1 of 7
Colonial Williamsburg’s hotels have a variety of options for ceremonies, receptions, guest rooms and photo ops!
Photo courtesy of Colonial Williamsburg
2 of 7
Christy Hooker, who owns Truly Yours bridal boutique in New Town, started her career in weddings as a planner. She sees the trends, and she stocks the trends in her shop.
3 of 7
Dapper suits from Truly Yours bridal boutique.
4 of 7
A bouquet of bridesmaids dresses from Truly Yours bridal boutique.
5 of 7
Samantha and Micheal got married at a planetarium. Their photos were taken in the woods and featured deep fall flowers.
Photo courtesy of Anna Lind Photography
6 of 7
Cory and Devon Taylor
Photo courtesy of Luke and Ashley Photography
7 of 7
Cory and Devon Taylor had pink walls with their initials and the word “Love” over their doughnut wall at the Williamsburg Community Building.
Photo courtesy of Luke and Ashley Photography
Unique Expressions
Customizing weddings to the couple has always been a big part of “The Big Day” but it’s now reached into all aspects of the wedding.
Nicki Peet, a minister and wedding officiant in Williamsburg, said that she meets with couples to discuss what they want in a ceremony and to reiterate that it’s your wedding.
“I want to give them what they want, not what someone else thinks they should do. I’m here for them. We findconnections between different religious traditions orfamily traditions and combine the elements as much aspossible,” she said. “For example, I recently did a Quaker-Jewish wedding where the couple included the African American tradition of jumping the broom.”
Peet was the officiant when Lucia Riley and Dana Miller got married, in a ceremony at Saudé Creek Winery that included both Native American and Scottish-Irish traditions. For this couple, they were excited to be able to legally marry and join their lives together, but mixed many old traditions as well as new ones.
“I had a silver sixpence in my shoe from England that Lucia bought for me and a gold and diamond tear drop pendant that belonged to a dear friend of mine who passed just 10 months before the wedding, hanging from my bouquet,” Miller said.
Lucia wore a custom-made kilt, and Dana was escorted down the aisle by her nephew and brother-in-law, and the couple had a ritual where each poured water over their hands. “This symbolized the washing away of the past and starting fresh. So the past failures, relationships and negative energy were removed and we started fresh. That made a quite a few people teary-eyed,” Riley said.
“Everyone is trying to be more individualistic,” said wedding photographer Anna Lind. “People are really just out there doing their thing, whatever that may be.”
She recalls a winter wedding where the bride and groom wanted a more edgy feel. The bride had purple hair and a fur coat, and they got married at a planetarium to honor her father, a scientist who had passed away. Their photos were taken in the woods and featured deep fall flowers, and the bride’s tattoo with her fathers’ initials on her hand.
Reverend Cory Newell, a wedding celebrant at Reverend Corey Newell and Associates, marries 500 couples each year, and focuses on storytelling and not the religious component.
“What I see with my couples is that they want to connect with each other and their friends through their love story. They don’t want the mundane, boxed ceremony,” he said. “Millennials are especially keen on this.”
Trends & Traditions
No longer is spring the season of weddings. September and October are much more popular than they used to be, nearly surpassing June as the number one month to tie the knot. Aiken said that people are now getting married any monthof the year.
“It used to be that you might get a discount but not anymore. There are actually cool things you can do any time of year,” she said.
Christy Hooker, who owns Truly Yours bridal boutique in New Town, started her career in weddings as a planner. She sees the trends, and she stocks the trends in her shop.
“Everyone wants to customize. So a bride may come in and find the dress she wants but she may also add sleeves, remove some decoration or add a crinoline underneath—that makes it her own creation,” Hooker said.
“Styles have shifted to be more organic—lots of greenery in the florals, especially paired with blush, and less bright white in favor of champagne, blush, blue and ivory,” she said. Hooker also said that grooms are more involved in the wedding than ever, also adding some diversity to their fashion choices in suits that are blue or gray.
Muted shades of purple, green, blue and blush (light pink-peach) are what’s in style for flowers and bridesmaid dresses. The other perennial complaint about those dresses (that they don’t look good on everyone) may be solved by the infinity wrap top dress, or by having the bride pick only the color and the bridesmaids pick their own style of dress.
The all weekend party includes lots of little touches to take care of the guests. Late night snacks are popular, with food trucks pulling up to offer rations to the partygoers. Recent sightings in Williamsburg have included burgers and fries, milk and cookies or ice cream sandwiches. Sweet bars are also still going strong, whether a mimosa bar, dessert bar or a donut wall. Cory and Devon Taylor got married in Williamsburg
in January, and had pink walls with their initials and the word “Love” over their doughnut wall at the Williamsburg Community Building. They also had a cotton candy station!
With people being more health conscious, cakes have evolved. “We’ve gotten away from pillared cakes," said Tawanda Hammond of Cakes by Tawanda. "People don’t like sweet frosting, so the naked cake is very popular." The naked cake is incorporating an ultra-thin layer of frosting with fruit or fresh flowers accenting the cake. One of her most popular and trendy flavors—lemon cookies and cream—was created by accident.
“I put the cookies in the wrong batter one day," sherecalled. "That same day I had a wedding cake consultation. The couple was curious about the mistake cake, and I let them taste it. They loved it and wanted it as their cake. It’s been popular ever since."
Hooker said that part of customizing a wedding is often having a smaller guest list.
“I’ve seen a lot of counts under 100—sometimes to saveon costs, but sometimes just to include the people that matter most and spend money on other parts of the wedding,”she said.
Aiken said that brunch weddings are a good option for a more affordable wedding. But for big, traditional weddings, the cost is now typically shared between a group of people— the bride and groom, plus both of their sets of parents.
This may be attributed to later marriage ages. Most brides and grooms are now in their late 20s or early 30s, with weddings following college graduation being rare. With the average age of brides and grooms rising (27 for women, 29 for men), the size of weddings is shrinking in some cases.
Couples rely on planners to manage the details: reviewing venue contracts, managing vendors, sending out and tracking invitations, and arranging guest's hotel stays. In an industry where couples spend $37,000-40,000 on average, localwedding planners estimate that Williamsburg weddings range from $35,000 to $75,000 and higher.
Most weddings are still on Saturdays, with a few on Fridays if the venue they want isn’t available. Another trend is that engagements aren’t as long, so people getting engaged at the winter holidays generally want to be wed in less than a year.
“People are dating longer or are older and more sure of what they want,” said Aiken.
Capturing the Big Day
Lind said that “first look” photos are getting more popular —that’s where the bride and groom meet before the ceremony for pictures, saving time and getting in a bit of time together before the event swings into full gear.
“It’s very helpful for photographers, particularly with lighting, less time trying to gather people together and not taking you away from your guests. Everyone wants to congratulate the bridge and groom and we don’t want to take them away.A wedding goes by really fast!”
Aiken said that writing letters, giving gifts and getting first look photos with the father of the bride are also trending.
“More personal to them, not what everyone else is doing. Highlight films rather than a video of the entire wedding day.”
One surprise guest at weddings and receptions—drones! In order to get wide aerial shots of the wedding, Lind said this is a popular trend.
Photo booths at receptions are still all the rage, not to replace wedding photography, but instead to entertain guests.
“My clients get photo booths as an add-on," said Tiffanie Rosier of All-Star Photo Booths. "To give it a local flair, I've been asked for props in the colors of William & Mary, or things with a colonial theme."
Joined Happily…
So, in making a wedding day truly unique, people express themselves in lots of different ways. They may include their hobbies, their pets or their alma mater. With many people remarrying, they are including their children, and when they are marrying older or away from their hometown, they are including their “tribe.” Our desire to share and show love endures.
“Why do we get married? We want to have a public declaration, and love is a great unifier,” said Peet.
“I love events but weddings have the emotional factor, it draws me in. It’s a life moment. I get to be part of their love story,” Aiken said.
People are always going to get married, and spend some money on it. Even the cynics who love to quote the divorce rate… it just means more weddings, not less.
You may even see a bride walking down Duke of Gloucester Street this Saturday….
colonialwilliamsburghotels.com/event-planning/weddings-celebrations
