The Men

So now that you and your ladies (the hardest to situate fashion wise) are taken care of, what about your groom?

Well, you can go to Dark Garden and look over a dress for the 1800s where her groom was a fashionable man in a robin's egg blue outfit.

Or, you can put them in tuxedos. There is nothing wrong with the formal suit we wear now, except that it's not period. However, it's cheap, easy to find, and looks good.

Another option for those doing a historic/Renaissance wedding or even a Scottish/Irish heritage group is the kilt.

Now, here is where we get from being a general blog to being quite specific. I sell kilts and most people don't know all of the details, "rules" and whys of it all. Now:

Kilts are pretty old and Irish men CAN wear them; they are just broken into counties.

The kilt you want for your wedding for the groom is either a casual or piper's/formal. Casuals have more tartan (Woven fabric, usually worsted wool) and pipers more so. The more fabric, the more formal (cost more money in the day.). Pipers from my boss are also hand sewn instead of being machine sewn; 15,000 stitches worth. Casuals have close to that number and are run on a sewing machine. Pipers have the most pleats, most fabric, and sporran loops.

Sporrans are a MUST! They are your pocket, guys. They should hang in front of your... erm.."boys" is the term we use in the faires. Formal sporrans these days are heavily adorned black leather with either some rabbit/bovine hide (with hair) or silver metal. The belt/chain goes through the loops on your casual or piper. NEVER your belt, you will ruin the kilt.

Finally, every guy needs a fine suit belt ( or a nice belt) no thinner than 1.5 inches and no wider than 2 inches. Thinner doesn't hold it up (there are no buttons, zippers, latches, or anything else) and wider won't grab the fabric enough; either way it will fall down.

Either the groom wears a Prince Charlie Jacket and the other men wear an Argyll jacket or they all wear Prince Charlies. The only difference is the cut. Renting them is easiest and www.kiltrental.com is one of the resources to use. They even rent out kilts and send them quickly.

We are buying the kilts and renting the jackets (jackets sell for approximately 360). Each gentleman is wearing a Victorian style kilt in the same tartan. We sell a poly blend which allows the wearer to machine wash and dry their kilt.

My groom is wearing a 14oz worsted wool, Dark Isle, handsewn piper's kilt. We are buying a dark brown bovine sporran for him to wear.

Of course we have to buy extra yardage in the Dark Isle for my arisaid/plaid, wool hose for the guys, make flash to match, and find ties which will work.

For more photos than these (I am still working on getting them to sit right in the blog) check out Goodsearch or Google. Or watch Made Of Honor, a movie which features a Scottish wedding.

A Note on Dressing Bridesmaids/Maidens

I know I wrote only about dressing the Bride in my last post and will mostly skip over it but I have a modern alternative to finding them period outfits either custom made or from the retailers I listed.

My maidens are picking separates from Alfred Angelo's collection because they are affordable and could be worn again as two different outfits. (Or for those that go to faires or our many balls, could be changed into something else entirely quite easily.)

Remember, the idea is to make your theme yours but: your guests can't possibly afford decent outfits, and unless they are seasoned patrons, won't be comfortable in them. Having your maidens dressed in more modern but lovely outfits will help make everyone feel better.

UNLESS you are having a faire wedding, then things are a bit different.. :)

Dresses

Dark Garden

"Snow White" DG

















So, now that I am on my third blog entry, I will attempt not to ramble as much... :)

Another item high on your list is the bridal gown and groom's attire. Depending on your taste this can vary, especially considering the time period you are looking at. We can take a much closer look at men's wear in another post since it's nearly as extensive as bridal choices.

In my personal search for a dress I was both disgusted and enchanted with what I found. For instance:

For every bride I suggest looking over a company based in California called Dark Garden. They make custom under and over corsets which are extremely affordable for what they make. (Off the rack, costume grade corsets average $3-400 ). They also make couture dresses with built in corsets to make it into a lovely ensemble. Note the attention to detail, the high quality material, style, and accuracy. The white dress worn by the dark haired lady is a dress based on what she thought Snow White would wear and most of the long train and heavy over skirt were removable for the reception.

Another site I fell in love with was Rivendell Bridal- a site for a business in the UK which makes stunning and breathtaking custom wedding gowns for the slightly fantasy wedding (or the all fantasy wedding). I suggest, if you have the funds, the Titania. It comes in nearly 10 colors and two choices of fabric. It is the long flowing dress photo I have in the blog. Their other dresses are less expensive but also a fantasy dream of quality and taste. The Malana is another wonderous dress.














A mainstream designer, St Pucchi, also makes a nice selection of dresses that look period but are modern. They don't fit every bride's pocketbook, nearly $10,000 or more for the dress I liked.

Another dreamy option is Stimpzilla and her dresses. They are period, often hand sewn, and can be wonderful for wearing to Ren Faires later. They are expensive but will work with you to make the dress of your dreams within your budget look like a million dollars.

However, there is no rule that says you must wear a period dress even if everything else is Old World/Historic/Fantasy. One of my choices was Alfred Angelo and two of his styles.

A final option I will offer is custom gown making. It's a route I'm looking over since the dress I love is not available in my price range. The designers aren't willing to work with me and toward my budget, offering the make a less quality dress, less nice dress of the same style for only a tiny bit less. My local seamstress says that she can make the dress a fraction of the price and make it more "me" and more flattering. It will even leave me a chance to do custom touches like:

Wrapping my bouquet with lace used to make my dress
Making a veil to match
Buying extra to set aside for my daughter's wedding or as a keepsake for later

Well, this is all I have for now. I could go on for days on period dress but I urge every bride to stay away from plain, cheap, thin or otherwise un-bridal like clothing for your period day. Lovely items can be found in your price range please don't settle!

The Historic Venue

So your knight, prince, rogue, rake, mage, warrior, noble, dandy, gent proposed. Now that you have that truly once-in-a-lifetime moment in your mind it's time to tackle your first hurdle:

A truly "you" venue.

Conventional brides have a variety of choices for their themes whether it be beach, chic, bling, New Years, Christmas... However, the historic loving bride has fewer options. Don't despair- you can still have a breathtaking venue within your budget and your tastes; it just takes a bit more leg work.

While planning our wedding I was determined to find some sweeping castle, manor, or otherwise lovely building to hold it in since we are not very religious. My mother had her heart set on our reception gracing the same halls her second one did so I capitulated on it. After all, she is paying and I am her only daughter. Never mind that Crystal Gardens of Howell Michigan is just posh without the price tag. :)

I searched high and low, in every city I could come up with and only had a handful to choose from. I didn't want to wait two years for Kirk In The Hills to have an opening. (A breathtaking and tear inspiring venue which is so popular, many times you can not get a date or time within 24 months)

Every church I contacted was going to make us do inane things to go there or charge us too much. Indianwood Golf course, despite looking exactly like a castle, would not be within our budget. The MeadowBrook Manor is broken into several rooms and a tad expensive with photography of most things in or around the grounds restricted. The drive time from there to Crystal Gardens was not worth it- nearly two hours without accounting for Friday rush hour.

So I looked for historic, decommissioned churches. One was much smaller than they led you to believe, another was not as lovely as the photos of it, another was just as far as MeadowBrook. I decided to bite the bullet and look over the All Saints Chapel in Howell, a tiny chapel built in the late 1800s and smack in downtown.

It was lovely and cosy with old wood floors, pews, and old feel. It took three more visits and months to finally decide it was for us.

I suggest for everyone looking to go historic to Renaissance not to fret: merely make what you are doing work. Often times it will turn out better than you expected.

For Victorian, I suggest a manor house or garden space in places like Zoological societies, atriums, or parks. You could even have it in a ball room, making the space do double duty. Have the chairs for the tables lined up for your ceremony, run a silk aisle runner between them and have a lovely arch or large candelbra decked with flowers. Use topiaries as aisle decor or ornate (plastic or not) vases filled with bunches of color coordinated flowers like hydrangea, lilacs, mums, lillies, daisies, carnations (which are versatile, cheap and beautiful), and ferns. Greenery among flowers shouldn't be shied from because you want an old garden or manor house feel.
Then, after the ceremony move everyone into another room for a tea/coffe/cocktail half hour or hour. The staff can then move the chairs, place your table in front of the backdrop, place the decor used all around the room, then set up tables.
Think Whitney Garden party or elegant fete.

For Renaissance, it's a bit harder. The Faires are often not very special and have little to no formal building or tent for weddings. (See end for exemption) They are dirty, open during the rain, filled with tourists, and have shows going on during your event. My faire circuit has no formal tent for weddings or building, it gets very crowded and parking is a nightmare, and last year there was so much mud I nearly lost a pair of expensive boots just walking about.
Unless your group is small and a bit casual, I would stay away from that avenue.
Try old churches, historic homes, castle-like buildings or gardens. A nature park is also especially good because it allows you to have a more theatrical entrance.

For every venue keep in mind your budget, estimated guest list, colors you like, expectations, and general theme. Ask a lot of questions and take as many pictures of the venue, empty or set up, as possible. Every time I try to plan something the venue always seems smaller and filled with more red than I remember.

Any place you pick can be customized into the theme you are looking for and all that matters is your love of it. A truly modern building can house a Renaissance or Victorian wedding- it's the people involved that matter. I will cover attire in the next blog post, along with pictures, where to order clothing, and options.

-- Note: Each Renaissance faire/festival is different. In Michigan, many are smaller than MRF, my home faire and MRF has no building or "wedding" tent. However, it has a lovely gazebo and a new area you can use to host your event.
I know that Bristol and Texas are large, extensive faires. Weddings there are lovely and they have some facilities to host. Please check your faire or the faire you like and ask questions. I highly suggest visiting during the approximate time your wedding will be to get a feel for the crowd, vendors, actors, what is available, activities, and weather/dust ratio.

Everything Has a Beginning

Dismayed at the lack of any information for a classy, stunning, elegant, grown up Renaissance or Celtic wedding I decided to dive in.

Everything out there is - in many respects - trash. Costumes for brides are cheaply made but marked up and there is hardly anything for a gentleman to wear.

Little originality or thought is put into the venue and many couples feel guests have to dress up to enhance the authenticity.

Renaissance and historic weddings are a style, not merely a theme.

In the webpages of this blog I hope to share the ways Renaissance, Victorian, historic or alternative weddings can trump a diamond and platinum affair.