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This page is still under construction
more information is being added weekly, thanks.
Introduction:
Planning a medieval wedding is a major undertaking, but so is any wedding.
We spent 6 months planning and arranging our medieval wedding and we were only renewing
our vows! The end result though was incredible, not only for us, but for our guests as
well. From the moment the ceremony began to the final dance, everyone was captivated as he
events unfolded. We created memories that will last a lifetime!
The first step in planning a medieval wedding ceremony is to decide what
time period you prefer. After looking at costumes and gowns we determined we preferred the
"Renaissance" period. After deciding that, you need to decide "how
period" you want your wedding to be. We chose to loosely follow the period and
concentrate on having fun. Don't get too caught up on small details, remember to enjoy the
moment, after all it is "your day" don't ruin the moment worrying about minor
details that no one will notice anyway. The final decision is of course up to you.
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Planning:
How do I find out about medieval weddings and customs? The web is an
excellent source of information for planning a medieval wedding. Our favorite links were
the:
Medieval and
Renaissance Wedding page
Renaissance Magazine
Ebay
Ebay!? You ask? Yes, by performing searches on several keywords, we
found the style of gowns wanted, the seamstress to make them, headpieces, wedding
programs, unique party favors, costume trim, weapons, accessories and the list goes on and
on. A search on the web will provide a wealth of information on the subject.
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Location:
Of course the ideal location for a medieval wedding is an old castle with
lots of atmosphere. Although, a gothic church, a renaissance fair or quaint country
setting may be perfect for your needs.
In Massachusetts, we chose the Castle
Restaurant in Leicester, Ma. It is a stone castle modeled after the Morro castle in
Cuba. It is full of old world charm and settings right down to the moat that runs around
the castle. We held the ceremony on their stone patio overlooking a lake, and held
the reception inside their beautiful function room. If you are located in Massachusetts
check them out.
If you are looking for a castle in your state, check out the list of
castles at Dupont Castle's web site. Dupont
Castle is a project in the works and they maintain an excellent list of castles around the
country.
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Invitations:
Creating invitations for a medieval wedding or anniversary party opens up
a wide range of opportunities. From traditional printed invitations to hand written
calligraphy scrolls, the possibilities are endless. If printing from a computer remember
to find an old style font to complement the occasion. Our favorite font is called
"Black Chancery" we are not using the font on the web site because it has an
annoying flaw on some computer displays not to display certain characters such as
"R" on the screen, although it prints them correctly. We created the documents
using a plain font and when finished, we converted it to Black chancery and printed them
on parchment paper.
Because of the comedic overtones of our ceremony, we opted for a "light-hearted" invitation.
Don't forget, the odds are most of your guests have never been to a
medieval event of any kind. Because of this, it might be a good Idea to include a
"Frequently asked question" guide for your guests. We included this list of Frequently Asked Questions.
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Costumes:
Costumes can be either rented, purchased, or hand made depending on your
personal preferences. Below are our favorite links for costumes and patterns.
Costume Patterns:
Simplicity
Custom Made:
Stitchin' Witches
(Cindy at Stitchin Witches made my wedding gown, and all the gowns for the hand maidens.
Thanks Cindy!)
Pre-made Costumes:
The Renstore
By The Sword
Museum Replicas
Morresca
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Wedding Bands:
While looking through the special bridal issue of Renaissance Magazine, we
noticed ads for Celtic wedding bands. Looking down at our worn out bands of 25 years, we
asked ourselves if we should go all out and replace our wedding bands too. Well after
several searches the web, and a few trips to the local jewelry stores, we stumbled upon Designet International THE place for
Celtic and custom designed wedding bands.
In three and a half weeks, Designet created a custom design based on our
specifications, sent us artwork for approval, manufactured and shipped our custom
one of a kind wedding bands one week ahead of schedule, and at a price that was a bargain
for the quality of the work they provided. If you are thinking about a Celtic or custom
designed wedding band, check out there huge selection listed on their web site.
The final choice is what to engrave in the rings, rather than a
traditional engraving, consider having the rings engraved with a phrase written in Latin
or a foreign language. Something only the two of you will know it's meaning. A search on
the web for posey rings will yield some interesting possibilities. Posey rings for those
who have never heard of them was like a friendship ring, they were engraved with phrases
for the recipient. We chose to have our rings engraved with a modified posey ring phrase
"por tous jours" which means "for all days" or "always". We
added the words "M'lord" and "M'lady" respectively to the rings so
they translate to "Always M'lord" and "Always M'lady". Of course,
everybody's tastes are different, decide what's right for you.
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Ceremony:
A medieval wedding ceremony could be something as simple as an exchange of vows under
the shade of an old oak tree in a quiet meadow, or as elaborate as a royal wedding. Take
your time and do a lot of research on the various styles of medieval ceremonies, before
deciding what's right for you. Don't be concerned with accuracy (unless that is your goal)
instead, use pieces from several different ceremonies and assemble them into one that's
right for you.
We chose a modified wedding processional from a text written in the 16th century. The
procession was led by a two swordsmen followed by two trumpeters. Behind them were the
best man and maid of honor followed by the first two hand maidens. Next the bride was
escorted up the isle by the priest followed by the other two hand maidens. Behind then
came the best man followed by two swordsmen. After the ceremony, a row of swordsmen with
raised swords formed an archway that we walked through as we exited the ceremony. We had
planned on a Scottish piper and an Irish drummer to lead the processional, but both became
unavailable as we drew closer to the date, so we substituted them with the two trumpeters.
It worked fine. (remember to stay flexible)
In order to maintain our comedic overtones, we introduced a couple of skits during the
ceremony, a kilted scotsman dropped to my knees and begged me to marry a "real
man" until his wife came up and dragged him away by the ear sputtering "this is
the last time I'll let you wear a dress in public" and a lass apparantly with child
ran up to m'lord asking what would become of her and "his child". We had fun
with the ceremony, but the vows were straight forward and we kept the ceremony short. You
should keep that in mind when planning the wedding, short and simple for the ceremony is
better, leave more time for the festivities to follow.
One more item to discuss egarding the ceremony is wedding programs. You may want to
consider having wedding programs printed for the day. We had special programs designed and
printed by Sue Ann Thompson, a wonderful
woman who custom designs wedding programs. We chose an ivy design for the programs, check
out the front cover, left inside, and right inside pages. In addition, Sue Ann has
customized seed packets to be used as a favor. We had a seed packet designed that matched the
programs, and mounted them inside the programs.
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Reception:
Once you've found the location for your reception as discussed earlier,
you now have to decide on how the reception should be arranged. The first two major
options are: a buffet, or a sit down meal. Both choices have there advantages and
disadvantages lets take a look at both options:
A buffet, gives you the oportunity to arrange a variety of traditional
dishes and decorations in a central row for everyone to see and sample. Usually a buffet
is cheaper than a sitdown meal, but this is not always the case. With a buffet, your
guests will probably end up with larger portions of food, than they would get in a sit
down meal. Marzipan sculptures mixed in between the foods add a touch of realism to the
setting. A simple outdoor reception with a buffet for example would be a perfect
combination.
A sit down meal on the other hand would probably be more appropriate for a
"royal wedding". Traditionally, a royal wedding would be served in courses with
entertainment between each course. We chose a sit down meal because of the entertainment
we hired. After the soup and salad were served, we stopped, and the best man gave his
toast. As the main course was being served, a magicial entertained the guests as they
waited for their meal. After the dessert was served, the jester topped off the meal with
his performance. During all the courses, two psychics worked the tables reading palms and
cards for the guests. A Celtic band quietly played music in the background during the meal
and the magician entertained the guests with table magic. The meal was a non stop show for
our guests, the same as one might have seen at a royal wedding hundreds of years ago.
Both types of meals are appropriate, we chose the later because of the
entertainment we wanted to present. The meal type should fit your overall theme for the
day.
To fork, or not to fork, that is the question? Our answer was to allow
eating utensils, keep in mind, most guests are probably way out on a limb already, don't
push them over the edge. I have seen a medieval wedding where they ate with fingers and
although everone enjoyed the day, there were a lot of complaints about eating with fingers
after the party was over. You want your guests to enjoy themselves, make sure they leave
with praises not complaints, remember my earlier warning, don't get too caught up on minor
details. However, if a forkless meal is what you want, just plan your menu accordingly.
Let's talk about the tables for a moment, aside from your normal table
choices such as flowers and linen, let's take it one step further. We named each table
after castles located throughout great britain. We created a placecard with the name and
picture of the castle and included a brief history of said castle. We then mounted the
placecards on the centerpieces at each table. When the guests arrived, they were greated
by a beautiful princess who welcomed each guest and informed them as to which
"castle" they would be dining at on this day. The princess, was accompanied a
knight who proceeded to hand out the programs for the days event. These small touches
added to the "atmosphere" of the day.
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Flowers:
I won't go into the different types of flowers and herbs traditionally
used during medieval ceremonies, that information can be found at the links referenced in
the begining of this guide. I will only suggest to keep it simple and discuss the
arrangements well in advance with your florists. Ivy was very prevelent in many medeival
ceremonies, keeping with that theme, our centerpieces were simple arrangements of a basket
of ivy with daisies mixed throughout, the long trailing ivy flowing over the edge of the
birch bark baskets and the splashes of the daisies added a warm elegant look to the
tables. The arrangements were simple, but effective. The flowers for the head table were
larger and more colorful, it matched the flowers used in the wedding bouquet. The Bouquet
contained a mix of flowers that accented the wedding gown.
Flowers and spices played an important role in a medieval wedding, take
some time to research the types that were common centuries ago. Also learn the meaning
behind the flowers and herb and once you do, incorporate those elements that are important
to you.
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Party Favors:
Believe it or not, finding the right party favor for our medieval event
was one of the hardest things we had to do. We had a lot of thoughts, from traditional
favors to Jester hats. Nothing looked quite right until an ebay search (I told you ebay is
great) yielded Certified Heartwarmer.com
and the perfect favor for our medieval event, custom stamped gold foil wrapped chocolate
coins bagged in a small velvet coin pouch! We chose dark semi sweet mint chocolate coins
custom stamped with our names and anniversary information on one side, and on the other
side we had the family crest. See our proofs of side 1 and side
2 of the coins. We ordered 500 extra coins and used those for decorations on the
tables. We scattered the coins around the base of an old wooden chest used to hold cards
from the guests and placed a sign on the chest stating "donations accepted for Lady
Rhonda's dowry" It was a very nice effect. The chocolate coins were delicious and the
guests loved them, it wasn't long before coins began to vanish from around the chest. The
500 extra coins were almost not enough. Everone liked the coins.
Lavonda at Certified
Heartwarmers went above and beyond helping us design the coins. We sent her our ideas
and she spent weeks laying out the final design. Her attention to detail was great! When
the coins were ready to ship, the weather had warmed so she cold packed the coins to
ensure a safe arrival. Check out her website for customized chocolate coins and many new
party favor ideas.
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Entertainment:
Entertainment is a must at any party, but a medieval wedding opens up a
wide range of possibilities. The first thing to remember when arranging entertainment is
to clearly know your budget before you begin. Entertainment can easily become the largest
portion of your expenses depending upon the level of entertainment you desire at a
medieval wedding.
Traditionally, as previously mentioned, during a royal wedding, a
wide range of entertainment was performed throughout the event. Jesters, magicians,
fortune tellers, caricature artists, belly dancers, minstrals, and jugglers just to name a
few. You don't need all this entertainment, just a single minstral with a mandolin
may be exactly what you want, but depending upon the style of wedding you decide, you may
want a variety of entertainment. Decide early on the level of entertainment you want and
reserve them well ahead of time as a good performer is often booked well in advance.
Search time local trade magaines, newspaper classifieds nd phone directories for the type
of entertainment you desire. Many entertainment agencies will have a large variety of
entertainers available to chose from. Don't forget to get references, check around and
make sure you are hiring the right people.
We chose a variety of entertainment for our party, two roving psychics and
a caricature artist from Diane Dalpe at tellafortune.com,
Peter O'Malley, a "merlin style"
magician, Dennis and Davey a great team of irish musicials, and last but definitely not
least, Alex the Jester. We wanted to expose our
guests to a wide range of entertainment that they normally not see.
The final decision must be based on your personal preferences and your
available budget.
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The Honeymoon:
Everyone has there own idea of what there honeymoon should be. The only
mention I'll make here is how we chose to end our celebration. We chose to end a medieval
wedding by honeymooning in a romantic castle overlooking the ocean in Camden Maine. We
stayed at the Norumbega Castle, now converted to
a romantic inn. For us it was the perfect ending to a special event.
It might have been more romantic to travel to England and stay at an old
castle there, but our current commitments prevent that.
Of course, there is always next year..............
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