Ya’ll, this post has been a long time coming! So many of you have been asking, “how the heck do I rent this space? Who is the contact? What is the deal?” Well, after speaking with the City Manager’s office, I have all the details for you on how to acquire the Library Terrace….and guess what ya’ll, the best part is it’s still FREE!!!

So here is the deal if you dream of using the Library Terrace for your wedding ceremony:

1. It’s still a public space. While there is a process now for “reserving the space,” the space will not be yours and yours alone. Community members and tourists can still swing by and watch your ceremony and other things can be happening around your ceremony. But with that being said, as we all know, Williamsburg is such a friendly community and I cannot imagine anyone being rude or harmful to your wedding nuptials!

 

2. You can only reserve the space, 6 months out from your wedding. If you are interested in reserving the space, you have to wait to reserve it until 6 months from your wedding date. Unfortunately, the only way around this is if you are reserving the Williamsburg Community Building for your wedding, which has a stipulation of its own. You can only reserve the Community Building one year out from your wedding. So if you reserve the Community Building space, you can then request to reserve the terrace for your ceremony. But keep in mind, if you are not reserving the Williamsburg Community Building, then you MUST wait until 6 months out from your big day to request the Library Terrace!

 

3. A 1 million dollar insurance policy is REQUIRED. If you are hosting your wedding reception at the Williamsburg Community Building, you must also have this same insurance policy and you can use that one policy for both spaces. However, if you are using the Terrace only, you will need to request a 1-million dollar insurance policy, naming the City of Williamsburg as additionally insured. This is super easy to get. You can call your homeowner’s insurance policy and get this or you can visit: WedSafe to get your insurance policy!

 

4. You must apply for a special events permit through the City. You must put in your application for the space, 6 months out from your event and no later than 10 days before your wedding. If your wedding has more than 100 guests, you will need to fill this out no later than 30 days before your wedding. You can apply/fill out the form by visiting here: Special Event Permit Form. If you have booked the Williamsburg Community Building and would like to reserve the space before 6 months out from your wedding, you will want to touch base with the City Manager’s office directly (click the Special Event Permit From link and the contact information is provided at the bottom of that form).

 

5. There are no restrooms. If you are hosting your ceremony at the terrace and your reception is not being held at the Williamsburg Community Building, there will be no restrooms for your guests. The only way around this is to rent the Community Building and or, your guests could go into the Library, but only if the Library is open.

 

6. There is no space to hide before the ceremony. Again, unless you are hosting your reception at the Williamsburg Community Building, there will be no space to hide before the ceremony starts. We have rented shuttles in the past for the bridal party and had them park until it was time for the ceremony. We have also very kindly asked the Library staff if we could line up inside the Library (please make sure you do this) as well!

 

7. You have a limited amount of setup & breakdown time. Because this is a public space, you will need to arrange with your rental company and or your family members, planner, etc. to set up the ceremony chairs, draping, arbor, and any items you would like to incorporate into your big day 2 hours prior to the event. Immediately following the ceremony, you will need to breakdown all items and have them removed from the space. Typically this means that the rentals company will need to do same-day delivery and pick up and there is a higher fee to do so. As a planner, we usually recommend that you pay to have the company setup and breakdown the chairs so you don’t have to worry about the setup and removal!

 

8. Alcohol is NOT permitted. This is a public park ya’ll, so you cannot have alcohol within the event space. But again, if you book the Williamsburg  Community Building and have the proper permits, you can use the green space in front of the building to host your cocktails! There is no way around this one!

 

So ya’ll if you can handle the above, this is the most perfect little space to host your ceremony! But keep in mind it books up really fast because of all the amazing community events we have going on in the City! If you still have questions, contact us today, here.