Weddings are a great part of any tradition all over the world in this is why the wedding industry is always on the rush for new ideas. For the year 2012, the theme of Victorian weddings resurrected as it has always been lingering for a couple of years. We are going back to the period wherein beauty, style, grace, and good manners reigned in weddings. We are going back to huge social gatherings but this time, we are remaking them on a budget.
Victorians loved fancy stationeries, written words and notes with ornate and artwork. Many websites these days offer free downloadable Victorian art that is perfect for wedding invitations. Save the Date cards could be printed in Victorian postcards using beautiful calligraphy since a good penmanship is of great value to Victorians. Place cards, table numbers, menu cards, and Thank you notes should also be done in the same manner, applying ornate designs on special papers with floral prints.
Flowers and gardens are a huge part of the lives of women during the Victorian era so a wedding in a garden is a good idea. A friend’s house or your own backyard would be good if you do not want to spend on huge venues. You can borrow pots of flowers and arrange them in your own backyard. You can also save on bouquets this way. Victorians also have meanings for flowers and their colors especially roses. White roses signify purity and innocence while red means love and romance. Yellow reflects happiness and friendship, pink shows joy and admiration, and orange symbolizes desire. Lavender means love at first sight. Other famous flowers for the Victorians are forget-me-nots, peonies, edible flowers, and dill. The edible flowers and dill are believed to be aphrodisiacs so couples eat them after the wedding. Ivy used in the bouquet is planted in the house of the new bride. The composition of the bouquet should be elaborate with cascading flowers. If t is small, it should be compact.
The wedding cake should be one of the most beautiful elements in a wedding. Victorian wedding cakes are fruitcakes which are originally dark and covered with white icing and highly decorated with a lot of flourishes and swags. There are also two small cakes for the bride and groom aside from the wedding cake. Silver charms which are attached to a thin piece of ribbon inside the cake is part of the tradition. The bridesmaids would pull on each ribbon at the reception until the charm comes out. The charms include a ring which would mean a wedding within the year, a coin for wealth, a horseshoe for luck and so on. Modern Victorian weddings could do without the charms and the separate cakes for the bride and groom. The cake can also be of a different flavor as long as it is white and decorated elegantly.
Queen Victoria started wearing the famous white wedding dress and although there are not so many Victorian wedding dresses available in the market today, there are plenty of models to copy from. You can modify your white wedding dress according to the style that would fit you and you can even just rent one to save more. Even jewelry in the Victorian era was very ornate. One of the famous Victorian pieces of jewelry that you can easily incorporate in your wedding it the broach. You can pin it on your own dress or pin it on your bouquet. You can also give them as gifts to your bridesmaids. Cameos are raised profiles from shells or gemstones incorporated into rings, necklaces, watches earrings, bracelets, and broaches. A cameo choker is a famous accent to Victorian wedding gowns.
There are a lot of simple ways to use a Victorian wedding theme even when you are on a tight budget. You can do researches or ask assistance from your elders. There is no real pressure. Just enjoy the preparation to having the wedding of your dreams.