How to Dress for a Medieval or Renaissance Wedding

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By eHow Contributing Writer

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The costumes chosen for a medieval or Renaissance wedding are perhaps the most important elements in helping to create a period atmosphere.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Parchment Papers
Wedding Invitations
Renaissance Outfits
Bridal Bouquets
Candleholders
Fabrics
Pillar Candles
Taper Candles
Wax Seals
Wooden Candleholders
Poesy Rings
Renaissance Music
Parchment Envelopes
Computer Fonts Software

Step 1

Choose costumes for the wedding party based on a favorite time period and/or culture. Look through medieval and Renaissance costume books for ideas. Search the Internet under "medieval costume" and "Renaissance costume" as well. Even period movies can serve as inspiration for your choices.
Step 2

Search through books pertaining to the history and art of particular cultures. Though you might not find a book on the clothing of 15th-century Spain, you'll find pictures of costumes from that era in books about Spanish history and Spanish painters.
Step 3

Find a local seamstress who has experience in sewing period costumes. The process of fitting and refitting the wedding attire will be made much easier if the seamstress is local to the members of the wedding party. Make arrangements for costumes 8 to 12 months in advance of the wedding date.
Step 4

Sew the wedding costumes yourself if you have sewing experience. Find patterns on the Internet, in period costume books or in the pattern section of fabric stores. Some of the major pattern companies have begun producing a wide range of beautiful and accurate medieval and Renaissance costume patterns.
Step 5

Choose fabrics such as heavy brocades and velvets in rich, jewel-toned colors for the wedding costumes. Medieval couples wore their best clothing for their weddings. White did not become the traditional color for bridal gowns until the Victorian era.
Step 6

Consider period headwear instead of a modern veil. Do the research yourself or ask your seamstress about appropriate headwear. Medieval brides also either wore their hair loose with no head covering or wore a circlet of flowers.
Step 7

Choose to rent costumes instead of having costumes made. This is a great option for those who do not want to keep their costumes after the wedding or are on a tight budget. Look in the yellow pages under "costume rental" for local rental information.
Step 8

Explore the Medieval and Renaissance Wedding Ring and the League of Renaissance Merchants Web Ring. These Web rings will lead you to hundreds of commercial and personal Web sites that pertain to medieval and Renaissance weddings, music, costumes, accessories and more.
Step 9

Invite guests to wear medieval or Renaissance costumes to the wedding. Provide them with retail, rental and pattern information. You can include this information with the wedding invitations.

Comments

valency3 said

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on 1/19/2009 very informative. I will use the clothing information. Thanks.
Valency3

on 11/12/2008 Go to http://www.gothicweddingdresses.webs.com who do medieval style gowns and hand fasting dresses for medieval occassions. They do made to measure service. Very good prices and lovely designs.