Weather permitting, the wedding ceremony itself will be outside on the East Lawn of the Williamsburg Inn, followed by an indoor/outdoor cocktail reception on the adjacent terrace and in the East Lounge. If weather doesn't cooperate, the ceremony and cocktail reception will take place indoors in the East Lounge. The dinner reception is indoors in the Regency Room, but will also include an outdoor patio space. All sites are conveniently at the Williamsburg Inn, so your destination is the same regardless of weather. We're aiming to keep the ceremony brief, so you don't need to plan on being outside for a long time unless you'd like to be.
We've started our "weather watch" and, honestly, we're really hoping the rain stays away. Keep your fingers crossed for us. If it is raining, the ceremony will be in the lovely East Lounge of the Inn, so your destination is the same. We just hope we can all enjoy the beautiful outdoor space as well. Temperature wise, it's looking like a high in the mid to high 70's, which is great!
The start time for the ceremony is 4:30 p.m. We'll be ready for guests by 4 p.m. and advise arriving at least 15-20 minutes in advance of the ceremony to allow time to park and be seated. If you are earlier than that, no worries, as the Williamsburg Inn has many lovely places to sit and enjoy the surroundings prior to the ceremony.
Dress for the wedding is semi-formal or cocktail attire. For men that typically means a suit, or a dress shirt and slacks, with or without a tie. For women, dresses, skirts and tops or dressy pantsuits are all fine. Weather permitting, a brief portion of the event (the ceremony itself) will be outdoors on grass so, ladies, be mindful if that factors in your footwear choices. No need to break out full length gowns or tuxes! Just keep in mind that the Inn is a 5-star hotel, it's a late afternoon and evening event and we're getting married (kind of a big deal) so you'll likely be most comfortable dressed for that kind of occasion.
The Williamsburg Inn is centrally located in Colonial Williamsburg. It is walking distance from the neighboring Williamsburg Lodge (3-5 minute walk) or Griffin (5-7 minute walk) hotels. From elsewhere in Williamsburg, taxis or ride shares can drop you at the front entrance to the Inn. The Inn does have a large parking lot. As with most Colonial Williamsburg parking, it is free for the first two hours (and word is, they don't check often.) Additional hours of parking can be paid via the Passport Parking app (which is free to download) at $2 per hour - and you can refresh your parking from your phone using the app. The Inn also offers valet parking for a fee.
We are keeping our guest list limited to adults, with few exceptions for close family. If not bringing children would make your attendance impossible (and they were not explicitly included on your invitation) please reach out to Clayton or Susan to discuss.
We are confident that the cuisine from the Williamsburg Inn (which will include a dual entree that is gluten free) will please most guests. But we understand that some attendees may have other dietary restrictions or food allergies requiring special accommodation. Please contact Susan at goodell.susan@gmail.com to alert us to your need as far in advance as possible. Thank you.
We're foodies so rest assured, it's important to us that our guests not go hungry (or "thirsty"!) The wedding festivities will include open bar (including beer, wine and liquor), mocktails and non-alcoholic beer, passed and stationary hors d'oeuvres, a plated 2-course meal featuring a dual entree (gluten free), wedding cake (as tradition dictates) and other dessert option (as Susan insists.)