A Fantasy Fairy Tale 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?

And, study these extras that Disney is offering their brides (for a healthy fee of course) — props and touches that add atmosphere and drama to the day. Any fantasy wedding needs some big gestures like the ones listed here, so this list is worth a close read.

Disney special decor requests / Wish Book

Also, even near the beginning of your planning, I’d strongly recommend combing your area for local theatrical prop shops who can rent you some focal points like two thrones, a castle/fountain/pillars, a dramatic grandfather clock, something like that … something fun. As the wish book points out, twinkle lights are fun, organza canopy ceilings are fabulous, a fog machine can make for a great atmosphere (especially in pass-through environments … don’t necessarily want to fog up your reception hall), some kind of dramatic entrance is great, like a gate or arch covered in florals, event lighting is great if you can swing it; they do stars on the dance floor which should not break the budget.

Personally I love the idea of a giant storybook as a guestbook, and one bride here wrote that she was putting lattice behind her focal points and dressing it with twinkle lights, fabric and roses — a great idea.

Nadz, check out DisneyWeddings, take a look at their Couture and Wishes reception designs, they have some very bright colors in there as well as a lot of pastel treatments that aren’t pink.

Go here for David Tutera’s four designs for disney weddings — sure, the most traditional is all about pink, gold and crystal but he also has much more contemporary alternatives.

If you don’t want to go that wild, check out their 12 Wishes Collection reception designs. The most classic is a white, ice blue and silver design that anyone would instantly recognize as ‘Disney Cinderella.’

But they also offer fuchsia florals and lime green linens, royal red roses and crisp white tables, crushed copper linens with gold chivari chairs and rust and burgundy roses, and other beautiful color combos that aren’t pink! Anyone just starting to brainstorm fairytale layouts and colors should definitely check out these sites, they are full of ideas for getting ‘the look,’ after all Disney is under a lot of pressure to pull this off for you brides!

Plus, Tutera has a cute butterfly-&-fairytale design called Enchanted Garden, very nice.

Hi everyone im planning a Fall Fairytale themed wedding in october of 2009 and im using the fairytale wonderland setting with beautiful fall colors such as burnt oranges,deep reds, chocolate browns etc.for my guest favors im making large goodie bags with tastey treats like pumpkin shaped cookies to go along with october and cinderella pumpkin twist ,and candied apples,etc…but i need help finding a large iron pumpkin carriage for my flower girls to sit in for the ceremony entrance does anyone know where to get a pumpkin carriage ?HELP ME PLEASE!!!

Hey i’m planning a fairy tale wedding for 2009 but i’m not so sure about the pink can anyone advise me other colours to use any pics would be great

nordiajohns@hotmail.com

i just bought the cake topper in disney world for just $19.99!

anyone have pix of gift envelope boxes with a cinderella theme, like the carriage or castle? any centerpiece ideas w/o getting tacky? i’m thinking about doing the glass slippers for my favors.

Thanks, Amber, Lindsay, good to hear what you’ve come up with.

Amber, I noticed that many of the carriage CPs were pretty expensive even before you decorated them, especially the ones with some detail, so I wondered if people were using them. They’re a beautiful choice, tho! I like hearing how you’ve integrated the fairytale theme with the season. One of the things I’d love to see is a fairytale wedding tweaked for winter.

Linday, glass pumpkin cookie jars are a great idea. I’d love to see them! Those jars sound hard to find. Again you have that seasonal twist — nice.

Also, you and any bride that have CPs or other stuff you’ve slaved over for your wedding and want to pass them onto other brides afterward, feel free to post here! These things can be tough to find/make … obviously you’ve been gathering your materials for almost a year! … and I’m SURE other brides would appreciate the chance to snatch them.

Well it was tough, for the most part you just cant buty them you really have to put effort in to making them…. i’m in the middle of making mine but some of the ideas i had were plush pillows (square couch throw pillow size) with tassels at the corners with a glass slipper on them…mirrors with a light up castle of coach placed on them (mirror reflects the light and makes them glow more dresses up something plain without a lot of money) i actually found pumpkin cookie jars last sept and bought them all up and have been storing them, and i am doing glass etching on them as i go and i will have my flower arrangements in them (i am willing to sell them after june if there are any takers? lol i put a lot of time and money into these to just give them away) or if i couldnt find the pumpkins i was thinking of using the square vases and using the glass paints and creating colorful characters and imagery on the 4 sides (stained glass look)…. hmmm i think thats all i got. like i said im doing the pumpkin vases with the flowers in them but those are some of the ideas i had thought of doing. hope this helps

ps ill take a pic of the vases soon and post them

I’m using a wrought iron pumpkin for my centerpieces. My wedding is in September, so the centerpiece goes with a fall/cinderella themed wedding. I’m putting a hurricane glass with a candle in the middle and flowers around the base of the pumpkin.

Hi, am I mistaken or is finding centerpiece ideas one of the hardest things about planning this kind of wedding? Does everyone have their CP ideas all sewed up or are you finding it tough?

I have some ideas for GENERATING some ideas as a group … unless you all have it figured out already! Please rap back!

Tanya, some thoughts for you!

That Disney costume is not too bad, but anything in the $50-100 dollar range is not going to look too sharp up close. Yeah, that won’t work for a wedding, not with all you pay for photos.

A quality prince costume is $$$! The first place I’d start is a custome rental shop. They’re accustomed to renting high-quality costumes, the kind that cost $400-500 if you bought them new. So if you live in or near a metro area you might just find the perfect clothing.

Your second stop might be Ebay. I don’t know your budget, but there are some very nice prince-slash-military style costume jackets there in the $200 range. (There is a gorgeous, very elaborate PC costume there with a cutaway jacket in the $500+ range.) Search under “Prince Charming Costume” or “Prince Charming Coat.” This still leaves trousers, but it is really simple to get great pants. You can rent, or buy. If you buy, you can have a handy friend or mom willing to sew that stripe down the sides and voila.

If $200-300 for the jacket is a stretch, consider that you could probably resell it after the event to another fairytale bride. (Maybe even here!) They tend to come in sizes like M, L, etc. which are easy to pass on.

Other options that look very princely are mess jackets (military) and many of the highland-style jackets men wear with kilts, aka the Prince Charlie jacket or the Argyll jacket. However there you run the risk of surprising Scotts or military men who aren’t used to seeing this clothing out of context.

Don’t forget that white tuxedos tend to look VERY prince charming on their own, when worn with a white waistjacket or white cummerbund (or pale pastels in those colors). Take a look at Edwardian-type frock styles, cutaway styles. And check out the photo in the comment below with two handsome guys in white (click here).

Add white gloves to any of the above and you have an even more evident Prince Charming look. And particularly if you wear a tiara I think the PC vibe will be unmistakable.

Here are a few photos to hopefully help you along. 1) is the ‘official’ PC at Disneyland, talking to Cindy. 2) is two of the better-tier Prince Charming style costume coats available at ebay this second. 3) is the full-length (frock) coat-style Tuxedo by Avalon, very princely IMHO.

I hope this gets you started! :D>- Please let me know what you decide on.