A Fantasy Fairy Tale Wedding
Royalty and romance: aren't these at the heart of every union?It's no wonder that the fairytale wedding — also known as "Happily Ever After" or "Dreams Do Come True," to name just two — never goes out of fashion.
Spotlight on the Princess Bride
That might mean a voluminous ballgown from Lazaro or Mary's Bridal Princess Collection, complete with petticoat ... or a design modeled after a particularly beloved princess from Kirstie Kelly for Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings.
But even when the gown is an A-line with a sleeker silhouette, fairytale brides usually go for a substantial veil, floor-length or longer.
The, the hair's often a half or full updo, but formally styled, dripping with romantic ringlets. And the shoes? Never an afterthought, they're something deliciously feminine, strappy and sparkly (though you can even walk down the aisle in clear 'glass' slippers).
And if you want the full-out princess look, straight from the pages of an oversized storybook? Add opera-length gloves, a tiara and a sparkly rhinestone choker.
Dressing The Royal Retinue
Bridesmaids, as often as not, are wearing something with at least at a touch of pink! A string of pearls makes a treasured gift for each of your girls.
But what about the men? American grooms find it hard to look past the usual black tux, which fortunately looks stunning next to a princess bride. But a white tuxedo has a bit more fairytale flavor, and it's well worth considering.
After all, no man one wants to look like a fashion victim fresh from prom, but Calvin Klein and Jean Yves Formalwear offer some elegant choices that just might put to rest any Prince Charming's qualms about style faux pas.
The Honour Of Your Presence Is Requested ...
Just because you're having a fairytale wedding doesn't mean your invites need to sport castles, but they should be something special. Just choose an elegant, timeless font and style (letterpress is always a gorgeous option). Or go custom: you can never go wrong with beautiful ribbon to wrap up a made-just-for-you pocketfold design, with a few quality rhinestones placed by hand.
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Setting the Scene
Like other fantasy weddings, the fairytale wedding starts with draping, and lots of it: draped walls, head tables, cake tables, sweetheart tables, you name it. Luxurious linens are the name of the game.
In addition, this theme pretty much determines where you'll hold the reception: a ballroom. (Unless, that is, you're lucky enough to be able to book an actual castle, or live near one of America's castle-style buildings.)
Fortunately, a good ballroom will do some of the decorating work for you: look for regal curtains, dramatic molding and sparkly chandeliers.
A fairytale wedding is not the place for humble, easy-to-talk across centerpieces. Here, you need the drama that only height and heft provide. Go for towering eiffel vases filled with dramatic fantasy foral arrangements, leggy topiaries, or tall clear cylinders wrapped in satin ribbon and filled with floating candles.
Other ingredients in your toolbox: lots of silver (candelabras, silver cake plateaus), plenty of pinks, classical symbols (swan or double-swan ice sculptures are perfect here), and pearl or rhinestone accents as brooches or bouquet ornaments.
Also: sparkling monogrammed cake toppers, whimsical "I DO" letters for the cake table, and buckets and buckets of rose petals. Plus, every princess bride needs a really cute card box, whether it be a magic pumpkin or a sassy hot-pink hat box. A giant Storybook guest book would be a cute touch, too.
Roses for a Rose
Flowers for fairytale weddings tend to the traditional side.
Occasionally you'll see exotic orchids, but mostly what fairytale brides prefer (in bouquets, especially) are classical choices like roses, peonies and stephanotis. If carrying a hand-tied bouquet, she might have crystal bouquet picks, or choose the larger cascading style.
Plenty of flowers are key for pulling off the fairytale look, but don't overlook the important of candles for setting the mood. Keep them simple, but group large masses together for maximum effect. Floating candles in clear cylinders offer more of a visual punch than regular votives.
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A Fashionable Entrance
Drama's essential to a fantasy wedding, so plot out your high points. Find a way to make a grand entrance at the ceremony or reception: a spiral staircase and spotlighting, page boys, or a trumpeter. Take the time to learn a romantic waltz with your Prince Charming and throw in a few stylistic surprises, so all eyes stay glued to you through your first dance.Outfit your guests with beautiful paper cones they can use to shower you with rose petals as you leave the church (another popular choice is sparklers). Travel from church to reception venue via horse-drawn carriage ... or even pumpkin carriage, available in a few metro areas.
A Royal Repast
Fortunately for your guests, Cinderella food means elegant 'comfort food': cream sauces, poached mushrooms and wine. Consider Oysters Rockefeller, and a roast beef carving station. For a touch of the country squire, serve crispy roast duck or Cornish game hens, and plenty of champagne.The Sweet Strains of Love
A bit of intimate floor music will really set the mood, so see about booking a harpist or string quartet, at least during the ceremony or dinner. Later on, ask the DJ to queue up a few songs from Disney's Cinderella or Beauty and the Beast soundtrack albums. Other soundtracks with tunes worth a spin: The Princess Bride, Shrek, Anna & The King, and Ever After: A Cinderella Story.
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Pages: « 24 … 22 21 20 19 18 [17] 16 15 14 13 12 … 1 » Show All
Hi everyone!
So I have a dilema! Last week I went to look at my girls dresses for the wedding, well they are beautiful. As I was leaving the bridal salon I saw this beautiful dress hanging on the rack. Actually beautiful isn’t a stong enough word, AMAZING is more like it. Well I went back the next day, because I kept thinking about it, tried it on and fell absolutely in :?:? with the gown. Well I went and purchased the gown. So here is my dilema…I now own two gowns :-”
I can’t return the first gown I purchased because I bought it at Davids Bridal and they said they don’t accept any returns. The dress has never been worn, tags still on it, never taken out of the garment bag.
My question is…has anyone ever sold a gown on line and had any luck? Or if anyone is looking for a gown (total princess gown) let me know!
Also, my new gown is the color diamond white. The flower girl dress is white. We paired the two together and her dress makes mine look dirty. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do with this? A color that may work better (ivory, etc) or should I just deal with the white?
AGH HELP!!!!
Hi Rachel!
Actually, I took a look at the few photos I could find of Dave & Busters’ fabric-draped event rooms and they really look perfect for a medieval theme. I think a lot of brides with that theme would be thrilled to have an event room pre-decorated with all those heavy red velvet curtains so … good choice!
See if this Medieval section doesn’t give you some decorating ideas:
Medieval & Renaissance Weddings
Esp. the bottom one, “Your Medieval or Renaissance Reception.”
Lots of iron and pewter would be great here … can you bring in props? Will they let you into the room to decorate well ahead of time or is your time limited? It would be great if you could bring in a pair of rented thrones, a grand focal point like that. For centerpieces, someone on this site recommend Pinch n Paw for inexpensive Moroccan lanterns on table stands and iron candelabras. You have to look under Earthshop -> Candleholders & Lanterns and then patiently scroll through all the pages but the prices are good. You could twine ivy, ribbons or silk rose garland up the stand and sprinkle the bases with rose petals.
I’m seeing this with crystal-look faceted glassware and pewter-style chargers under the plates … also with floral arrangements of pink, red and ivory roses alternating with the table lanterns, to play up all that romantic red in the setting. (Of course on re-reading I see you already have your CPs, so please indulge me and excuse the bad reading!)
Other decorating tips that might or might not be practical for your setting: potted trees with twinkle lights are VERY effective for adding fairytale ambiance to a room. If you have enough room along the edges and can have a landscaper or rental co. come and set these up/break them down they will be beautiful. A bit of spot or pin lighting in between the trees can work wonders, too. Gobos with monograms are very fairytale and dramatic and would look wonderful projected along those walls.
With all this red it would be lovely if you could have a “red carpet” aisle runner at your ceremony, just as a foretaste.
rachel
if you google artificial moss rocks, you can find several discount craft and florial sights. Michael’s and/or Jo ann’s may have them too. i was at a wedding that used then. they had a woodsy theme, and everyone loved the extra touches she used. the moss rocks on the tables with floating candles, the moss rocks were used at the base of the cake too (the cake was leaves, mushrooms, and ferns). i think the moss rocks would be great for your theme too. the red and black in the room could really work for the medieval feel use lots of candle light everywhere. drap the balcony with lights and thick garlands of greens or thick garlands of fall leaves might be cool. i think you can do alot with it.
hello robyn,
thank you for the advice. I like the moss rock idea. Where did you see them? at a crafts store? like Michael’s or Jo ann’s?
I’m back. I have another question. We had to change our reception site and the only one we could find that was affordable and on our wedding date was Dave and Busters. Their hall is light years away from being “fairy tale”. It has red carpet, red curtains everywhere, and red lighting. The ceiling is black and it has a black railing (kinda like a balcony). Anyway, what can I do to make this place look a bit more fairytalish? The overlays for the tables are going to be in burgundy and gold and I have the grey cardboard castle centerpieces with the ivy wrapped around them (they were made out of wine boxes from hobby lobby and look like realistic castle towers with turrets). In addition, the towers have a luminarie in them since I don’t think it would be wise to use actual candle in them since it would be a fire hazard. I also have two gold suits of armor that I have yet to put anywhere and my card box is also a castle with the same color as the towers. My wedding is on October 11, 2008 so I only have a few months left and I have no idea how I am going to decorate this hall decently. My church does not need decoration since it is pretty just as it is (its a neo gothic church with stained glass windows, etc. So, if you have any suggestions, please e-mail me at ealfric@comcast.net. Thank you
Hi Rachel
castle cakes don’t have to be childish! Think about doing something more realistic,, or if you used cocolate icing with the gold and burg. The cake with the drap could be cool with gold drap and a realistic castle topper. Sounds like that would look good with the towers you and your mom have made. i have seen moss rocks (fake moss) that would be cool at the tower base with your rose petals.
This cake was perfect, my wedding theme was the Princess & The Frog…my caterer had a bible cake that he and I transformed into a storybook instead with a picture of my choosing on the left and a small story of how our wedding day came to be…on the other side.
it was gorgeous and everyone is still talking about how beautiful it was
I am getting married in October and I have also decided on a fairy tale theme. However, it will not be disney nor cinderella. I am going with a medieval/rapunzel theme which has been difficult to decorate. Currently, my mother has made castle towers for my centerpieces with some ivy wrapped around them. I have thought about using chargers in my colors (burgundy, gold, and ivory) and putting rose petals with some colored beads around it. I am wondering if it looks good at all. I would love some suggestions. Also, I want to have a castle cake but to many that I have seen are too disneyish or childish. I am having a hard time finding the perfect one.
Hi MaryAnn, what cute touches are you seeing at fairytale style weddings lately?
Would love to hear some details if you have a moment.
Don’t forget the the very eligant Queens style, horse drawn carriages. The Romans used the most elegant and impressive horses and carriages to show their brides Royalty, LONG before Disney thought of Cinderella. The Cinderella Pumpkin carriage is nice…but some people feel too Princessy in it, and choose the more Queens style vis-a-vis or surrey. The type of horse really makes a difference too. Most certainly, choose a company that uses draft horses, but make sure they have the showy wedding horses, with show harnesses, not the field horses. They should braid and decorate their hair with roses to match your wedding.
Hi Tabitha, Robyn, thanks so much for sharing some of your aspirations and ideas with newcomers here. I think it is really a challenge, planning a fairytale theme, not only because of how hard it is to hunt down elegant decor ideas — much less centerpieces — but also because in many places (cough … rhymes with TheSpot … cough) you can’t even say you’re having a fairytale theme without being mocked into oblivion. And just try finding actual fairytale ‘real wedding’ photos or inspiration boards on the usual sites … there’s not much out there.
Still, I know most brides here with a fairytale theme have folders stuffed with images, ideas and sources. PLEASE feel free to share some that you’ve come across. It will be a HUGE help to everyone if there are a few more of your hard-won resources or suggestions on this page. I know the mod will not approve any, you know … critical types of comments trying to put anyone down here. So please feel confident in putting your ideas forward!
Thanks so much for listening, that is all :D>-
Hi Lizzette , A fairytale theme doesnt have to be childish or frilly its basically what you as the bride make of it. Try doing a Royal Victorian style wedding its still in the theme of fairytale but an adult upscale version being Royal and elegant \Victorian Glamour very regal and the fact that your doing an evening wedding with midnight blue and silver as your colors will make the Royal theme work even better put your bridesmaids in Satin ballgowns and rent some beautiful silver candleobras for the church ceremony. im doing a Fall fairytale theme and even though im doing a fairytale theme its going to have the elegance of fall colors and the style of victorian royal glamor so just because you are doing a fairytale theme doesnt mean it cant be done in style or with elegance it does not have to be frilly and girly you are the bride so make it your own.replu and let me know what you think?
hi. has anyone come across a clear Cinderella and Prince cake topper? Ive looked everywhere and no luck and i dont really like the one pictured above. HELP.
Lizette,
I am in my late 30’s too, and we are having the ultimate in fairy tale weddings. We are at Disney World!!! I wanted our wedding to be mature, but still fun. So I have focused on the castle and fireworks. With midnight blue and silver you could focus on the night sky and wish apon a star. Keep things clean and simple with just the two colors. Have some fun and find things you love. This is for you, too!!!
help
Hi Everyone,
Help, please. I’m in my late 30s and trying to decide how to do a fairytale theme without it being too disneyish. The big day is 9/20/08 around 7pm in Virginia. This is more for him because I’d rather be on the beach in Puerto Rico or Bermuda at sunset. I’m not the frilly type but my man wants a traditional wedding mainly because as an only child his mom really wants to see her son get married in a church with all the traditional bells and whistles. My dress for the ceremony is traditional but my dress for the reception is more my style, sexy and easy to salsa in. My maid of honor is a huge help and directed me to this site for favors. Any ideas and suggestions will be appreciated. The main color is midnight blue accented with silver and maybe some jewel tones. It is a formal evening wedding so I really don’t want it to be too childish with this fairytale theme. I almost went for the Tiffany jewelry box theme and I might change it if I don’t find more adult things that aren’t too childish. HELP PLEASE!!!!
I also need a pumpkin carriage cake stand to go along with my fall fairytale theme Im having 2 wedding cakes on display one being a castle shaped cake and the other is a stacked ring bearer pillow shaped cake with a glass slipper on the top because my ring bearer will be carrying a glass slipper on the pillow instead of a ring.
My wedding will be a fall fairytale theme at either a beautiful lake side banquet facility in Riverdale Ga ,or a Southern Style mansion in Roswell Ga.
Tabitha, where are you located? We have a lot of carriage vendors floating around here who can probably help you, they just need to know where the wedding will be.
In parts of the country, it’s traditional for the bride to get a formal bridal portrait done before the ceremony, then this gorgeous photo is enlarged, framed and displayed on an easel at the reception near a spot like the cake or guestbook table, or the foyer. Click here or here to see examples of how these are displayed. Even if this isn’t tradition in your area, a fanciful bridal (or couples’) portrait would be a lovely addition to a fairytale wedding.
Most wedding photographers do this, or if you have a talented friend many modern digital cameras are capable of taking very high-res shots which a talented photoshopper can then tweak to add some of the magical touches seen above. You can easily see how much fairytale "oomph" this can add to a wedding. You don’t have to use you real dress for the shots, in fact something like a dramatic prom dress might be better if you’re worried about getting your real gown soiled or accidentally tipping off the groom. You could even do a narrative with several portraits from the fairytale, such as the staircase/lost shoe scene that Scarlett recently did for Annie Leibovitz.
Clockwise from top left, these photos by apples-and-shanana, JohnySxxx, kayleigh-annabelle, and Ariandir. What do you think, would you do this? Are you?