Love on the High Seas: A Pirate-Theme Wedding
"I'm 22 years old, and got married in early July (on the hottest day of the year). Now, my wedding wasn't a lavish $20,000 event. My budget was so low, I don't even know what it was! I was my own wedding planner. I searched endlessly online for deals and creative ideas. I even managed to find the dress — you know, "The One" — on eBay for a mere $125.
"In the beginning I wanted the traditional wedding. I had some ideas about earthy seafoam greens and browns. But about a month after trying to figure out how to throw this all together, I got fed up. In fact, I pleaded with my fiancée to just marry me in Las Vegas.
"In the end I found out he wanted a large wedding ... even more than I did. But he also wanted a themed wedding. And somehow, and I don't know how, he convinced me to have a pirate-themed wedding." This, she admits, after he initially pushed for a circus and then a superhero theme.
"It actually turned out rather beautiful."
First the Courtin'; Then the Marryin'
"I bought 200 plastic sand art bottles with corks for $118. And we designed and printed out our own little treasure maps. I spent endless hours burning the edges, for realism. Then we rolled them up, tied them with gold ribbon and tucked them in the bottles.
Finally, we sealed the cork with gold wax, and stamped the top with an "S." Really, our guests were delighted when they got them."
What's more, she says, they actually mailed these invitations directly in the bottle, with "To" and "From" labels attached. "The post office allows it," she said. "I had no clue we could do this, but my mother-in-law tipped me off." (Editor's note: this is where purists can really see the advantage in plastics.)
"I think it all worked out to about $.60 a bottle," she says. "We saved a lot of money doing it this way." But, she admits, after the twentieth one (out of 200!), the process became a pain. "Printing, burning the edges, sealing, stamping ... yikes."
Droppin' Anchor at Home
Bill and Jessica, who hosted the event in their own backyard, couldn't have dreamed up a better venue, with their spacious yard, lush tropical landscaping, and weathered solid board fencing, oh-so-reminiscent of an island oasis. "We'd looked around for other places, but I just wanted a place where we were in complete control."We were lucky enough to have a large yard."
Saucy Wenches & Stylin' Swashbucklers
Still, not everything ran according to plan ("as we headed to the ceremony, I think we both had thoughts of just driving right on to Mexico," says Jessica, who needed some last-minute hair and dress tweaks), but when they arrived, most things fell into place. Including the world's most adorable ring bearer.
"I wanted the ring bearer to be Peter Pan, and the flower girls to be little Wendys, dressed in white nightgowns. Actually, they ended up being little Tinkerbells.
"For the ring bearer, we actually made an alligator pillow out of green velvet."
Bill, of course, wore a pirate costume custom-made for the occasion. "It turned out beautiful." Jessica had her dress custom-fitted by the seamstress who made Bill's costume, and ordered a matching veil.
Okay, but what about the guests? The bridesmaids? The (erk) mothers-in-law? Did they play along?
Indeed, says Jessica. The invitations mentioned that dress-up was an option ... and pointed out that the bride and groom would be really glad if they did. "Most people loved the idea," she said, recalling that a lot of male guests took to classic pirate costumes complete with billowing ruffles, cuffed boots, headscarves and magnificent three-cornered pirate hats. While some donned rentals, others showed up in lovingly-handmade outfits.
"Two men came as islanders, and women mainly dressed as wenches. Of course, not everyone warmed to the idea right away. It took a while to talk the mothers into dressing like wenches.
"But in the end, we did."
Trickin' Out Me Timbers
Once they'd agree to a pirate wedding, the couple settled on a color scheme of black, red and gold. They draped the romantic fencing with wide swags of red and gold tulle, covered the tables with red and black, and punctuated the corners with swaggering skull-and-bones pirate balloons.They dressed the arch with swags of red roses, and the wedding party proceeded down a white runner strewn with red rose petals. ("Though it would've been nice to find a red one," muses Jessica.)
"Bill picked the music," she adds, "and the wedding party walked out to 'Love Story' from the Princess Bride.
Later on, after the party started, the DJ played 'I'm a Believer' — the Shrek version."
Then I saw her face (ha-ha)
Now I'm a believer (listen)
Not a trace
Of doubt in my mind
I'm in love
(Ooh, ahh, yeah)
I'm a believer
I couldn't leave her if I tried ...
"No one warned me ... but the kids sure loved it."
"I, Mad Dog Bill Take Ye, Saucy Jessica As Me Heart, Me Soul, Me Good Wench."
We had to bring up the tricky subject of vows. After all, Elvis Vows are one of the main attractions at certain Las Vegas chapels. Were we talking pirate vows, with lots of "Yars!" and "Ahoy, mateys"?"Actually, Bill did want them," says Jessica. "But I wanted real ones. Our roommate tracked down some pirate vows, and they really were funny, but I wanted this one part to be serious.
"It was our roommate, ordained online, who performed the ceremony. I wasn't sure if I could find a normal minister to do a pirate wedding," she laughs.
... And a Bottle of Rum
Sometimes the greatest magic in theme weddings lies in the smallest touches: the witty favors, the movie-set food. Needless to say, this wedding was full of them."We focused on finger food. For example, we served lots of kebabs. Like, maybe 400 kebabs, with five different kinds. And we had tropical fruit, and chocolate fountains."
Her sister-in-law came through with the perfect centerpieces ... and even made them herself. "We had small chests filled with jewels on planks of wood that we scattered with sand. And next to these, we placed miniature galvanized pails we filled with three types of mini liqueurs — Jack Daniels for me (I'm a Tennessee girl), tequila for him (he's Mexican), and Captain Morgan for the theme.
"Everyone loved the mini bars."
That Takes the Cake
The really tricky part, says Jessica, was finding the cake topper. "It was tougher than I expected," she said. "Everyone said, 'try eBay,' and believe me, I did, but I wasn't having any luck.
"I spent three solid days looking for that figurine. I asked at Yahoo! Answers and everything.
But I finally found the topper I wanted on Ebay after all — only it was called 'The Captain and His Lover,' and the word pirate was nowhere to be found," she sighs. Still, it was totally perfect.
Set Sail, and On Toward Morning
So, does the couple have anything else to share with other lovebirds hitting the high seas of romance?"Actually, I don't suggest that anyone ever plan their own wedding," laughs Jessica. "It's so much harder then I expected.
"Still, at the end of the day, we were happy with how it came off. Everything cooled off when the sun went down, and people were eating and drinking — clearly enjoying the dance music the DJ played. In fact, the whole thing went on until midnight." Blackbeard, Captain Hook and most other infamous roisterers would approve.
Everything for our wedding was amazing and we can’t believe how many people dressed up. Of our 200 guests probably 80% were in pirate attire, even the grandmas!
Here are a few pics for our big day.
I love this idea! Ironically I got married on the waterfront surrounded by canons and it never occurred to me to have a pirate themed wedding.
Anyway, I’m getting ready to start a video business with a pirate theme. If anyone in the Boston area is having a Pirate themed wedding soon I would be interested in providing free videography services. It would make the perfect demo reel.
jimmrchnt@pirateslane.com
Look at our fun wedding! It was at the Des Moines Renaissance Faire 9/5/09. We dressed as Elizabethan Period pirates. I sewed everyday for a month using historical patterns by Margo Anderson. My husband made the jewelry which was inspired by Elizabethan Era jewelry. Our minster was a Martin Luther re-enactor who preformed an authentic ceremony written by Martin Luther. We originally planned on having portraits done aboard the replica of Christopher Columbus’s ship the Nina, but the weather was not good that weekend. The Hollywood-Jack Sparrow or Halloween-pirate-theme did not fit our personality.
Hey. How many people would buy the Captain and His Lover cake topper or a similar style? I don’t get why this isn’t being made anymore when there is such a demand. Please respond if this is something that you’d like for your weddings and parties.
if any one has this topper i would love to buy it for my sept pirate wedding. or would really love to find one similar.
Has anyone found this topper? I want to purchase it for my son’s pirate themed rehearsal dinner in September..
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
Uploaded photos were found with this post, but won't appear until comments are approved.
I looked into having it made, it was going to cost $500 for the mold and then $200 for each one, way out of my price range.
I found my topper on ebay, it was the one pictured. It cost around $50 but it was worth it.
I would love to get thsi cake topper for my wedding. I can’t find it anywhere either. My fiancee loves pirates and as a surprise I would love to get this cake topper for his grooms cake.
I would to have this cake topper, im having a pirate themed wedding at the reniassance fest and im pulling my hair out not being able to find this one, or anything close to it.
Hi, I have a very similar figure I used on my cake. It is a pirate holding up his mate (a woman). It is not very large but would sell it to you if you’d like. Contact me if you want it.
Sarah, if you have a poicture of it i would to see it.
Let me know if you’d like to buy it from me.
I would love to have this top my wedding cake!
I already have a small wooden treasurebox with a slot for cards. But, would it be too cheesy to make a fancier card box like the one I pictured? What have the rest of you done?
Is anyone giving the kids at their wedding bubble swords?
I also threw in a picture of my crazy black pearl ring.
Hey where did you get that cook ring? is it titanium?
Has anyone purchased the figurine that was posted at this shop (pic-this.com/lovers/loversp6224.html)? The shop doesn’t look too trustful…
I agree.
It doesn’t seem to be a secure site.
I wonder even if the store is still current since it was last dated 2006 at the bottom of the page. I am going to email them.
Sorry guys. My pirate & lady cake topper is in storage right now, so I don’t have access to it to get the info off the box. I found the info online forever ago - even the sketch the artist made of it before making it - but I don’t have that link anymore. I’ll see if maybe I can find it.
Hey What did you invitations say I’m getting married on a pirate ship the end of June and I’m trying to do my invitations….how were yours worded? can you help?
I found one online that used similar wording to mine:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_jh_5LITUKto/Rx4aUyAiDxI/AAAAAAAAACg/hbAPnm2n8JM/scan0002.jpg
We didn’t do AKA, I just wrote Pirate William S——-, and Wench Jessica C——-. as our names. And we didn’t haven anything about picnic attire.
I researched that link for the captain and its lover, i live local to Ft lauderdale and put the address in my GPS it took me to a house in Ft lauderdale that was for sale. no one was home when i got there so maybe they work out of there house but it didnt look to promising. I will let everyone know as soon as i find out.
I need some HELP with ideas for a dress!
Do I make a red silk Elizabethan dress? Or should I make more pirate-themey-type dress? What do you think of the red dress that I included a picture of below?
I made an awsome custom hot wax stamp, if you like to know how email me. If you would like to share ideas email me at teachfcs2003@yahoo.com. The 1st picture is a draft of my invitations.
pirate parrot,
i really love the red elizabethan style dress. you must go to this website and look around! gorgeous stuff!
*les habitudes
also here…
*the red dress
Pirate parrot,
Your dress should be what you are most comfortable in! it’s your day, dress in whatever makes you feel the best! The red dress is beautiful or wear something more pirate-like if you’d like! Be YOU! No matter what you wear you will be radiant… you’re the bride!
My “dress” was a cream colored handkerchief hem skirt , a cream colored Victorian blouse with 10 button cuffs and ruffle front. At the last minute I decided it was too blah so I added a red & black corsett type cami on the outside. It worked sort of like a bustier and I put a tattoo of a ship on my cleavage! I added several long scarves at my waist.
Love your invitations, great job!
I am going to email you some ideas & pics from my wedding.
I’m so happy to read how much this article has helped everyone!!! Honestly, after almost 3 years - I wish we could do it again!!! We think maybe we will when we renew our vows later on down the years.
That is EXACTLY why I had the wedding on “Talk like a Pirate Day”. Every year can be a pirate anniversary party!!
i need help on invitations!!! where did the wedding invites come from?
Hi Rachel,
We made out invitations. My nephew is a terrific artist so he designed them. I tweaked the words from an invitation I found online(might have been Jessica’s) to fit our needs. Printed them by computer on Parchment type Paper ( resume paper) , burned the edges, tied with raffia, dropped in bottles, sealed with wax and mailed. You are welcome to email me at lillystouch@hotmail.com, if you would like me to send you a copy of mine. You are welcome to use the artwork. It has a pirate ship on it that is very authentic.
Mailing Tip if using bottles! Some rural post offices or PO box #’s didn’t ever receive their invites and I never got any back despite including a return address.
All the pirate wedding info and pics gave us so many ideas for our own pirate theme wedding. Thanks and congrats to Vern and Kanya! If you want to buy a Captain W Lover figure here is your link and press the ORDER now button. ARRRR!!!!!
You get a discount and it costs 42.00$
I called this site & he said he had none of the figurines any more & that they are no longer being made. Sigh. I guess we keep on looking.
I understand that the Captain & his Lady may not be made any more. I was wondering if someone out there who has it can give us the info off the bottom of the figurine like the maker, etc. Thanks.
Hi I have had the same problem - they were being sold by http://www.pyrates.com but they seem to have disappeared. I would be very grateful for any info if you manage to find the topper, and likewise, I’ll forward any info to you.
Cheers
FMS
Just wanted to share my pirate themed wedding. A little different from most I see on here I’m afraid, but it turned out exactly how I wanted it to. I also want to thank Jessica for the help in locating the cake topper. It was the first thing I purchased for the wedding. I made my husband’s pirate coat and the kids outfits. I purchased my dress from David’s bridal and added gold coins down the front. The wedding took place in Virginia Beach.
Photo and video editing at http://www.OneTrueMedia.com
Scott & Cindy,
Thanks for sharing your wedding…beautiful and a memory you will cherish forever! Our wedding was well over a year ago & I continue to run into folks who heard about it or those who were there that can’t stop talking about it! Happy lif e together till you meet again at the bottom! Arrggghhhh!
This tricorn pirate hat made my jaw drop. You wouldn’t have to worry too much about your dress if you wore this hat!
This is by Etsy seller topsyturvydesign.
I am Chairing a Charity Ball - with a pirate theme. I’ve read what you have here and like it; however, if you have other suggestions, I love to hear them.
Deanne
I want to thank everyone for the great ideas. Our wedding was a huge success. Everyone is still talking about it. We even had the Jack Sparrow look alike that was our minister that every girl could not leave alone. And yes he is a minister, and yes he is single and only 24. Here are a couple sites that show photos. Thank you everyone, please let me know if i can help anyone else.
Verna & Kanya at Shutterfly
our Pirate Wedding slideshow
This is from the photobooth that we set up outside the sign-in table that people got to keep photos from, cut them up and paste in the book along with signatures.
heh kanya, this was so much fun to watch!! wowo and the costumes and the work put into it!! it turned out sooo wonderful!!! congrats!! i am a fan of potc. and this truly was a great wedding theme!!
Hello Kanya,
Great pictures looks like it was s lot of fun. congrats! I was thinking about having invitations that looked like treasure maps and I really liked the image on your invitations could you direct me to the place where you got your invitations made?? Or where you got the image?
thanks,
H
My nephew hand drew the artwork for me. I scanned it in, manipulated it in Powerpoint and Word and printed 2 per page on nicely textured paper, tearing the paper in half to give it that piratey feel. Once we rolled them up and tied them with ribbon, we burned to tops and bottoms with a flame torch. I’ve attached the graphic, but if you need a cleaner copy, email me at nvrlandtink@yahoo.com for it.
Hey everyone! Glad our wedding has gave a lot of people some ideas for their own. I love the person who said they made ‘talk like a pirate’ books for little keepsakes - that’s an awesome idea!!
I was bored browsing Etsy.com the other day and found a cool garter that I know I would have used if I had seen it before my wedding.
Arrrgggggggggggg! Sail your ship to Wenzville Mo in september for the 3rd annual pirate festival! Lots of fun. It’s where our wedding adventure began! http://www.stlpiratefest.com
Hello everyone!
I just wanted to spread the word that I just went to Savannah, GA, and while I was there we went to The Pirate’s House. Now, if I would’ve know about it before our wedding, I so would have gotten married there! Aside from being the oldest residence in GA, and being haunted, they are already decorated pirate-like. They have plenty of room, a great staff, and plenty of parking. They also just opened a huge banquet room! On our (free) tour of the place, they took us in this banquet room, and there was a large fancy table with the most beautiful, huge, wooden pirate ship as its centerpiece. We are talking a round table, linen table cloth and linen napkin quality reception possibility here! And (gotta love it) a large treasure map painted on the wall of that banquet room! Really, I can’t wait to have a pirate vows renewal here! http://www.thepirateshouse.com
i just want to say a huge thankyou! i have been searching for weeks for pirate wedding themed things without much luck. my fiance and i met on a pirate game so naturally we want a pirate theme. these ideas are perfect and i never thought of messages in bottles!
Hi Amy - I was just curious where you got your bridesmaid dresses. The one in the pic was really cute! Can’t wait to see some pics of the wedding!
I got them from an eBay seller. Did you leave a comment on my site? if so I wrote back and it has all the details in the “leave us a comment” section. :)
http://www.momentville.com/andrewandamyestep
I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for putting some great ideas on here! it really helped my wedding! Here’s the site in case anyone wanted some more ideas, though I don’t have that many pics up yet. my wedding was July 25.
http://www.momentville.com/andrewandamyestep
Count me in! We have purchased something else, but if I could get the captain and his lover before September 19th, I would definitely do that. Thank you!
As another foot-note… more ideas that I am doing…
For center pieces, I found swashbuckler hats, candelabras, treasure chests, gold coins, maps, beads, etc. They look great on the black linen table cloths. But thank you Lilly for your ideas… got my brain working.
For wedding favors I made a “talk like pirate guide” booklet in Microsoft word, that I would be willing to share with anyone. They are tied together with black ribbon and very cute. I am attaching them to a small organza bag filled with custom made chocolate coins with our names, date and pirate graphics.
To top it off… We found a minister that happens to dress up like Jack Sparrow professionally (side job). This will be his first pirate wedding to perform.
I am getting married on talk like a pirate day this year and I would love to use your guide if you don’t mind! If you could e-mail it to me at suzannepumplun@hotmail.com I would really appreciate it. Thanks!
I am also getting married on Sept. 19, the fact that International Talk Like a Pirate Day happened on a Sat. this year was a big factor in us deciding to have a pirate themed wedding!
We did the invitations in a bottle and I made a treasure map to the acreage we’re getting married on. My future brother-in-law is a master carpenter and is attempting to build us a ship on the pond (I’ll post pic’s when its done). My mother is making my dress from the Elizabeth Swan pattern, and is making the bridesmaids dresses as well. My fiance ordered his costume and his groomsmen’s off of e-bay (I’m a little nervous about this and hope they turn out well!). For centrepeices we’re making treasure chests and filling them with jewels and coins and instead of wine we made our own mead, which turned out amazing. Our favours are skull and crossbone bandana’s tied like hobo sacks with belguim chocolate coins inside. For supper we’re having a pig roast, chicken kabobs and tofu kabobs. Our guests seem really excited about the theme, and I believe many of them are going to dress up.
Good luck to the rest of you and thanks for all the great ideas.
I am getting married in Sept. and would love to use your talk like a pirate booklet. Could you please email thbe information at angelamcraig@aol.com. Thank you for your generosity!
Angela
OK, I have been overwhelmed with information from just this page. I have a great pirate wedding planned for May 9th 2009. I am so happy that I found this page because it has helped me focus tremendously on the many things I could do with the wedding.
Anyway, the wedding topper. This has been my driving force for the week. I too want the Captain and his lover so I have thought outside of the box on it. I have contacted several companies that make resin figurines and have requested a quote for them to custom make this figure from a picture. If anyone is interested in getting one as well I should get a number so that if they offer a discount for volume we can have a big order done.
I know how much we all have expressed our great desire to have this figure for our wedding cakes, let’s try to make it happen! So, post or write to me if you would like to be in. I am just getting numbers for now so I can get an idea of price. Thanks!
I have a pirate themed wedding planned for Sept. 19 2009.
Here is the “Captain and his lover”.
http://www.pyratesofthecaribbean.com/decor.html
They call it “Caribbean Pirates Captain and his Lady”
Here is another neat cake topper.
http://www.affectionately-yours.com/cart/Pirate-Code-Of-Honor-Custom-Caketop-pr-18750.html
There is another pirate cake topper on ebay right now too.
Does anyone out there have any pictures of good pirate wedding dresses?
I have done some looking on the internet and it seems that I will just have to invent it myself.
hi in response to the wedding dress being piratey, i have not found anything i like, for me or the bridesmaids, so i have a bridemaid designing some based on the corset and gown we wear on the game we play. some pictures can be seen here : http://viridian.puzzlepirates.com/yoweb/gallery/?pirate=Auntsally and for a view of the very bottom : http://viridian.puzzlepirates.com/yoweb/gallery/portrait.wm?pirate=Joanarc&itemid=17198796
when i have my designs from my bridesmaid i will post them here as well
Have you had any luck finding someone to make the Captain & his Lover cake topper because I am really interested in one? Thanks.
hi Kanya,
The above centerpieces are really nice however our wedding was large and I was really trying to keep cost down so… We had round table which we covered with king size flat sheets knotted on the corners($4 at good will as opposed to $12 for renting) I purchased fish nets from oriental trading & cut them in 4. This was the center topper. At the dollar store I got cylindrical vases & bamboo place mats which I hot glued onto the vases. A little sand in each & a candle( box of 8 emergency candles). A pirate flag(oriental trading) was stuck in each however we were out doors & the wind kept knocking them over. We also added shells & gold coins(oriental trading). I did use real water glasses on the tables & each had an eye patch( oriental trading) placed on it & a napkin stuffed in it. The napkins I made by cutting them from fabric(some red, some black with skeletons)with pinking shears. Good luck with your wedding…It will be the most fun you & your guest will ever have at a wedding! Your entertainment sounds great! We had a band & pinatas ( a pirate & a treasure chest) for the kids. As for a cake topper, I wasn’t willing to shell out $50 for the captn & his lover. I found a pirate man & woman for $7 for the pair…they ended up being too heavy so we placed a beautiful seashell in the center of the cake. We also had skull & crossbones cake(cakes are shown below) Arrrggggghhhhh!!
I wish I had the guts to do that
rock on
We are also having a pirate wedding as well, this Septmebr 19th (Talk like a Pirate Day). We have fire dancers, belly dancers, and greek food being served. Instead of gifts, we asked that everyone coming in costume. We also have a photo booth near the bar where the photos will be stored on my harddrive. Should be lots of fun to watch later. I used the invites in the bottle idea, thank you, my nephew deisgned the map. I will send photos after the event. I am looking for ideas on center pieces for tables. I also need a cake topper and would love the captain and his lover… Love this website… helped with alot of ideas.
I too am having a pirate theme wedding. We are not going as far as costumes, but we are getting married on a sailboat while everyone stands on the pier to watch! We are just begining the planning process, although the wedding is in September of this year. This site is great! I’m so glad I found it….but I too have the same question as everyone else. I want the captain and his lover cake topper - any ideas? If anyone knows of one, could you let me know.
Don’t know of any toasts however you could find a good toast & modify it by using pirate vocabulary which you can find at the following website: http://www.talklikeapirate.com. It also has links to other helpful sites.
A favorite regular toast of mine that I modified pirate style :
Me mateys,Never lie, cheat or drink!
But if you must,
lie in ye mateys arms, cheat death & drink with ye deckhands & mateys till we again at the bottom!
Good luck! Pirate weddings are the best. Mine was 10/20/08 & people are still talking about it!
AAArrrrggggg!
does anyone know where to find any good pirate wedding toasts???? I need a few for a pirate wedding I am going to. thanks so much!
I still can’t find the captain and his lover cake topper went to awesome gifts they don’t have it ebay can’t find it anyone want to sell theirs????:P
My pirate-themed bridal shower was awesome! I handed each girl a pirate bandana (pink & black from the “pirate girl” collection of Oriental Trading Company), and our first game was a treasure hunt spin on the spices game. They had to hunt for hidden jars of spices and write down on their treasure map (also from OTC) their guesses on the prenumbered page. We had many a pirate-themed game, a white homemade cake with a skull & crossbones outlined in red on top, and pirate decorations & balloons everywhere. Thought I’d share my ideas since I stole (pirated?) so many from this site already!
Marie,
I have an extra “pirate’s perks” cake topper if you’d like to buy it, but it IS smaller than I expected it to be. Scroll down this page for a picture of it and let me know if you’re interested. The cake sounds like it will be lovely!
Right now I’m making the top of the lighthouse out of balsa wood part of a plastic birdhouse and a candy jar. Just got finished painting the body of the cage,the plastic battery candle and the glass. next I’ll add wire and do detail painting we may need to ship the bride & groom or go with a monogram in the lihgt of the globe or maybe nothing in it at all. There are just too many things to do to get cought up in too many details. K.I.S.S. right?
Well the topper of the Captain & Lover is 9 inches tall if I remember, so it’s not too small and it is really heavy and needs extra support to be on a cake - so I’m not sure if it would fit on a lighthouse designed cake (love that idea for a cake tho!). Sorry my figurine is not for sale or for rent. There are some other options out there though. I think small crystal ships make nice toppers, or many people online now make custom cake toppers to look like the bride & groom. You could try one of those.
http://youtopthecake.com/
http://www.designsbydorian.com/Dorian/Custom_Cake_Tops.htm
My daughters wedding is soon soon. It’s Pirate themed and we have a Lighthouse wedding cake and are looking for a miniature bride and groom. The topper you found looks ideal but I can’t find em anywhere ! I looked on ebay too.
What are the chances of buying or renting this off of you?
Hi there! my partner and myself are getting married in 5 months and are thinking about the pirate theme. I was just wondering how you managed to word your invites for the theme? I have exactly the same ideas for the Message in the bottles where using them for thank you notes. and do you know some good sites for costumes and treasure chests?
cheers Jody
I am looking for that same Pirate wedding cake topper for my friend who is having a Pirate theme as well. Can anyone tell me where to find one???
Here are a few pictures from my wedding. The boat is in Clearwater, FL http://www.captmemos.com if anyone is interested. The crew were really great.
Thank you all for your great ideas! I’ve borrowed many ideas from this site; I especially love the vows and invitations, which I copied onto paper from “paper pow:” http://www.paperpow.com/ (I used that treasure map). I’ve hit up Oriental Trading Company for bridal shower and wedding decorations. We’re using Simplicity costume patterns and I my dress came from Dressbuilder.com. We went to Zales for that ring and I’m getting the “pirate’s perks” cake topper. I don’t know what I would’ve done without this site! I’m ecstatic about the new treasure chest favors from Favorideas.com, but it’s just too expensive for a 200-guest wedding! I’ll be sure and post picture when all is said and done….thank you!
Pirate candy! Enough said! See Candy Warehouse, Pirate Candy section.
I just came across this website. The actual retail store is located in San Diego, CA. Wonderful site with lots of great stuff! Had to share!!
Captain’s Cove
Hey, we just got a new pirate-theme favor from HansonEllis … a treasure favor box!
http://www.favorideas.com/shopping/prod/HE-THFWTC9B.htm
I’m pretty sure this is the first pirate-theme favor to appear on this site.
we found it by total accident at our local zales jewelry store. we went in to look at their bands and it was in the same case as the stainless steel mens jewelry. you can look also online but i was never able to find one like it, not even on the zales web site. total price was just over $200
I would like to know where Dee got the pirate wedding band for her husband. My fiance’ only wants that now.
Was wondering me and my fiancee are also in the process of findign this cake topper for our wedding. Any ideas ive checked ebay for weeks amazon as well and google has nothing on it except for your page .
Some assisstance if you do not mind!
1 in stock people, go go go!
THANKS Jessica!
RE: Heidi
Sorry this is a late reply!
I basically used the same words as this invitation I found online. I actually pretty much attempted to design my invites just like this one:
http://www.deadmentellnotales.com/ideas/images/0096.jpg
Found it!!!
Captain With Lover, $25
http://www.awesomegiftsonline.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=255
I’m in a frenzy trying to get this cake topper “the captain and his lover” somewhere I should have bought it over a year ago when I first saw it please help!!!!!!!!:D:D
ahhhh i love this! Does anyone know where to find this topper?
Pirate brides who love Anne Wood can now die and go to heaven!
Check this out … awesome topper by Rainsend available on Etsy. And this heads-up courtesy of my all-time favorite Bee, Mrs. Gummi Bear.
Just wanted to share a photo of my fiancé’s ring. He is a true pirate at heart and when we saw this we knew it was perfect. Were planning on getting married in Vegas and after reading up on a pirate theme we have now decided to this instead. Thank you for all the wonderful ideas and tips.
Here’s a wedding involving ‘professional pirates’ in S. Florida — the costumes are unbelievable! Click here to see more.
Thank you for the suggestions. It works out even BETTER this way, because now I can have my older brother marry us! It is a great way to involve him in the wedding now since he is not one of the groomsmen. Thanks again!
Jessica,
I was wondering if you could share the wording you used on your invitations. I just finished our save the date cards and would love some ideas for invites. Thanks!
-Heidi :-?
About the San Diego wedding; the laws in your state are perfect for this….you can have ANYONE officiate for $50! I know because I officiated for my best friend (for free) and I have no qualifications whatsoever. I filled out an application at the county clerk’s office, paid $50 and was given a certificate to officiate for that particular wedding only, on that particular day. So, have a friend do it! You’re lucky…I live in NY and they are much more strict about who can officiate.
One of our very dear friends got an online ordination and officiated our ceremony. You do have to check with the local laws to see if they allow this.
We are having a San Diego pirate wedding this summer and are having problems finding a wedding officiant/Captain to marry us within our really small budget. Any suggestions out there? Thanks so much in advance!!!
Edie,
Mine was a second wedding as well & I can tell you EVERYONE enjoyed it! 95% of the guests dressed the part!
I too was trying to keep the cost down, we managed to throw a great party for 165 in attendance for about $5600. That included everything from start to finish.
One of my friends made these skull & crossbones cakes for us. They are 2 layer but you could do a single layer cake for each table.
Yeah, I like it too. Unfortunately, I think I will be having a cake at each guest table, so a topper probably won’t work for me.
But I may order it to put on the guest book table or somewhere else! I have just begun my search for pirate stuff, and this site was my first hit. This will be a second wedding for both of us, and we wanted to do something more private, way less expensive, and more personal to who we are. A themed wedding sounded perfect, and I just can’t think of better idea that pirates! We have both been long time pirate fans. In fact, we have had Pirate names for each other for a while. I am Mad Tortuga Tess, and he is Olaf the Deck Swabber. We’re gonna have fun with this whole thing! Arggghhhhh!
Edie,
That topper is awesome! I would have used it in a heartbeat! Our wedding was Oct 20th & I met a new person at an event just yesterday who said someone had just told them about it! 3 mos & people are still telling others about it! Arrrggggghhhhh! A Pirate wedding is the way to go!
Butch - “The Captian and his Lover” is no longer available, but I found one I like almost as well. http://www.conteco.com/TheStore/Pirates/PIRHome.htm PIR006A Pirates Perks $40.00.
My fiance and I are also searching for a cake topper for our pirate themed wedding. We are searching for the “Captain and His Lover” figurine. We also like the figurine posted Nov 5th, 2007 by Blake. Does anyone know what its called or how to find it?
Does anyone have any information on where to purchase the cake topper that Blake posted on Nov. 5th?
Blake@FavorIdeas thank you so much I really appreciate it she was driving me nuts. Hahah but I love my mom and am excited for her so its ok. I can’t thank you enough!!!
Nikki - one of my favorite sites for dresses is Dress Builder - http://www.dressbuilder.com/renaissancedress.html
she’ll do almost anything you want in dresses or fabrics and her prices are reasonable.
My fiance came up with the pirate theme for our wedding as well. This information really helped out with ideas. But I do have one question: where can I find a pirate-looking wedding dress? Kind of similar to what Elizabeth Swan wore in Pirates: 2. So if anyone has an asnwer for me, I would be very grateful.
Try here but order fast, since the supply seems pretty limited overall … hopefully they still have stock.
http://www.pirateswag.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=165
Jessica I hope that you will read this. My mother after all these years is finally getting married. It has always been my wish for her to marry before me. They are having a pirate theme wedding and when we did a search she absolutely loved your cake topper. Do you know if I will find another like it? I am out of my hands searching for one similar.
I noticed some people wee looking for a pirate ship to rent. I’m renting one down in Clearwaer, FL.. http://www.Captainmemo.com if anyone is interested. The Captain is officiating the ceremony too.
I am having a pirate themed wedding as well but, I can’t find the cake topper Jessica is talking about. I’ve looked everywhere. Pirate Buccaneer, Swashbuckler, Captain… no results with any of these searches. Can anyone help me?
I’m planning my own pirate wedding for Spring of 2009 - will be interested in fnding or more about the cake toppers - Blake , hope you find a link for that new one. I love the Captain & his lover, so sad it can’t be found anymore
Does anyone have any ideas on settng dates for pirate weddings - approprate to Pirate history? We may have found our location, will look at it soon. Love this site - everything you need to plan a Pirate Wedding! Thanks so much!
love that cake Ariel!
just thought i would pass on our wedding favor idea. We made small treasure chests(from orientaltrading.com 12 kits for 8.95) enclosed a lottery ticket, gold coins, gold opaque stones, a small bottle of bubbles & some gold ribbon to fill it up. Each had a tag with the guests name on one side & “we got lucky hope you do too!” on the other side. no big winners, a few free tickets & a few $1 winners! Everybody loved them.
Okay, Ariel at OffbeatBride.com just posted a really cool Vegas pirate wedding, you know, kind of goth, and this amazing cake! She thinks she’ll have more pics up there eventually, too … very cute.
WOW! This is now officially the coolest page on the site!
Wonderful pics! Who wouldn’t want a pirate wedding after seeing these?
Thanks Lilly! Thanks Carolyn! :D>-
Our pirate wedding was Oct 20th. Perfect day & 95% of the guest were in costume! It was a total blast! More pics at picassa.
http://picasaweb.google.com/WenchLilly/PirateWedding
I modify the vows from Captn Jacks site and everyone loved them. As for the cake topper dilemma…I found separate male & female pirate
statues from a vendor at the Pirate festival but they were too heavy for my small cake so we sat them on the table & topped the cake with a seashell! The skull & crossbone cakes were a perfect touch! We began the day at 3 & didn’t end till 11! Arrggghhhh!
By request, a few wedding photos for Blake! You can also link to my online web album to see more
Hi Carolyn, if you’re still around, I wondered if you could post a few pics of your pirate wedding now that we have picture-posting abilities? That would be really fun.
Not to muddy the waters, but I came across a different topper that *might* work for some weddings. Unfortunately I have no idea where to get it! Maybe someone’s run across it, though.
Regrettably, the Captain with Lover figurine has been discontinued and is no longer in stock at the steel source. If anyone knows of anywhere else I might find it, (already checked ebay) I’d be much obliged.
:(( Where can i find that cake topper now?
anyone know if you can rent a piratey ship for a day or two? i’ve looked but they all seem to be like tours for multiple people…i want the whole ship for myself and my party.
contact me please :] shadowedaureole @ aol . com
Just finished my messages in a bottle but it is a bit more expensive to mail them ($1.13 per bottle) than I expected so will be hand delivering most. Just thought I would give a heads up on the postage. I am really trying to keep my cost down and wasn’t expecting this. I don’t have to pay for a reception hall so it’s all good!
We are creating the top of a ship(rails & mast with sails) and guests will walk the plank to enter the wedding area.
Guests will dine on coconut shrimp & suckling pig!
I was wondering if any one had a range of ideas for costumes for the guests? My guy and I want people to dress up and so we want to put a list of varying types of costumes for different price range in our invitations, but so far, besides the more expensive ebay ones, I’ve only been able to find the really tacky looking ones. Our wedding is a little more dressy so I really don’t want people coming in those “sexy wench” type costumes.
I am so exited that I found this! I have definitely found some good ideas here so thanks everyone!! 11 months to go!:?:-?
I am having a pirate wedding at Lake Tahoe next year. I’m having a replica of the dress from the first pirates of the caribbean (where she falls off into the water) by a company called fashions in time (fashionsintime.com). They do wonderful work that doesn’t look cheesy and specialize in movie replicas, including lord of the rings, if anyone finds that helpful. A few other ideas that may help…my favors are bags of coins the guests fill themselves using small velvet bags. They pick out chocolate coins from a large treasure chest (on clearance at Hobby Lobby). The invitations are treasure maps on the back to help all the out of town guests find the wedding site. I’m setting up a website with costume references for the guests who want to get involved. I’m doing a traditional renaissance wedding cake if anyone wants to bypass the caketopper problem….renaissance cakes were small cakes (use a muffin pan) mounded on a plate and garnished with flowers, fruit, and powdered sugar. Easy to eat, holds up well outdoors, and more authentic. My groom is being dragged to the alter by the groomsmen (aka. walking the plank etc.) or maybe even carried off the boat we’d like to rent on a stick like in the second pirates. We’re saving money by sewing the chemises for the bridesmaids ourselves at the bachelorette party. Hope everyone finds that all helpful.
Question: I would like to rent a small (2-4 person) wooden boat, possibly a sailboat, to make an entrance with. Does anyone have a suggestion of where I could look at Lake Tahoe to find this?
Hey, I totally want a pirate wedding complete with the ship. After seeing P3 I just fell even more in love with the idea. My boyfriend hates weddings and even he approved of that one. I have been with him over a year and I know he’s the one. When we do tie the knot I know I am going to have it all planned. There are a lot of great ideas here I would have never thought up though. The invitations are genius I am so using that one. I just know it’s going to be so romantic being married at sea, and my family are weird and fun enough that they will have a ball! I am still nervous to tell him i have this whole plan, but it makes me so happy just to think about. I hope he will be just as happy when I do tell him.
You can also look for on gothauctions.com for a pirate wedding gown! They have a lot of nice stuff not too expensive.
If you’re looking for “Wenchy gowns” or other pirate things, don’t stop at just “Pirate” in your search. Renaissance and Medieval clothiers and costumers have a lot of pirate items. Renstore.com, by-the-sword.com, and others. Search for renaissance costumes or “replica clothing” and you’ll find lots of websites. You just have to serach. Many of them do custom work as well, some do it for reasonable prices. I’m planning a pirate wedding and this has helped me a lot so far, since I’m into renaissance faires I’ve known about all this for a long time. Another website that’s great for pirate favors is http://www.deadmentellnotales.com
Hi!
I am officiating at my cousin’s pirate wedding this month. Do you know where I can get some sample wedding vows for pirate weddings? Thanks for your help.
Heidi,
I got my dress on eBay. The woman who sold it to me had it custom made. I wish I had more info, but I don’t, I’m sorry. If you are interested in having one custom made, I can take some pictures of the dress for you, so you can have a better picture of it.
The vest was custom made for my husband by a lady that is a friend of his sister’s. My husband kind of just gave her an idea of what he wanted and she came up with it. She made his undershirt to match my dress (an antique white) and she also made my veil to match the dress.
We were only able to match a little because of her!
You can find a lot of people who offer custom costumes/dresses on ebay for reasonable prices (one offers a BEAUTIFUL pirate costume for a man). I would just suggest finding one who does it herself/himself, rather then the big companies that work our of china and other countries. It’ll cost a little more, but it is worth it. The china eBay dress makers/sellers do not always have the best quality. It’s a gamble to go with them.
However, to make sure you get 100% what you want, I’d look for someone local first. It’s better when they can measure you, try things on, and you can discuss things one - on - one in person.
Good luck and congrats!
Jessica,
I was wondering where you got your dress and your husbands vest at?? :-? My fiance and I are having a pirate wedding, and I’m having a tough time coordinating colors and such because I find things for us to both wear but they’re not very complementary. I’m also struggling since we’re both plus sized. I’m also looking to get a dress similar to the style you wore, but I’d like to top it with a bodice to match my fiance’s coat/vest, depending on what we decide.
Thanks so much for all the other ideas you’ve provided
I just had a pirate wedding May 5, 2007. We did all the planning ourselves, and boy was it hard to find any help for planning pirate weddings. I wish I would’ve found this website before! It was wonderful, everyone dressed up, and we spent more time laughing during my vows than actually saying them. The ceremony actually started with my husband getting “caught” stealing gold (decorations off the tables) and the audience was going to make him walk the plank. Then my dad cut in and gave him the option of sparing his life by marrying me. The wedding party entered to “Cat-like tread” from Pirates of Penzance. My mother made my wedding cake in the shape of a standing pirate ship! Everybody kept telling us that they had more fun at our wedding than any wedding before. I have several pictures of the wedding on my myspace page (under Blondysun) and my google online photo albums if anyone wants to look.
I tried to draw them, but wasn’t able to get the look I wanted. I found that template on a kids site by searching treasure maps in yahoo images. Then I added the words via photoshop. And we just printed on parchment paper.
Thanks Cindy!
Please tell me if you find a great place at the beach that can be used for a pirate theme!
Debra
Hi, I was wondering did you draw the invitations yourself or did you have stationary? I am having a tough time drawing out the invitations neatly.
Yes, there is a ship called the American Rover out of Norfolk that has pirate themed parties and they do weddings. We are considering this also, but I am still partial to the beach - my guy likes the ship so he can be the captain
Here is the link http://www.americanrover.com/
Hi and thank you for such great ideas! I noticed some posts on here from the va beach area as well and wondered if they know of a ship in the area that has pirate themed weddings?
We tied them tight enough that they just fell right out when you turned the bottle upside down.
Oh thank you for the bottle idea. My guy and I are doing a goth pirate themed engagement party. The bottles are such a sweet idea.
Wondering if the map inside was difficult to remove or not.
So very adorable.
You should be able to find them at a party store like Party City.
I know that http://www.orientaltrading.com also sells them in like 12 packs but already as themes.
The site I ordered them at allows you to order small orders too.
$0.69 each plus shipping.
https://www648.ssldomain.com/sandartsupplies/index.cfm?fuseaction=store.DetailsSelect&ID=MBPW5
i was wondering if anyone knows where to get those large plastic bottles (with the corks) like the ones she used for the invitations….
i looked at michaels craft store, and they didn’t have them.
would ordering them online be the best thing to do? (i only need about 15-20 though, so i don’t want to buy them in a HUGE bulk)
thanks in advance for any info!
http://www.leatherworks.com/ is another good website for clothing.
My husband and I are going to renew our vows on a pirate ship just for laughs- our first wedding was a quickie trip to the JP, no money for a honeymoon. If you’re looking for wenchy dresses, go to http://www.dresslikeapirate.com or Pendragon Costumes or http://www.museumreplicas.com- really fun stuff! I love the message in the bottle wedding invitations! How cool is that?? I’m going to go hunt that cake topper now. Congrats all!
Jessica,
Thanks for the information about the topper. I found it just like you said on ebay for 24.95. I just ordered it.
As for ideas I have been thinking about, here goes. First of all, I am not getting married until next year, so I have lots of time to change my mind. I definitely want a beach wedding (I live in the Virginia Beach area - that makes it easy). This is my 3rd marriage, but first wedding, so I am going to tone things down a bit. I have two grandbabies who will be toddlers then, a girl and a boy. My grandson will be the ring bearer and he will bring the rings in a silver treasure chest (jewelry box). I will dress him in a pirate shirt and sash, scarf, rolled up khakis and barefoot. My granddaughter will be tinkerbell with wings, a fairy type tulle princess concoction for a dress and a wand and barefoot. Since they will be so small, I am also enlisting the help of two nieces and a nephew to walk them down the isle for me. I will dress them the same except the oldest niece will be dressed like Wendy and will toss pixie dust instead of flowers. My fiancee’s daughter will play the violin for us at the wedding and I am thinking of having her play Disney’s “You can fly” from Peter Pan when the kids are walking down.
I think I am having this wedding so I can dress up the kids more than for me - LOL. My fiancee is all into pirates, so the pirate theme is more for him, but when my nieces and nephews heard we were having a pirate wedding, they immediately thought of Peter Pan and “forever young”. We were sold after that.
We had a hard time finding something too, but I really really loved what this invite said:
http://www.deadmentellnotales.com/ideas/0096.shtml
So I used something very similar to that. I can’t imagine anything better worded.:D
I was wondering what kind of wording you used on your invitations? We are struggling to come up with something creative (but not gross and mushy like the traditional vows.) If you can offer any advice I’d appreciate it!
Did you ever come across any “wenchier” dresses?
Wedding dress wise, I saw an actual wench wedding dress in a magazine but was never able to find a place that sold it. I also notice on ebay a lot of people make custom wench dresses. So you could find someone who could make one the way you want easily, and it’s usually within the same range of what you would pay for a wedding dress. I would look for someone nearby though, who can measure you in person. For my husband we asked around and was lucky enough to find an amazing lady to do his costume and my veil and altering. Usually if you can find a picture of what you want they can make it.
Also do you think having the ceremony on a pirate ship would be overkill?
No I think it would be neat! We thought about it, but it was too expensive for us. Plus it was hard finding one that could fit 200 people. Most of the ones I looked at had a limit of 20-30 people.
I’m actually wanting to have a pirate wedding and this actually gave me some good ideas, though I am wondering, did you ever come across any “wenchier” dresses? Also do you think having the ceremony on a pirate ship would be overkill?
Hi Cindy. I did find the creator of it, but I have since lost that website. However you can find it on ebay for purchase by searching ‘Captain with Lover’. I think I paid $20 plus shipping for mine. Be warned it’s really heavy though, so it’ll need some kind of support on a cake.
Hi Cindy! If you get a chance, please feel welcome to leave some of your pirate-theme ideas here. I’m sure there are plenty of couples who’d love to hear about them.
Hi,
I love what you did for your wedding. I am planning a pirate wedding also and was thinking of using tinkerbell and Wendy for the flower girls. I found the cake topper you used on Affectionately Yours but don’t like how they put the lace around it either and like you said, the price (I saw your search on Yahoo also). Did you ever find out who makes it?