Three Great Historical Wedding Theme Ideas For Your Special Day

A historical wedding theme is a brilliant way of unifying your special day. Furthermore, it is sure to make the day more memorable for all of your guests. If you’re fascinated by history then a historically-themed wedding gives you the perfect excuse to do just that.

Do you love romantic stories of knights in shining armour and damsels in distress? A medieval wedding theme is the ideal choice for you.

Are you totally besotted with Jane Austen and want to walk down the aisle with your own Mr Darcy? A Regency wedding theme will suit you down to the ground.

Do you love frills and frippery and can’t have enough pretty patterned china and lace? Set your wedding in the Victorian period and you can indulge your passion endlessly.

Below are just some suggestions of how you could theme your wedding around one of these three historical eras. From venue to veil, and food to frock, the guide should give you some ideas of how to get started.

A medieval wedding theme brings the age of chivalry back to life

The history

So much of what we continue to do in wedding ceremonies today began in the Middle Ages. For example, our modern day vows are based upon oaths that came into being in medieval England. Moreover, ‘banns’ came into effect around this time, and even the word ‘wedding’ entered the vernacular.

A medieval wedding theme is an excuse for romantic excess that all your guests will thoroughly enjoy. Everyone will love to be lords and ladies for a day!

You have the perfect excuse for glorious soft flowing robes in bright, jewel-like colours for the girls. After all, colours were easier to maintain. Meanwhile the fellows will get to dress up as knights and princes.

Your wedding

A castle or ancient manor house provides the perfect setting for a medieval wedding. To really bring your medieval wedding theme to life, why not host an archery contest or include a falconry display?

Likewise, a hog roast served banquet-style is the perfect fare for the wedding breakfast. Sam from Yorkshire Hog Roast has a range of different wedding packages to choose from that would be perfect for your big day. Alongside canapés and desserts, his hogs come with fresh bread rolls with homemade sauce and stuffing. He also prepares several salads so you really can feast like royalty.

Of course, the medieval period hosted different types of weddings. Although you might prefer a royal wedding theme, it might be fun to opt for a more rustic approach.

If you want to have an outdoor or barn wedding, then a simple floral archway and hearty stews could make your theme pop.

You have free reign to use flowers extensively. Talk to a florist about designing you a luscious bouquet and covering you venue in blooms. Yes, that is another tradition that stemmed from medieval England – the bouquet. However, its origin is not very romantic. In fact, the reason for these blossoms was to mask the smell of the bride if it had been too long since her yearly shower.

Of course there are great medieval traditions we have forgotten. Certainly not many people have jesters provide the evening entertainment, but it was a mainstay of the Middle Ages.

If you want to return to the land of myth and dragons for your special day, or just want to embrace a simpler time, a medieval wedding might be for you.

The elegance of Georgian England makes a perfect wedding theme

The history

The Jane Austen-style restrained elegance of the Georgian, specifically Regency, period makes the perfect backdrop for a wedding.

George I’s coronation in 1714 started the Georgian era in England. The Regency period, specifically, lasted from 1811 until 1820. When King George III was too ill to sit on the throne, his son took control as Prince Regent.

This short decade was not a long time to encompass all the changes in styles that took place. As a result, the years from 1795 to 1837 are often included in the Regency years.

Architecture really sets the Georgian period apart. The delightful classical architecture of the Palladian style makes an ideal setting for a wedding celebration.

There are plenty of restored Georgian mansions available for hire, with gardens and grounds to match. Superbly proportioned rooms complete with polished mahogany furniture, glittering chandeliers and shining silver make stunning backdrops to wedding photographs.

Your wedding

Embrace the sophistication of the time and dazzle on your wedding day. The simple understated empire-line dresses of the period provide ample opportunity to create a beautiful wedding gown. Meanwhile the men get the chance to indulge in tailcoats, colourful waistcoats and top hats.

Aside from magnificent buildings and stunning gowns, a proper Georgian-theme wedding encourages few guests so you can spend more lavishly on the ones you have. The Regency wedding breakfast was actual breakfast food, and the wedding cake stuffed with booze.

Weddings in Georgian times were always announced in the newspaper. You might send your invitations in a similar style. Likewise, you could do up all of your wedding stationery in a similar way.

A Victorian wedding theme: bric-a-brac, knick-knacks and much, much more

The history

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue; the Victorians loved their knick-knacks and superstitions. Marry in the month of May, and you’ll surely rue the day, so it’s much better to try June instead.

If you’re a girlie girl who loves beautifully ornate dresses then the Victorian period may well be your best choice. Imagine a big bustle, frills, ruches and tucks, all set off with lace. With the guys in top hats and a frock coat, what could be better?

It is well known that Queen Victoria’s wedding dress changed fashions for her era and modern times. In fact, up until this time a black wedding gown would have been preferred as it was easier to hide the dirt on. The dresses of this era were long, often with a trailing train, and lace came into fashion.

Your wedding

And so, a historical Victorian theme wedding dress may be one you were planning on wearing anyway. However, most dresses of that time included sleeves. If that is not your style, opt for a warm shawl instead.

Next, find a neo-Gothic Victorian extravaganza of a country house and you have the ideal setting for your Victorian theme. Many country houses from this period have been carefully renovated and are decorated and furnished to fit the period. To help set the scene, why not hire a horse and carriage to take you to the church and back?

One tradition of the Victorian wedding you may wish to copy is the wedding ring. Although it was typical that only the bride wore one, she had the date and the couple’s initials engraved inside.

A historical wedding theme offers an excellent way of expressing your individual taste and provides an endless resource for dress style, catering and celebration. Choose a historical theme that fits with your personality as a couple. you can find a historical wedding theme to suit your character.