Most of the time when couples are planning a wedding, the
vast majority of the work is done by the woman. However, since I happen to be
an English teacher at a local high school, I wanted to have a lot of input on
the way everything was put together. My favorite language subject is British
literature, so I wanted to make sure that the majority of the decorations and
other factors had some historical value. I’m also quite the history buff, so
having other historically accurate elements from the ancient world was also of
value to me. Here are some of the things that I wanted included in my wedding
because I am such a detail oriented person.
Decorations
The decorations for our wedding were one of the most
difficult parts to put together because buying authentic period pieces would
have cost a small fortune. Fortunately, my wife (or fiancé at the time) is a
very resourceful woman and is very hand with crafts and sewing. She took the
time out of her busy schedule to make tablecloths for all the tables with some
vintage fabric we found hiding in the back of a fabric outlet, and she even
crafted her own wedding dress in the style of late 1700s English style. I’ll
admit, the amount of work she put into just researching her dress let alone
actually stitching it together is more than most people can probably imagine,
but it was gorgeous when she finished and was well worth the effort in my
opinion.
Favors and
Entertainment
As a history buff, I really wanted a band that was authentic
to a period from antiquity. Fortunately, we have a very large renaissance fair
that happens every year locally, and my wife and I frequent the event in full
attire. We happened to know a band that played period music on authentic
instruments while dressed in period attire, so we chose to hire them for the
entertainment portion of our wedding reception. As a fan of history, I also
wanted to incorporate something fun for the guests so we chose wedding sparklers that were the same
as ancient Asian cultures would have used. They were a bit difficult to track
down, but they were also well worth the effort.
Food and Drink
As I mentioned before, my wife and I have some fairly deep
ties at our local renaissance fair, so we decided to recruit some vendors to
cater the event. My favorite food is turkey drumsticks while my wife’s is beef
stew in a bread bowl, so we decided to offer both to our guests so everyone
could enjoy. For beverages, we served a choice of beer, mead, and red wine so
everyone could indulge in their “primitive” pleasure of choice. We had to bring
in some modern day soda pop for the handful of kids who attended, but most of
the guests stuck with the appropriate period beverages.
All in all, I must admit that planning a wedding with so
many historical features was quite challenging; even for a teacher! I do
recommend that more men get involved in the planning process because it was
very rewarding and my wife appreciated the help. Though my personal tastes may
not be for everyone, take the time to make your wedding exactly what you want
it to be and you will have lasting memories to cherish for the rest of your
life.
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