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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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!