FAQs

Question

When do I need to be where?

Answer

Shenandoah Woods is the venue for our wedding and where many guests will be staying over the weekend. You can find a map of the property here >> https://www.shenandoahwoods.com/maps Our tisches will start at 3PM, they are optional. You are welcome to join us for the ceremony at 4:30PM. A few locations to note: If you're staying at Shenandoah Woods, stop by the Welcome Cabin, Lakeland Cabin, #10 on the map. Our rehearsal dinner on Friday night will take place at Somerset Cabin, #20 on the map. Our pre-wedding ceremony tisches will be at Chadwick Cabin (#3) The wedding ceremony will be at the chapel in the woods right next to the Pavilion (#25), you can access the chapel from the main parking lot at the Pavilion. The reception will be at the Pavilion (#25)

Question

What should I expect at your wedding?

Answer

We’re creating our wedding celebration drawing on Jewish rituals in a way that will be fun, meaningful and participatory, bringing out both our serious sides and our silly sides. Here’s a little preview of what to expect. Tisch(es) Before a traditional Jewish wedding, men will gather in a room together to drink, sing, and toast the groom, while the bride receives and blesses her guests. In our wedding, we will both host our own tisch surrounded by friends and family (of all genders) to get us ready to enter into marriage. You can toast us, roast us, have a drink, learn some new songs, and wander between our tisches. Ketubah We will sign our homewritten Jewish wedding contract, our Ketubah, surrounded by our friends and family. We designed our contract to reflect the pride we take in our relationship and the values we hope to reflect in our marriage.

Question

What to expect continued...

Answer

Chuppah We will stand under a chuppah, or a canopy, during our wedding ceremony. The chuppah represents the home we have started to build and will continue to build together as a couple. The covering has been lovingly and masterfully knitted by Katie’s mother, Susan. Shtick After the ceremony and before dinner, there will be about an hour of hora dancing to klezmer music, a traditional Eastern European Jewish music. During that hour there will be a shtick, which is a series of skits, inside jokes and japes put on by close friends and family, or whoever wants to join in. (After dinner, there will be more dancing, with DJ’ed music.) See more about the shtick, including shtick ideas, at these sites: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/ask-the-expert-wedding-shtick/ https://yourjewishspeech.com/wedding-shtick/

Question

What should I wear?

Answer

Please wear whatever will make you feel fancy and free! Seriously, no dress code. There will be parts of the ceremony and reception outside, and the roads are gravelly and sometimes steep, so maybe leave the stilettos at home (or bring a change of shoes). For those joining us at Friday night rehearsal dinner, it will be a totally casual event.

Question

How do I get to Shenandoah Woods?

Answer

For GPS, plug in Shenandoah Woods or 181 Log Cabin Drive. GPS stops being helpful as you get closer to Shenandoah Woods website has more directions and maps here: https://www.shenandoahwoods.com/maps From DC • Interstate 66 West • Exit 13 (Linden) and follow signs to Front Royal • 340 South to Luray • In Luray 340 becomes 340 business south toward Stanley • After you leave Luray go 4 miles • left on Hawksbill Avenue (NOT Hawksbill Road) • right on Farmview Road • left on Ida Road • left on Log Cabin Drive

Question

Is there a shuttle if you're not staying on-site?

Answer

There will be a shuttle from the Hotel Laurence in Luray to bring guests to the wedding. The Hotel Laurence is located at 2 S Court St, Luray, VA 22835. Please email us to let us know you’re planning to be on the shuttle, so we don’t leave you behind! There will be two rounds before the ceremony, boarding at 2:15 (for the tisches) and 3:30 (for the ceremony). If you have any urgent questions, please contact our wedding planner Marilyn Speight at (434) 489-8502. We will also offer two rounds back to the Hotel Laurence, at 9:45pm and 11:10pm. Parking is very limited at the hotel. Shuttle riders can park in the street parking spaces in front of the hotel. There are also 3 spots in front of the attorney's office right next to us that are usually open on weekends since the office is closed. Right at the end of our block is plenty of public parking adjacent to the courthouse. Shuttle riders can stay in those spaces as long as they need to and it is not a far walk.