These weddings would last two or more days, depending on the amount of guests and the family’s income and were held in the home. You can get items on a small budget, and for a colonial wedding they had all kinds of different styles depending on the wealth of the family. It really comes down to what you want because it’s your day!

The Feast

After the wedding ceremony (at the home), a feast would be had. Colonial wedding feasts usually lasted two days because of the amount of guests that would be coming. Huge events like this were sometimes public to the town, and if you had money you may have people coming from other towns. The first day would be with the bride and groom and their closest friends. After the bride and groom had left for their honeymoon, usually on horseback, the rest of the guests would come and celebrate in their honor.

Lots of items that were needed such as chairs, tables, linens, and dishes were borrowed from the neighbors, which you may want to utilize in your wedding. Things don’t have to match, it’s about exploring history!

This celebration wasn’t so much about the looks and decor but about the food and getting people together to  congratulate the newly weds. When it did came to the food, you’d be looking at a  real feast! A display of a wide variety of food would be set out including duck, potatoes, oysters, roasted pig, rye bread, (and there was MUCH more) and a jug of spiced hard cider was passed around. After everyone had stuffed themselves with their choice of these food items, they would enjoy a dessert of Indian pudding and coffee.

Once the eating was over, the socializing began. There would be alcohol set out, and a bowl carved out of a boulder set outside the front door filled with cider for those who wished to step out for some fresh air. The guests would socialize for much of the night. As these people grew tired, they would set off to sleep the rest of their night away and the home would then be set up for the next rotation of somewhat second-rated guests to feast and celebrate. This is also after the married couple had rode away, as well.

The Colonial Wedding (Aka. “Rich”) Cake

Wedding cakes in the colonial times were rich spice cakes that were thick and made from dried fruits, nuts and alcohol, much resembling your modern Christmas fruit cake. These recipes are made to feed a lot of people, resulting in about twelve pounds of cake, so be weary in the baking process. These cakes are great, but just remember if you are looking for your usual fluffy wedding cake then the traditional colonial styled wedding cake is not for you.

Ingredients

• 8 eggs.
• 3 lbs. of currants.
• 2 lbs. of raisins.
• 2 nutmegs.
• 1 tbs. of ground mace.
• 1 tbs. of rose extract.
• 1 cup of black molasses.
• 1 cup of coffee.
• 1 lb. of chopped almonds.
• 1 lb. of finely cut citron.
• 1 & 1/2 lb. of butter.
• 1 & 1/2 lb. of sugar.
• 1 & 1/2 lb. of flour.

To Make It:

1. Cream the butter and sugar together and add an egg.
2. Prepare the fruit and nuts.
3. Mix and sift the spices and flour mixture and add to the egg mix.
4. Add the fruit and liquids by degrees.
5. Line a large greased baking pan with greased wax paper.
6. Turn in the cake mix and bake in a preheated slow oven for about 3 hours. (250 degrees.)
7. Top with white icing (which can be made by combining water and confectioner’s sugar.)

Your Wedding Guide

Colonial weddings can be a lot of fun if you want to do something interesting and still have a big, formal get together. You can also do colonial weddings small, so it doesn’t matter how many people you are bringing, you just have a great experience of seeing another way of celebration and a great way to get in on a little history. Your friends and family are sure to love it! If you have any questions we have personal wedding planners available. We at Williamsburg Wedding Guide are here to assist in anything you need, so check out our virtual wedding guide!

Most places rent from Saturday to Saturday or Sunday to Sunday, not just in Williamsburg. If you have your wedding on a weekend, you will have to rent for two weeks so you can get your rental home for the days you plan on staying. If you have a mid-week wedding, this gives you plenty of time to relax, get ready, have your wedding, and relax some more with family and friends before you set off to your honeymoon.

Day-By-Day Preparation

We would like to share with you a suggested day-by-day schedule to get your Williamsburg wedding planning going.

• Sunday: Check into your rental home or hotel. Call your wedding consultant to let them know you are in town, and settle down.
• Monday: Relax today.
• Tuesday: Do some last minute shopping, planning and make sure to get your marriage license.
• Wednesday: Get with your makeup and hair stylist. Go to the spa girls, and get some golf in with the guys.
• Thursday: Check in with your planner and the venue where your wedding and reception are going to be held. Rehearsal dinner and ceremony. The real deal is tomorrow!
• Friday: The special day! Go to the salon to get your hair and makeup done. Dress after lunch and don’t forget to eat throughout the day. Have fun at the ceremony and party down at your reception!
• Saturday: Spend the day with friends and family members. Clean and get your things together and packed.
• Sunday: It’s been a week already? Time to check out (usually by 10am) and set off to your honeymoon!

As Simple As That

When you sit down and look at all the things that need to be done (and there are more or less depending on your wedding) you may realize that there is a lot that you must accomplish in a week. When you plan it in the middle of the week, your wedding planning goes a lot more smoothly and your expenses are a little lower as well. Since there is such a demand for weekend rentals anywhere you go, renting during the week is cheaper.

You may have a small or large wedding, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend a fortune on party favors for your guests. There are a lot of little do-it-yourself projects you and your bridesmaids can do, as well as cheap ideas you can purchase in bulk.

Great Party Favor Ideas

• Etched Glasses – Everyone drinks some kind of beverage, and whether it’s alcohol or soda, a glass is very useful. You can even do half and half. For all the women who are attending, give them a personalized wine glass. For all the males attending, give them a personalized pint glass. Even if the women don’t drink wine, they will appreciate the keepsake!

• Money Clip – Money clips are convenient. A personalized money clip is a great idea, especially for the groomsmen! There are a lot of different styles out there, and the design is all up to you! Your names and the date is a perfect way for your guests to remember.

• Coupons – This may sound a little tacky, but hear me out. Giving out an assortment of coupons wrapped up in a little bow is actually a great way to help your friends save money while on their mini vacation to attend your ceremony. Some of your friends and family members may not be familiar with Williamsburg, so providing coupons for them to use while they are there will help them out.

• Printed Mugs – Another cute idea is printing your names and date, and maybe even including a little image, on a mug. I have seen a few people do this in the past, and the best time was when the couple included hot cocoa with marshmallows for their guests to enjoy when they got home.

• Photo Keychains – Most couples get engagement photos taken before their ceremony. An awesome idea is to get a bunch of little keychains with the engagement photo, that way everyone can have a little trinket to take home and remember the two of you by.

Find The Right One For You!

There are a lot of different party favors out there. The best way to get the perfect, unique favor for your wedding is to think about the theme of your wedding. What items come to mind when you think about the type of wedding you are having, or the location? We have provided only a few ideas to get your gears working. We want you to find the perfect gift to give to your guests so they know how much you appreciate their support and attendance at your colonial wedding in Williamsburg.

Make sure to keep little notes when thinking about your cake, that way when you head over to your baker, you have your list to follow.

Checklist

• Budget: Set a budget to go by. This will make narrowing down your choices a lot easier.
• Servings: You probably already have a guest list at this point in your wedding planning, so go ahead and list a serving size for your cake based on how many people will be attending.
• Color: The colors of your wedding cake should match the colors you chose for your dresses and accents.
• Style: Most people match the style of their cake with the theme of their wedding. No theme? Think about a style: elegant, traditional, simple. It’s all up to you!
• Flavor: Decide on how you want your cake to taste. Do you want filling in it? Simple chocolate? Marble? Ice cream?

Finding The Best Baker

Once you’ve got the design down, you’ll want to start thinking about finding the best baker for your cake. We have a few questions we think you should ask so you get the most qualified baker.

Things to ask your baker:

1. How far in advance does the cake need to be made?
2. Does the baker have the flavors you want?
3. How are the cakes priced?
4. How will the cake be delivered?
5. Are the cakes customizable?
6. Who will be baking it?

As you probably know, there is a lot to planning your wedding. Just the cake takes a lot of effort in itself! We have some excellent wedding planners who would love to assist you in any way possible. Your wedding is a very special day so we want to be there for you to ensure it’s magical!

1. Lucky Spiders – Yuck. Spiders? Well, it’s said to be good luck if the bride finds a spider in her wedding gown!
2. No Peeking – If the groom sees the bride on her wedding day before the ceremony, it’s bad luck.
3. Wedding Baby – The person who gives the third gift at the bridal shower will conceive a baby soon after.
4. Sacred Bands – It’s bad luck for the groom to drop the wedding band during the ceremony.
5. Wedding Cake – If a single woman sleeps with a piece of cake under her pillow she will dream of her future husband. (Weird, huh?)
6. Bride’s First Gift – The first gift that the bride opens at her wedding shower is the first item she should use as a new wife.
7. White For One – It’s bad luck for anyone other than the bride to wear white on the big day.
8. The Rings – If the bride or groom wears their wedding rings before the ceremony, they’ll have bad luck through out their marriage.
9. A Very Special Dress – The bride will have bad luck if she wears her complete wedding outfit before her ceremony.
10. The Bride’s Veil – The veil was originally created to warn off evil spirits and hide the brides from their bad-doing.

Don’t Be Scared, We’ll Help!

We understand that you want your Williamsburg Wedding to be perfect, and we do too! Outside of the superstitions and traditions you may be worrying about, there are a lot of other more important things to think about, so make sure not to focus too much on those silly old wives tales!

Contact Us!

Our personal wedding planners are available to assist in any of your wedding planning needs. From your ceremony to your reception, we’ll help in any way we can. Contact us at any time to get information sent directly to you!

Best of luck to your future!

The Williamsburg Wedding Guide is looking for a professional to help with Advertising and Sales for our organization.

Print, Internet, & Mobile experience is preferred.  Social media experience a plus.

Responsibilities of the Advertising Sales Position include:

• Sales – Including cold calling
• Local Contacts – Building & maintaining contacts in the community
• Client Service

The position is salaried and includes commissions & fuel expenses.

Tell Us About Yourself!

1. Tossing The Bouquet
   • We have all seen or know about this one! All the single ladies get on the dance floor and the bride tosses them her bouquet. Whoever catches it first is said to be the next bride.
2. Throwing The Garter
   • To go along with the tossing of the bouquet, here the groom throws the bride’s garter to all the single men. Whoever catches it first is said to be the next groom.
3. Garter For Good Luck
   • After the first two traditions above are in play, this said “couple” get together. The girl sits down and the guy puts the garter on her. The higher he can get the garter up her leg, the more luck goes to the bride and groom.
4. A White Wedding
   • As most people know, a traditional wedding is all white. This is a very common style of wedding, even though now a days people are going more nontraditional. In the case of a white wedding, it’s bad luck for anyone other than the bride to be dressed in white.
5. Farewell Shower
   • You know at the end of a wedding ceremony, when the bride and groom go to leave the church as a united couple, and they get pelted with rice? Well, most people use rice, but we find that there are a lot of other things to use to get the same “good luck” praise from your family and friends. We have seen bubbles, candies, confetti, and balloons flying into the sky in celebration.

When It Comes Down To It, Have Fun!

There really are so many traditions that people follow; it’s really hard to keep up with them all, but we’re certain you’ll end up with at least one during your Williamsburg wedding. Just keep in mind that the most important thing is to have fun, be happy, and love one another. Traditions are just a part of making a wedding into a fun event. At a wedding reception, people like the speeches and the cutting of the wedding cake; they are highlights of the reception ceremony! It’s all about enjoying yourself and making sure that your guests are having a good time as well.

Williamsburg Wedding Guide would like to congratulate you and your significant other on your plans to bring your lives together. We understand that planning your wedding can be hard, and a little overwhelming at first, so we have a few suggestions to get your planning going with a good start!

Things to Get Started

1. Send out a card! – In this day and age, technology has made things so much easier. Why not send out a little Internet card to let everyone know of your plans a head of time?
2. Plan Your Engagement Party – Everyone wants to have a party to celebrate their future bond (and a lot of times, the last day of “freedom”). Make sure to pick a good place and maybe some fun activities to keep your closest friends entertained.
3. Pick the Date! – Picking the date can be as stressful as planning the wedding. You want to be sure that everyone can come and that the weather is good during that time of year, especially for those of you thinking about having an outdoors wedding/reception. Just be sure out of all the reasons you chose the date that it’s meaningful to you.
4. Set a Budget – It’s important before you get too far into your planning that you set a budget. This includes taking into consideration how large you want your wedding, the expenses, the guests, that way you can plan everything accordingly.
5. Pick the Dress – We all know that the dress is probably one of the most important things in a wedding. Now that you have your budget go a head and start looking at dresses and prices.
6. Plan your Reception – As important as the ceremony is, the reception is what generally people look forward to. It’s the time after the wedding that you and your new spouse are truly one. Make sure you get a good spot in advance.
7. Start a Guest List Now that you have a budget, it’s a good idea to have a list in place of whom you wish to invite to your wedding. Make sure you plan the guest list accordingly.
8. Get Some Engagement Photos – Engagement photos are a great idea, because it captures that moment right before your bond is made. It’s also a great thing to add to your official wedding invitations.
9. Find a Church – The location for your wedding is key, whether you have it in a church or outside (like on the beach, perhaps) pick a spot that makes you happy, and will accent your decorations and your dress, of course.
10. Consider a Wedding Planner – We have a team of excellent Wedding Planners in Williamsburg you can consider to help out. Even if you think your wedding is planned to the “t”, it’s always good to have a consultant there during the day of your wedding to help with any last minute preparations.

There are a lot of things to think about when planning your Williamsburg Wedding and we’ll make sure you get all the information you need to have the best wedding ever!

There are tons of awesome places for your wedding in Williamsburg. From high-end country clubs, to sailboats on the river, and even simple plaza areas, you’ll be sure to find the right choice for your wedding.

Excellent Location Suggestions

Colonial Williamsburg is a great choice if you want to add that unique, historic charm to your special event. There are many areas that are full of history and beautiful landscapes as well as architecture, which will provide for an excellent backdrop to your wedding. Some good choices in the historic district include Colonial Heritage, which is an inviting location for your wedding, reception, or both; The Crowne Plaza Williamsburg at Fort Magruder, which is a whopping 26,000 square feet, has more than enough banquet space; and the Great Wolf Lodge accommodates 50 – 300 guests.

A more romantic spot you may want to look into is the Schooner Alliance of Yorktown. This 105 foot, three-massed sailboat will drift over the York River for both on-board sunset weddings as well as receptions.

Another interesting place is the Two Rivers Country Club, which is located along the waterfront where the James and Chickahoming rivers meet. This elegant area can host as many as 20 to 1,200 people, so size is not an issue, and it’s a very unique place to let your guests know about.

We Can Help!

We have plenty of personal Wedding Planners to help if you have any questions at all, or even just looking for some friendly advice. Williamsburg Wedding Guide is here to supply all the information needed to get your wedding going and planned, to make it as stress-free as possible. Contact us if you would like information e-mailed to you directly.

We wish you the best on this most joyous occasion and hope you tackle life’s challenges with faith and love for one another.

The first and easiest step is to choose who you are going to invite to your wedding, and who you and your partner want as bridesmaids and groomsmen. Without family and friends, it’s not going to be much of an after party, and you want to make sure you share this wonderful experience with those you care about.

There is definitely a lot to do when planning a wedding, but at The Williamsburg Wedding Guide we have some great ideas and resources which will help you out!

Let Everyone Know!

Once you know who you would like to invite, you should think of some invitation designs, and even more importantly, invitation makers. You want to make sure that everyone can save the date of your big day! The invitations can be any type you would like; however, it’s always good to match your invitations with the theme or design of your wedding. This gives your guests a feel of the mood you are going to display at your wedding.

Flowers and Decorations

We have a few suggestions of flower shops in Williamsburg, so you don’t have to spend time driving and/or calling around looking for them. We want you to have everything you may need available to you.

Flowers and decorations are important keys to how you display your special day, and we want you to get all the help you need, such as businesses who sell wedding decorations, Wedding Planners , florists and designers. It’s good to at least establish a color scheme, so you know what colors to work with, especially for the bridesmaid dresses.

These are just a few things to help you get your wedding planning started. Please feel free to contact us at any time and we will be sure to reply to you directly and in a timely manner.