Need ideas for a Celtic themed Medieval or Renaissance wedding?

The Knot, of all places, has a nice list of helpful links! There are various explanations for traditions and tartans, links to helpful sites, and music ideas. There are also some lovely poems and vow ideas such as:

I vow you the first cut of my meat, the first sip of my wine,

from this day it shall only your name I cry out in the night

and into your eyes that I smile each morning;

I shall be a shield for you back as you are for mine,

no shall a grievous word be spoken about us,

for our marriage is sacred between us and no stranger shall hear my grievance.

Above and beyond this, I will cherish and honor you through this life

and into the next.

My Venue and Menue

I'm having my wedding at Beardslee Castle in Little Falls, NY (see photo above). It's the perfect location for my themed wedding because 1) it's an Irish-inspired castle and 2) they do the catering and the baking. This place is full of win. They also allow for the ceremony to take place inside or outside. If any of you are planning a Medieval/Renaissance/Fantasy wedding in Upstate NY, I highly recommend this place. "But Mel, you've not actually had your wedding yet." True, mine is scheduled for October 17th... But two of my future sister-in-laws and one of my best friends all had their weddings there and they *rocked*. They weren't historically accurate (maybe inspired in some small cases), but themed or traditional, Beardslee is an amazing venue.

This is basically the decided upon menu for my wedding, totally catered by Beardslee. Notice that it's not historically accurate food. Ron and I are vegetarians and we have vegatarian and vegan friends. We hare having chicken for our meat-eating friends though. Another great thing about Beardslee is that they do their absolute best to get a majority of their food from local farms and within season.

Beer, Wine, Punch and Soda (especially rootbeer for the groom!)

House Burgundy, Chablis & Blush wines, Domestic draft beer (Michelob light, Budweiser, or Coors Light)

sodas, fruit punch and fresh iced tea with mint and lemon, bottled spring water

fresh breads & rolls - whipped butter (vegan / vegetarian)

Seasonal Fresh Fruits and Vegetable Baskets (vegan)

melons, grapes, pineapple, strawberries, apples, oranges, grapefruit and kiwi

carrots, celery, broccoli, red and green bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, with chefs fresh dipping sauces

Two kinds of hummus with pita chips (vegan)

Balsamic Scented Bowtie Pasta Salad with grilled vegetables (vegan)

Tossed salad with vinaigrette dressing (vegan)

Fire blackened green beans in a roasted pepper coulis (vegan)

White Beans with Sundried Tomato & Feta (vegetarian)

tortellini salad with tomato, basil & mozzarella (vegetarian)

pasta with tomato basil sauce and cheese on the side (vegan/vegetarian)

Pan Roast Chicken Breast with a light herbed cream sauce

Garlic whipped potato (vegetarian)

3 tier stacked marble cake layered with strawberries

Folgers Coffee & Tea Selection

Oh man, I'm hungry now...

EDIT: Sorry for the funky text... I copied this from an email Beardslee sent to me and I couldn't get it to all look uniform...

Historic Inspiration vs. Historic Accuracy

So I figured that I should talk about my historically inspired wedding given that I've started a blog about such things. Our wedding is Medieval/Renaissance/fantasy inspired. Why so general? Why didn't I zero in on a particular time period? Why aren't I emphasizing accuracy? Although I've read about weddings that do just that and were both beautiful and successful, I had to really think about what was important to my future husband (FH) and me. I also had to take into account what my friends and family would be willing and able to do. If I insisted on having a Tudor era Elizabethan court wedding where everyone in attendance was requested to wear garb in accordance to the sumptuary laws, it would not have gone over well. Those sort of outfits are very complicated and expensive. It wouldn't have worked for my budget nor that of my family and friends'. At the same time, I don't want to dress like a peasant. I pretty much do that every summer at the Sterling Renaissance Festival. Shouldn't I be allowed to feel like a queen, princess, or at least a duchess at least once in my life? In regards to guests, my FH and I feel that it is more important to have our friends and family there to celebrate with us than to have them all adhere to a very strict dress code. At the same time we want to encourage people to dress up because the costumes are very much part of the decor.

We decided to take a majority of inspiration from the Renaissance Festival. Although Sterling's is "set" in Elizabethan England, people come dressed from all periods and countries. Some come dressed as fairies, elves, Captain Jack Sparrows, gypsies, and even samurai. Not necessarily historically accurate, but they're trying and having fun while learning a little bit about history. That's what's most fun and important to the FH and me at the faires. I wanted to share that atmosphere with my wedding guests.


Oh, and also... I really like to dance to modern music. Making the wedding historically inspired rather than accurate allows for that. ;)

So this will be the first of several posts in regards to my own wedding. I hope this one didn't ostracize or offend those brides and grooms planning a period-specific, historically accurate wedding. Those are awesome too, especially when they work for your wants, budget, and guests.

Sorry for the delay in posts. I've had a busy past few days that involved job interviews and the related preparation. Ok...and I'll admit... I also recently got back into playing World of Warcraft. So yeah... that monopolized a bit of my time. But who can blame me during a period of job hunting-induced stress?!

Anyway, have I got a historic wedsite for you! There are a few other Medieval, Renaissance, or period-inspired wedsites out there (at least, ones that are easy to find), but a lot of them cover past weddings and are very retrospective. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, except that some of them have broken links and broken links make me sad. Meran and Dusty's Vow Renewal wedsite covers an in-progress historic wedding. I also think it's very cool that their Medieval wedding is a vow renewal. Kudos to them for doing it again their way for their 10th anniversary!

Now check out the planning that they are putting into this event. First of all, notice that they've given themselves a *lot* of time. Considering the details they are hoping to include (check out the Medieval utensils!), they need that time. Take a lesson from them and, if you are planning a historic themed wedding, give yourself a LOT of time to plan it all out, especially if you are the type of historic bride/groom who hates kitschy things. Not that I necessarily think kitschy historic weddings are a bad thing, but if you hate that and you don't give yourself enough time and save enough money... Kitschy things are easier to obtain on a time and money pinch.

Also notice the inspiration spread throughout their wedsite. Waterhouse paintings, location photos, and movie screen shots are a great way to help you think about the look and feel you'd like. If you haven't browsed through period related artwork and films, do so. It can help solidify ideas. Although not included on the wedsite, Meran has posted inspiration boards, like the one above, to help her further determine the look and feel of the wedding. I think it's an excellent idea because, let's face it, some of us can become so consumed in the general idea of the theme that we forget the small, unifying details that can make a wedding unique, personalized, and, well, nice looking!

The couple also have a planning blog which contains some useful things to consider. Their most recent entry, for instance, describes their decision to change the date to save money. Check and see if your castle or historic hotel venue have discounted rates for certain days or seasons!

I love this wedsite and I'm so excited for the couple. I can't wait to see photos of the big day! You can be sure that I'll link to them when it comes.

If anyone else has a historically themed wedsite, let me know and I will try to blog about it. I'll probably post mine at some point, once I get permission from all involved. :)

King and Queen of Lurve

I'm sorry for the huge amount of posting today, but I'm trying to make this blog worthwhile and full of helpful content for other historically inspired brides and grooms. I do apologize for the storm of Medieval and Renaissance content. Like I said before, my wedding is focused on that period and, as my wedding is in October, I'm very much preoccupied with it. I will do my best to find content for other wedding periods though!

Anyway, yesterday the wonderful Offbeat Bride posted a link to iDiY (I-Do it yourself), a blog dedicated to do it yourself wedding-related projects. It's an excellent source of inspiration. I actually noticed a lot that could be used for Victorian weddings.

Today's post features the latest "love stamp" issued by the US Postal Service. Super cute, right?! My mum pointed them out to me a few days ago, and indeed I think my fiance and I will use them for wedding-related mail. iDiY's latest post features some "Love Stamp Inspired Freebies." Very cute.

Plague Doctors and Medieval Music!

Ah, the plague doctors, or beak doctors as they were also known... What an oddity of history.

And yet, my future brother-in-law wants to dress as one for my upcoming Medieval/Renaissance wedding. At first I wasn't fond of the idea. He is in the wedding party after all. Then I decided that, as long as the mask stayed off for the ceremony, I didn't much care. The main point in getting people to dress up is to have fun, after all. At least that's become my opinion. :P

A friend recently showed me this amazing plague doctor costume. How cool is that? My brother to be is hoping to experiment with leather for his mask. If his plans work out, I will post the results for the world to see!


I also want to share a website I found about musical instruments used in early music. I don't know about you, but, while listening to pieces of Medieval or Renaissance music for wedding ideas, I often wonder what certain instruments are. Of course, many of us are very familiar with the harp, the lute, the bagpipes, and the dulcimer. But what about the lizard? The rauschpfeife? The psaltery? Or the haunting gemshorn? Many of the instruments come with sound clips and sometimes whole songs. You can even see what the inside of a hurdy-gurdy looks like! This site is an excellent resource for anyone concerned with period music!

Medieval Wedding

When I type "Medieval Wedding" into my Google search bar, the first items are some images. One of which is this impressive gem of a medieval wedding shown above. For more information on this impressive event (including some neat ideas for invitations) check out this article.

One of the first links to information about Medieval weddings and their history is a site called Marriage during the Middle Ages. It's a helpful tidbit of info, but they don't site anything. Their website instead encourages visitors to do their own research to back up the claims they put forth. Of course I believe that people should do their own research to gain different perspectives, but scholarly articles have a bibliography for a reason. It was just a bit annoying to someone who enjoys history and learning.

The next helpful link is aptly called Medieval and Renaissance Wedding Page. This page has all sorts of information on it and it includes a bibliography (yay!). It was created by Kirsti S. Thomas who is also a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. The SCA, for those who don't know, is also an excellent place to look for historic wedding ideas. ANYWAY! the Medieval and Renaissance Wedding Page seemingly contains loads of information about clothing, food, music, and even a discussion on the validity of handfasting. However many of the links are broken, which is a real shame. That can be a bit of a setback for anyone researching Medieval and Renaissance weddings online.