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.
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:(( 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