Incorporate Herbs – Historically, herbs represented the antidote to demon and evil spirit fears of the Renaissance Era. Aesthetically, using herbs such as rosemary, thyme, basil, and sage will add texture, fragrance, and authenticity to your Medieval/Renaissance bouquet. Fill large baskets with a bounty of herbs and wildflowers for brilliant centerpieces and altar arrangements. In addition (although it’s not technically an herb), brides incorporated wheat into their bouquets as a symbol of fertility.

Fill Arrangements with Wild Berries and Brambles – Another way to relive the 14th and 15th centuries at your wedding is by incorporating the brambly wildflower look by filling large baskets with holly, pine, ivy, and other lush greens with heavy stems and pointed leaves. Then add herbs like heather to make softness, color, and contrast. Make long garlands of dark greenery and wildflowers to string across your reception hall or from window to window in the church for a real Renaisssance feel.

Use the Richest Color Palettes – Let your imagination go heavy on the color when designing your wedding flowers. To show up against so much dark wood and stone, only the deepest colored flowers were used in Medieval/ Renaissance weddings then, so why not now? Go bold with flowers the color of goldenrod, royal blue, scarlet, forest green, purple, and orange.

The traditional Maid of Honor started in England where the senior of the bridesmaids attended to the bride’s every need the week or so before her wedding day. She was also responsible for making the bouquet and other wedding decorations. On the wedding day she would help the bride dress.

During the feast, the bride and groom drank spiced wine from a fine chalice called the Wedding Cup. As midnight approached, guests tried to get into the newlywed’s bedchamber to bring them a reinvigorating potion called “Bride’s Broth”.

Knights returning from the Crusades introduced medieval society to the tradition of a bridal veil. The veil was another symbol of purity and was also believed to protect the bride from “the evil eye.”

Garters became an vital part of a medieval bride’s wardrobe. As the couple rushed to their room, wedding guests followed and tried to grab the garter for excellent luck. Before this tradition, overzealous wedding guests often shredded the bride’s clothing trying to grab a handful of lucky cloth. Tradition held that any man who gave his like a bride’s garter would be guaranteed faithfulness.

Flowers were also vital in a medieval wedding. Returning crusaders introduced medieval Europe to a Saracen tradition of weaving a crown out of orange blossoms. Only nobles could afford these very expensive blossoms. THE SITE
Look for stone buildings in rural areas. Find out about historic homes in your area, especially those with a Tudor, English-cottage, or castle look (local historical societies can help). Search for castle, keep, or gatehouse replicas near you (there aren’t many real castles in the U.S. but there are some! To find them, check out the PBS video, America’s Castles). Outdoor settings are perfect for a spring or summer wedding. If you have the space, raise a huge white tent adorned with banners and garlands. Rent the special-events pavilion at a renaissance faire or medieval joust for your ceremony and reception — you can find these re-enactments nationwide. Have the ceremony at a Gothic-style church — huge stones and pointy arches, with a foreboding yet romantic look (ala Billy Idol’s “White Wedding” video) — and hold the reception at a nearby hall. Rent a manor house decorated with tapestries, wooden beams, and candles.

THE ATTIRE
Medieval attire is the most visible way to tout your theme — your pictures will be unforgettable! Browse historical costume books at the library. Try Margot Lister’s Costume: An Illustrated Survey from… (Plays Inc., 1968) or What People Wore: 1,800 Illustrations… (Dover Publications, 1994). Period costume catalogs are also available: The Amazon Drygoods (800) 798-7979, Ravensmoon Replicas, and Museum Replicas Ltd. (800) 883-8838 will all be useful.

Basic medieval attire can consist of:

Royalty: the era’s most over-the-top, formal clothes

Merchant: pretty but not showy, indicating modest prosperity

Peasant: casual, carefree, outdoorsy, and largely unembellished

Classic medieval: women in long, slim-fitting gowns; men in tights and tunics

Classic renaissance: women in tight bodices and full skirts; men in tights, breeches, pirate shirts, and lace vests

Remember that simple styles will be most comfortable — some formal medieval clothes are heavy and confining. You two might want to be completely decked out, with simpler clothes for the wedding party. Where to find the clothes? Order them from catalogs, have them custom-made, or rent them from local costume shops.

THE INVITATIONS
Print invitations on heavy parchment in calligraphic type (or real calligraphy). Theme-appropriate motifs include simple flowers, fancy scrolls, heraldic symbols, and metallic embossing. Rich jewel-tone colors look very medieval, especially when combined with gold or silver — reckon of illuminated texts. Look for parchment stock at a local printer-supply company and add a period border from a clip art book. A local printer can set text in a calligraphic style and print the invitations; you can color the border to suit your tastes. Fold each invitation in thirds and tie with a satin ribbon. Browse mail-order catalogs such as the American Wedding Album, Camelot, Ann’s, Rexcraft, and Dawn for invitations depicting castles.

The Medieval Wedding Guide by Vanessa Hand suggests this wording for invitations and announcements:
HEAR YE! HEAR YE!
The honour of thy presence
is hereby requested
at the marriage of
[bride's name]
and
[groom's name]
on [day and date]
in a medieval wedding ceremony
at half-past the seventh hour
in the eventide.

HEAR YE! HEAR YE!
Let it be known that on the 11th day of June
in the year of our Lord two thousand and one
the house of [bride's last name] pledged its firstborn daughter
[name]
to the house of [groom's last name] in marriage to the firstborn son
[name]
at
[name of church]
City, State

In olden days, letters were sealed with wax, often with a family seal imprinted on it. Today, the post office frowns on sealing outer envelopes with wax. When they get run through the stamping machine — which is hot — the wax melts. Save the wax for inside envelopes or reception favors.

THE CEREMONY
Tie the knot with this meaningful touch from The Medieval Wedding Guide: Medieval brides believed knots symbolized excellent luck, hope, and steadfastness, so they tied their bouquets with numerous knots. During your vows, you might want to symbolize this tradition: Question your officiant or an honored friend to bind your hands together with ribbon.

THE FARE
Medieval wedding guests feasted on mutton (sheep), roast peacock (served with tail feathers!), quail, pheasant, squab, venison, boar, eels, bread, eggs, and cheese. Fowl was very well loved in the fifteenth century. Spices like cinnamon, cloves, mace, saffron, and especially pepper were savored. Feasters also loved ginger, anise, and nutmeg, along with many common (and uncommon) herbs such as parsley, basil, galingale, rosemary (mentioned in Shakespeare’s Hamlet), and thyme. Braised lettuces, leeks, shallots, parsnips, turnips, apples, and plums were a standard part of the menu. If historic accuracy is your goal, avoid squash, pumpkins, potatoes, tomatoes, and chocolate (well, maybe you can cheat a small). These are New World foods that European medievals would never have recognized. Medieval party animals drank mead, a thick, fermented beverage made of honey, malt, and yeast. Also called honey wine, mead can still be found in a few specialty liquor stores but most of what’s labeled as mead is really grape or other fruit wine with honey in it. (The medieval types weren’t yet into champagne, though wine was fine as a mead substitute!). Borrow or rent brass, silver, pewter, or wooden place settings. Pewter goblets are a fantastic touch — at the very least, get a pair for yourselves so you can toast each other in style!

THE FLOWERS
According to the Medieval Wedding Guide, ancient-time weddings were often adorned with dried flowers. The bouquet, usually given to the bride by her mother, had fantastic significance. For example, wheat was included to wish the bride fertility in family matters and with crops. If you want to include a meaningful medieval custom, select bouquet (or boutonniere or centerpiece) flowers that are native to the bride’s and groom’s hometown(s), plus a flower from their future locale. Medieval peasants did this to symbolize the couple’s union in lieu of expensive rings. The ancients used herbs in bouquets to deter evil spirits (they especially liked garlic, which we don’t recommend!). If a bride carried sage (the herb of wisdom), she became wise. Rosemary represented remembrance. In Tudor England, brides carried marigolds dipped in rosewater and ate them afterward as they were thought to be aphrodisiacs! Centuries later, flowers replaced herbs and took on meanings.

Knot Note: Check out Victorian Weddings to learn about the meaning of flowers.

THE FAVORS
In the world of chivalry, a lady often gave her lover a favor — a scarf or handkerchief — before he went into a battle or joust. At renaissance faires, you can buy small pendants, ribbons, rosettes, tassels, or other wearable trinkets, which were often used as favors by nobility. Additional thoughts:

Parchment scrolls printed with a favorite poem and tied with velvet ribbon

Miniature wreaths of dried flowers and herbs

Quill pens with a clever note attached

Velvet pouches filled with potpourri

Small flasks of mead or fruit wine

Tickets to a local renaissance faire (you might get a group rate)

Small brass bells tied with ribbons imprinted with your names. People can ring them to get you to kiss, instead of clanging their glasses

Excellent luck, hope this helps!!!.

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