The thing about Colonial Williamsburg that stuck with me the most was the incredible beauty of the buildings and how much I wanted to don the garb and play revolutionist. So when I saw that today's wedding was all about Williamsburg, VA, I wanted to use that opportunity to dwell in the great things offered by Colonial Williamsburg. There are so many opportunties to create a wedding with a designer gown and a tux, but it's another thing to create a historical masterpiece that really envelopes you into your setting.
The first thing I wanted to do was find the right setting. Though historically parties in the 1770's were lavish and huge, the buildings at Colonial Williamsburg don't lend themselves to a 200-person wedding. For today's wedding, we'll be having an intimate party. To start, the ceremony itself, in the back yard of one of the manor homes of Colonial Williamsburge, surrounded by old-growth trees and antique rose bushes. For the reception, horse-drawn-carriages abound, and take the couple and their guests over to the Governor's Palace for a dinner in the dining room made in historical methods. Can you say sweet potato biscuits? I heard Jefferson's got an amazing recipe. After dinner, dancing in the ballroom (the blue room in the collage) with live music from harpists and flautists in historic garb.
Our wedding couple will be resplendent in their period clothing. There's a lot of talented clothing makers that make historically accurate clothing, and you'd be surprised by the number of non-professionals as well. The groom's clothing (uh! love it!) is made by Chimera Costumes, a very talented lady who does clothing for museums and movies. The bride's beautiful gown is made by a woman named Koshka who's abilities in period clothing are amazing - and all as a hobby. And just a side note - today, brides wear a white gown for their wedding. But this was not the case until Queen Victoria chose this color for her own wedding day in 1840. Until this time, brides wore their finest and most fashionable dress, regardless of color. In fact, bright colors as your clothing signified your enhanced wealth.
For the jewelry of the bride and groom, I wanted to use some of the hand made masterpieces made by the workers of Colonial Williamsburg. For the bride, a pearl cameo choker. Her engagement ring, a gold, diamond, and saphire ring made exactly like it's historical counterpart.
The wedding rings are one of my favorite classical styles - scroll rings. Today, scrollwork is used as decoration on a band, but historically, the difficult ring was a scroll itself. They are absolutely beautiful, and like the rest of the jewelry, all made using historic methods in Colonial Williamsburg itself.
And for the honeymoon, a night in one of the cottages in the colonial city, complete with a grand 1770's feather bed. It's incredible that you can rent a whole house to yourself, and it comes fully stocked with food and firewood.
{Rebekah} Williamsburg, VA: Revolutionary Love in Williamsburg, VA by bekahross
