Medieval Weddings: How To Plan Your Fairy Tale Wedding

The popularity of wedding themes as risen tremendously over the last decade with a Medieval wedding theme being a very common choice. However, it is important to get a few of the facts straight before you begin your wedding planning.

First, although many historians argue exactly when the Middle Ages began and ended, a rough estimate would be between 1066 (when the Normans first conquered England) up until the end of the 1400's. At this point the Renaissance period began (1500 - 1600) although many people tend to group the two time frames together.

It is also important to note that celebrations and feasts held during this time period would vary significantly between the peasantry and the nobility. If you wish to keep your Medieval wedding celebration more true to form, you will need to choose which level of society you will focus on.

There were two extremes to the celebrations during this era. Most modern couples will elect to combine bits and pieces of these two levels of society.

Still, it helps to understand the differences in order to decide whether you want a more lavish wedding or if you would prefer a more simple "peasant" style ceremony, perhaps with a "noble" level banquet.

By taking the time to decide on which spectrum of the social scale you wish to focus the majority of your wedding on, you will be better prepared on choosing a wedding location, picking out appropriate wedding attire, making decorating decisions and working out other essential wedding planning priorities. It will also allow your guests time to plan on the type of costumes they wish to wear in conjunction with the formality of the wedding theme, should you request your guests to come in costume.

A brief explanation of the differences between a peasant ceremony and one held by the nobility is found farther down this page.

During the Middle Ages around 90% of the population were considered the peasant class, most of whom worked the land for the nobles. Some did live in the cities and towns and earned a comfortable living for their status, and others worked in the castle proper, however certainly none of them were ever "rich". A portion of their labor earnings and produce from the land would go to the lord of the nearest estate as payment for their rent and taxes.

Because the days were long and the work often back-breaking, feasts and celebrations were few and far between. When one was held, it would usually only last a day and most often be celebrated on a Sunday, which was their one day of rest. The only time this would be extended is if the lord of the manor declared a holiday or major celebration of some sort, which very rarely happened.

When a celebration in the village was planned everyone would pitch in to help, providing food, musical instruments and entertainment. Storytelling was extremely popular at this time too. Since most villages only consisted of a chapel(a few had Inns) and no other public buildings, the celebrations were held outdoors during the summer when it was warm.

At the opposite end of the scale you had the royalty and nobility. Their celebrations could go on for days as they didn't have to go to "work" in the morning. It also represented their standing of power and status. These glorious celebrations would feature lavish feasts, planned tournaments, dancing, scheduled hunts and a large variety of entertainment. Showing off your power and wealth through these extravagant celebrations was important for political and social reasons.

Celebrations were centered around food. Noble banquets were large and consisted of several courses (termed "removes"). Any guests that attended these medieval celebrations would be seated according to rank, with the host, hostess, most powerful nobles and high-ranking clergy members being seated at the high table at the front of the banquet hall.

Food was also distributed according to rank, with the best dishes being served first to the high table. Entertainment and gift exchanges were presented between each course. An authentic medieval feast could easily last an entire day!

Just like today's modern world, clothing styles changed rapidly with each generation. Be that as it may, there are still some common elements through most of the styles. Men and women often had certain items of clothing that were worn by both genders, such as kirtles and surcoats.

The fabric used for medieval clothing was heavier than it is today. If you plan on sewing your own costumes, using upholstery fabrics would be best. Keep in mind that pastel colors were nonexistent at this time. The colors should be vibrant, rich and deep. Choose fabrics that contain deep blues, emerald or forest green, deep reds and burgundies, ocher, bright yellows and chocolate browns.

The kirtle (undergarment) can be of a lighter weight material if you wish (if it is going to be entirely covered), but your cotehardie (the main outer garment) should be the richest looking. Choose a suitable fabric for this such as velvet, brocade or damask.

Also be careful in choosing the fabric pattern. Medieval clothing did not contain stripes, polka dots or small patterns. The occasional outfit may have had large diamond shapes, but this was rare. Both of these garment were worn by men and woman, with the man's being shorter in length.

By the fourteenth century, buttons began to appear. Until then, leather laces, ribbons and other such ties were used to secure clothing. The buttons used, however, were not flat or hard buttons like the ones we have today. These were small balls of cloth which were stuffed with wool.

Peasants, villagers and other workers didn't have the money or access to the fine, rich materials that the nobles wore. Instead, their clothing consisted of rough wool and linen garments. If you are attending a Medieval wedding and are choosing to dress in costume, wearing costumes made from linen, cotton or other such materials would certainly be allowed (I'm sure the bridal couple wouldn't want you scratching all day).

To learn more about the appropriate types of clothing worn in the Middle Ages check out the The Costumer's Manifesto. This site has a wonderful listing of links and information on medieval clothes.

In the earliest of times, the whole wedding ceremony usually involved the couple meeting in a special place of their choosing and declaring their love for each other. Sometimes witnesses were there, sometimes not. Because it was hard to prove the legal aspects of marrying in this way, it became common practice to have witnesses and often a member of the clergy present to validate the marriage.

As the Church came to dominate the medieval and renaissance periods, most of the ceremonies began to revolve around church customs. For example, for the influential families, the processional was a very well orchestrated procedure. Everyone was lined up outside a home and made their way to the church, most often on horseback. The processional consisted of a troupe of minstrels, the bride and groom, the best man, the groom's parents and finally the bride's parents. Sometimes this order was reversed, if it happened that the bride's parents were of higher social rank and status than the groom's.

Once the party reached the church the bride was escorted to the church doors by her father or guardian, followed by the groom and best man, then the parents. The priest would come outside and the "ceremony" would begin.

The groom would announce the dowry arrangements that had been made for this marriage, listing all that the bride would bring to the marriage, as well as his dowry pledge.

He would then present the bride with a bag of 13 coins, which she would later distribute to the poor. This wasn't a custom of providing charity, however. By distributing the money in front of many witnesses, it showed that the groom had empowered his new wife to be able to act on his behalf regarding any financial matters.

The priest would begin the ceremony and the couple would repeat their vows to each other for all to hear.

The priest would then bless the ring, which was given to the woman by the man, and then bless the couple and the union. The groom then took the bride's right hand and they began to "plight their troth" to each other, after which he placed the ring on her finger.

After this brief ceremony in front of the general populace, the couple moved inside the church for a bridal mass, chanting prayers and singing hymns.

Brides of this time period did not carry large elaborate bouquets like we do today. Bouquets were simple and used local flowers that were available during the season of their marriage. These bouquets were often accented with heather, ivy, baby's breath, small twigs, and wheat stalks, then hand-tied tied with a ribbon or cording. Here is a sampling of some of the popular flowers used, along with their related meanings.

Amaryllism - Pride, Beauty
Apple Blossoms - Preference
Daisies - Sentiments Shared
Forget-me-nots - Don't Forget Me
Heather Lavender - Admiration
Heather White - Protection, Wishes Come True
Holly - Domestic Happiness, Festivity
Ivy - Wedded Love
Laurel - Glory
Lily White - Purity, Virginity
Myrtle - Home, Heart-felt Love
Orange Blossoms - Purity, eternal love, marriage
Pansies - Thoughts, Consideration
Red Roses - I Love You
Sweetpea - Blissful Pleasure
Violets (Blue) - I'll always be true
Violets (Purple) - Faithfulnes
Violets (White) - Let's Take a Chance
White Roses - Innocence, secrecy
Wildflowers - Meanings would depend on the flower

Accents:
Baby's Breath
Twigs and small branches
Thistle - Austerity
Wheat Stalks - Fertility

Herbs were also a popular choice to use in bridal bouquets. They were usually interspersed within the flower bouquets due to their mystical healing and protective powers, like the blue sage pictured on the right.

Basil - Excellent for Love
Dill - For Protection, Luck, Money and Lust
Mint - For Protection and Strength
Parsley - For Love, Protection and Purification
Rosemary - Protection, Love
Sage - Immortality, Longevity, Increasing Wisdom
Thyme - Love, Courage

The Celtic Attic has a complete list of all herbs and spices along with their associated meanings and abilities.

There are lots of musical instruments that we use today that were not "available" during the middle ages. Below, I've given a sampling of some that were used during the Middle Ages. If you are planning on hiring musicians for your wedding, see if they are skilled in using some of these specific instruments.

Bagpipes - I think we all know what these look and sound like. Bagpipes originated in Scotland.

Bodhran- A Celtic drum made goats skin stretched over a wooden frame.

Chalumeau - This is a reed pipe with 6 to 8 finger holes. It is the predecessor of the clarinet.

Dulcimer - This is an instrument where wires are stretched in a shallow box and are struck with 2 wooden hammers.

Flute - The Flute is a woodwind instrument that is made from wood with a mouthpiece that is blown into holding the instrument sideways.

Harp - Graduated metal strings are stretched between a large wooden frame and are plucked with the fingers.

Harpsichord - This stringed keyboard instrument was the forerunner of the piano.

Lute - This is a stringed instrument that has a round body, like a halved pear, a flat neck with seven or more frets, and a separate peg-box usually bent back from the neck at an angle. It is plucked with the fingers.

Lyre - This is an ancient Greek instrument. It had strings strung across its base and was plucked with the fingers. (Think of a guitar shape with no neck).

Mandolin - Member of the lute family, it consists of 8 strings and is played with a plectrum, rather than the fingers.

Pan-Pipes - An ancestor of the flute, this instrument is made from 4 to 12 pipes of wood, cane or pottery and tied together in a graduated length of procession to give different pitches. The player blows across the holes to make the music.

Recorder - This is a wooden instrument with 7 holes in the front and one thumbhole in the back. It is the predecessor of the flute and does not use a reed in the mouthpiece.

Violin - A 4 stringed wooden instrument and is played with a horsehair bow.

Zither - A folk instrument, which consists of a flat wooden sound box over which are stretched four or five melody strings, and up to thirty-seven accompanying strings. The melody strings are nearest to the player, and are stopped on a fretted fingerboard with fingers of the left hand and plucked by a plectrum on the right thumb. Fingers of either hand pluck the