Virginia Weddings: Venue Visit Day Trip Guide

Here at Willow Brook, we think your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life and legacy. However, we think your Wedding Day is much less sweet if the season leading up to it is full of constant stress and pressure-laden wedding planning.

Marriage is sweet, but your engagement season should be sweet, too! Wedding planning should be fun, so we want to make sure and give you all the tools to have fun in the pieces of your wedding planning to-do list. That includes your venue visit!

Your search for a Virginia wedding venue is full of pros and cons, budgets and line items, but at Willow Brook, we want you to make memories while you craft your dream day.

We hope you’ll choose to come out and visit Willow Brook as you explore Virginia wedding venues and locations for your big day. We know it’s a time commitment to visit venues, so we’ve created a Make a Day of It Guide– choose-your-own-adventure style!

Virginia Wedding Venue Visit Day Trip Guide

Virginia Weddings: Venue Visit Day Trip Guide | how to plan your perfect day trip to Virginia Wine Country to explore the Barn at Willow Brook

Step 1: Choose your style.

Madden-Family Style:

Classic family, budget minded, food options- home style if you will. Tried and true, Madden family tested. Usually quantity over quality but you’ll be guaranteed to be stuffed, happy and walk away with some stories.  This style will be more outside, activity oriented. AKA – for the more active families.

Breakfast at Anita’s.

Start your day off right with our family classic Anita’s breakfast burritos.

You have two options here:

  1. Take it to go. We recommend the breakfast burrito special. It’s around $2 per burrito. Even add some bacon or chorizo to that if you’re a meat lover.  
  2. If you’re feeling a little fancy and want to sit down at Anita’s, make sure to get the breakfast burrito platter, enchilada style.

Pro Tip: We’ve found the perfect ratio is to split 3 between 2 people. But pace yourself, you have a big food day ahead of you.

Get your caffeine buzz on (it’s the secret to dreaming big!).

Stop by Starbucks or Dunkin’ for our fix but if you’re looking for something more local, our favorite is SideBar coffee shop or King Street Coffee. Coffee preferences are divisive, so we won’t tell you what to get–just make sure it packs a punch to fuel you up for the rest of the day!

Walk it off. Now that you’re jazzed and your belly is full, we would opt to walk it off. There’s a couple of good options for this.

  1. Take a hike: Several easy trails through the woods to the Potomac River. For a gorgeous nature walk, try Red Rock Wilderness Overlook Park.
  2. Temple Hall Farm: The farm is a family favorite, and it’s right down the street from Willow Brook! You can walk around this working farm, run by the county, and you’ll see peacocks walking and farm animals walking around. They have activities and crafts for kids as well as a farm store. Check the Temple Hall website for seasonal activities.
  3. Shopping: You can find bargains at tons of stores. Our favorite is the Restoration Hardware outlet store at the Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets.

Lunch Break!

Melt Gourmet Cheeseburgers is a no-brainer for the Madden family.

It’s a small burger joint, and frequently voted best burger in Northern Virginia (and not just by us, but actual food connoisseurs). They also have gluten free buns, if you’re into that.

Casual Hangout (to debrief your venue visit!).

Vanish brewery: This brewery is very casual. It’s dog and kid friendly. There are usually lots of activities going on, some live music, and you can even play cornhole as you try a local brew.

White’s Ferry: You can take a ride across the Potomac on the ferry for an afternoon activity.

More ideas for your Virginia Wedding Venue Visit

Ifly: Indoor skydiving!

Hogback Mountain Paintball: Always a fun adventure with friends. You can even put your wedding party to the ultimate test of war and high-stress situations!

TopGolf: Indoor golf range complete with drinks, food, and friendly competition!

Pinkies-Up Style:

This day style is more formal, dainty and quaint. Perfect for those out of town guests you want to impress. (pro tip: go back and read that again + insert a British accent)

Fancy Breakfast (a.k.a. “brunch”).

Brunch at Tuscarora Mill Restaurant, called “Tuscies” by the locals. They have a great gourmet brunch buffet that is sure to leave you feeling just fancy enough to choose your wedding venue today.

Walk it off, with your pinky up.

Walk/shop around old town Leesburg. We LOVE downtown Leesburg. You could spend a whole weekend checking out all the shops and restaurants. That is why we fell in love with our Willow Brook location. It’s just 10 minutes away from this gem of a town! Walk the streets of historic downtown Leesburg and discover dozens of shops and restaurants like King Street Oyster Bar, The Wine Kitchen and Delirium Cafe.

Casual afternoon recharge.

Leesburg Brew Crawl: Every Thursday-Sunday from 6-10 pm. Call 571-363-6011 to book your tour!

Pro Tip: This is also perfect for a bachelor party before the big wedding weekend.

Oatlands Historic House and Garden: Enjoy an afternoon tea and tour of the historic plantation house. The grounds and gardens are beautiful. They also provide guided tours. Even in the cold weather, it’s nice to walk around. They have themed afternoon teas, very popular and available by reservation.

Enjoy the wineries, just down the road from Willow Brook.

Fabbioli’s: They have a mini wine tour for your afternoon entertainment. For an added bonus, it’s only a quarter-mile walking distance from Willow Brook!

Hidden Brook winery

The Vineyards at Lost Creek

Antiquing at On a Whim.

Rust and Feathers

The Old Lucketts Store: Just down the street from Willow Brook. A great place to search for wedding details and knick-knacks!

Do-Your-Thing Style:

Do whatever the heck you want! Mix and match from above to make your day custom and hand-crafted for you.

Step 2: Schedule your visit.

Step 3: Get ready to start dreaming!

Don’t let your engagement pass you by before you remember to cherish each moment. You’ll never get this season back, so make sure it’s infused with fun in the midst of your mile-long list!

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