I love to travel abroad, so I have had my fair share of excellent charcuterie. Aesthetic is important to me so food styling has been a fun part of the job. We love to theme to holidays or special events and try to go the extra mile to accommodate any requests. 

2. What has been your favorite picnic? Most challenging? How do you handle a difficult customer/event?

I absolutely adore every picnic we set up! Something about being treated to a fancy picnic without actually having to do the work to bring anything to the park and set it up or clean up is like a dream. My favorite is when a vision comes together, especially for our large bookings, which also prove to be the more challenging ones. We like to plan WAY ahead and coordinate with all of our vendors to make it a reality. There is nothing better than getting great feedback and coming back to a fully devoured cheese board and happy guests. 

3. What are your goals/future plans for the business?

We will see! I hope to keep making little adjustments here and there to improve and my hope is to get more into the wedding scene and into large scale events with grazing tables. 

4. What advice do you have for those hoping to start a luxury picnic business?

Ask for advice and start small! Building inventory takes a while so don’t compare yourself to others who started before you and keep making your business as unique as you can by truly being yourself and bringing your own flair to the game.  

5. What has been the response so far?

Unimaginably supportive. Even the Richmond charcuterie community is so incredibly encouraging. My clients are truly one of a kind.

6. What other locations do you plan to add?

We have a good mix of locations between nature at Maymont, cityscape at Browns Island, and winery/country at Jolene Winery. Of course we always allow private home picnics. It would be great to add something very secluded like on a private property for people who want to enjoy a picnic without being around others. 

7. Have you witnessed many marriage proposals during the picnics? What other memorable moments have you witnessed?

So many proposals! I am in awe at how many people want to celebrate that special moment with us and we definitely try to stick around to cheer you on. We even had a couple get married on the hill above where we were setting up that then walked down to enjoy the picnic as their first married date in their dress and tux! 

8. How do you feel about providing this service for people and being a part of special memories?

It is truly a blessing to be someone that people turn to to help them make their special moments that much more memorable. I am a sucker for celebrations, so I value each and every booking, even those that book for no particular reason at all. Why not celebrate the little moments in the biggest way?

9. Anything else you want the public to know about Picnic RVA?

We can really do anything you can imagine. Every booking can be customized completely. Don’t hesitate to reach out with any inquiries and we will do our best to make them a reality! 

To book a picnic or order a to-go charcuterie box, check out Picnic RVA’s official website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.