Any advice for medieval theme wedding?

Question

My sister-in-law is getting married on August 10th and has just started to plan her wedding, and has asked for my help. She wants to do a medieval themed wedding with castles and dragons. So far the only ideas are to do a castle shaped wedding cake and pewter dragons for table centerpieces. She wants light purple, green, and white for her colors. And she loves lilacs but they aren't in season in August. The reception will be indoors in a church's multi-purpose room. The only thing provided are tables and chairs. I would appreciate any and all ideas!

I agree MCMANRULES2007, but how could I tell my sister-in-law that? I'm just here to help her have what she wants.

She's decided not to do any kind of wedding party, since she doesn't have the money and doesn't feel right asking everyone to get matching clothes. So the costume idea is out too I guess. I'm looking for ideas for decorating, flowers, favors, and stuff like that.

Answer 1

Use tall wrought iron candle holders around the room

Rent the standing medival soilders in costume and have them standing at attention holding swords next to the main doors.

get styrafoam blocks and spray paint them to look like old stone. Sorround the DJ booth (if you are having one) and other tables like cake table and buffet tables so it looks like they are made of stone walls.

Have a dragon ice scuplture

Have a sweetheart table with name plates on the charis reading Prince Charming and Fair Princess

Tables should be long banquet style tables with goblets for drinking wine

Food should be large turkey legs like at the medival dinner parties

Use costumes for the waitstaff so you are being served by wenches and blacksmiths etc...

Answer 2

Well, What are the Bride and Groom wearing? How far does she want to take this theme? Reception alone or the whole wedding?

I definitely feel that the music in the church for the wedding and the beginning of the reception should be medievil or renaissance themed. Talk to the church organist or music director. They should be able to at least get you into some recordings of the requested era.

Food is another place where you can apply the theme. Heavy on meats and breads. There are some sites where you can get some fun recipes.

Wedding Party Attire - This could be fun, but it not very far away. Research some costumes. Renting is an option for the entire party. If there is a local Shakespeare company, you can work out a deal to rent the costumes.

Flowers - Talk to a florist about the flowers. They will have a solution. Trust me. They deal with this sort of thing all the time.

Decorating the room -- Candles / tea lights Keep safety in mind though Use the candles as centerpieces. Table cloths, in the chosen colors. Boughs of cloth can be streamed around the room in the chosen colors. Don't be afraid to find the chevron/emblem of the bride and groom with some genaeology. You can then transfer that onto all sorts of stuff. Make some flags and banners. Have a procession, with a jester introducing the bride and groom into the reception hall. If you have the $, you can hire some jugglers. If not, get a friend to dress the jester just for the wedding.

Do some research and it can even be fun for someone who doesn't get into all this. (I don't, but I have a sibling who loves it as well).

Here's some sites with some ideas
History
http://www.renaissance-weddings.net/index.htm
a Company that does this sort of thing with pictures
http://www.renaissance-weddings.com/
How to design invitations
http://www.all-about-renaissance-faires.com/wedding_info/invitation_info.htm
SHOES
http://www.medievalmoccasins.com/weddingLinks.html
A wedding dress
http://www.fashionsintime.com/html/medieval_wedding.html
Find the Family Crest
http://www.familycrestshop.com/free-family-crest-search.asp

Get the invitations done first!! And have some fun

Answer 3

For a Medieval Themed Wedding, I would not go with pastels - thats not very medieval - bright pinks, reds, oranges, sage greens and golds would be more like it. I would use fabrics and drape the room with long pieces. I would skip the Pewter dragons (Pewter is expensive!) and maybe just have a nice centerpiece with the tables labeled "Maid Marian" or something like that. I would not wear costumes, but maybe she could wear a headwreath with fresh flowers and ribbons. Use lots of ribbons...everywhere. I would not have the reception in the church basement...but rather outside. Really, unless you can fully do a theme, you shouldn't do it. It just ends up looking tacky.

Answer 4

Help her look for a medieval inspired dress.

Find musicians who can play medieval music, or someone to play a lyre.

Use pewter plates and goblets, or something that resembles them.

She might want to consider using orange/red/yellowish flowers. They could resemble fire next to the dragons and will add some color.

Use a lot of candles in metal holders.

Have the bridesmaids wear crowns of flowers. The bride could do this too.

You might want to ask the local drama/theater company or a school drama department if they have any students who would be willing to provide entertainment.

Check out the website below.

Good luck!

Answer 5

How ironic.. the same theme and colors I had! First of all meieval weddings used lots of flowers - mostly wildflowers - along with the pewter centerpieces use potted flowers that double as favors. Contact a harpist to play during cocktail hour and dinner - ask your dj service they may know of someone in your area. I had wreaths of ivy made for the bridesmaids to wear on their heads and my headpeice was a floral wreath. For gowns, make sure they have empire waists which were popular at the time, with flowing sleeves if possible. See if you can find a store that has 'suits of armor' - many will rent them to you - awesome for the entrance. For flowers if the bride likes lilacs she probably would also like freesia, it comes in shades of purple. My bouquets were done in shades of purple, from dark to pale. Do you have someone in the family or friends that is a gymnast/tumbler? If so rent them a 'court jester' costume to perform in during cocktail hour. How about a magician to stroll through the crowd? Just remember lots of flowers and ribbons and lots of fun!

Answer 6

Here's a great resource for ideas on food:

http://www.godecookery.com/how2cook/howto08.htm

They have actual medieval recipes, many of them translated into modern cooking terms as well. Some are designed to feed a significant number of people.

This site makes reproduction medieval clothing and accessories. You can order from them, or simply look at the pretty pictures for ideas on the lines you'd want to imitate:

http://www.revivalclothing.com/

During the medieval period, a brides often carried bouquets of herbs rather than flowers. Your sister-in-law might consider adding a couple sprigs of rosemary to her bouquet. Not only does it smell nice, it stands for love and remembrance.

For decorations, think swags of fabric, colorful banners, and lots of candles. Not only do they look great, they can be very easy on the budget, too!

Your sister-in-law and her fiance might check out a site on heraldry and come up with an insignia they can use on invitations, banners, even bridal party clothes.

I'm sure this wedding will turn out lovely. There's so much pagentry and color to the period that you're sure to find a lot of great ideas.

Answer 7

Well, the bride and groom (as well as the wedding party) could always have medieval-style outfits. Not sure if you were thinking of the "costumed" wedding or not - costumed weddings can be fun with the right mix of people. You could also incorporate medieval music into the wedding somehow. And maybe serve foods that could pass for "medieval" (meat, breads, vegetables).

Goblets is a good idea. Could use tankards, too.

Answer 8

For centerpieces, maybe wildflowers or a "treasure chest" with a dragon? Could also put the family's coat of arms on the invitations/place cards/etc.

A ren faire is always a good place to look, or do an internet search on "LARP" for some ideas.

Since it doesn't sound like she wants anything too expensive, maybe add in little touches like medieval music playing in the background (on an iPod, maybe), serving mead instead of champagne, getting a roast pig for the meal, that sort of thing.

For the dancing, maybe a ribbon pole? Anything medieval themed like that could be very fun. You could also try to find a some LARPers or ren faire workers willing to serve "in character", like a serving wench?

Answer 9

Have the wedding at your local Renn Faire or other Medieval Themed amusement location. Have gowns that fit the theme. Keep the food simple, homestyle and rustic (think roasted meats and potatoes). Favors can be anything prince/princess/castle/knight/dragon themed. Invitations can have a coat of arms on it...or maybe a knight in armor...or a prince and princess....

Lots of possibilities. Keep looking~!

Answer 10

Do you have a picture of your dress? It would be easier for me to tell if the veil would look good or not if I had the picture of the dress. Normally, you try to match the color of the veil with the dress, because if you don't, it will look very tacky. Layering may work, but then again... it might look too much. -=edit=- Ah, okay. Yeah... I think the silver circlet will look good over the ivory. Silver looks good with just about anything.