Renaissance Wedding Gowns Add a Little Fantasy to Your Wedding

Have you considered adding a taste of the past to your wedding? Medieval and renaissance wedding dresses are becoming more and more popular. Some people are even holding renaissance-themed weddings, in which all the guests try to dress in the spirit of the age. If you're interested in adding a little bit of the feel of ages past to your wedding, here are some tips to help you get started.

First, you'll need to decide how extravagant you want to be. Do you just want to have a renaissance wedding gown, or would you like your whole wedding party, or even all the guests and entertainment, to follow suit. While it takes some planning to pull off a renaissance wedding, they're a lot of fun, and they can introduce your friends and family to styles and ideas they'd never think of.

After you've decided how much of past times you want to incorporate in your wedding, you should also figure out how accurate you'd like it to be. You'll be buying a much different renaissance wedding dress if you want it to be absolutely authentic than you will if you'd just like to have a fantasy or Hollywood style gown. If you prefer the latter, look at movies like Elizabeth, Ever After, Shakespeare in Love, and Dangerous Beauty for ideas. There are lots of great gowns with a modern flair in all these costume dramas. If you want a more authentic dress, you'll need to do some research, and find a seamstress or tailor who specializes in reproductions.

You should also think about what style you'd prefer. The renaissance period spanned several hundred years, and many countries. That means that there are a lot of different options under one umbrella. When you pick renaissance wedding dresses, take into account not only how much you like the dress, but how it'll look on you. This period has options to flatter almost every figure, and is particularly good for plus-sized brides, or those with “figure faults” that make it hard to find gowns in a standard size.

For instance, apple-shaped brides may find that the high-waisted, flowing gowns of the early Italian renaissance flatter them best. Featuring puffed sleeves, and not as restrictive as some other styles, these renaissance wedding gowns look great on many people, but are particularly good if you'd like to emphasize the bust over the rest of your figure. Looking for something really luxurious? Consider a gown from the later 1500s – often called Elizabethan. These dresses feature comfortable, but figure flattering corsetry, conical hoops, and lots of fabric. They can be simple, or studded with pearls, gold trim, and anything else you can imagine. If you love long drapey sleeves, Florentine dresses from the 1520s fit the bill beautifully, and corsets are optional.

To get the right renaissance wedding dress for you, it's usually a good idea to work directly with the maker. Custom sewing is less expensive than you might think, which means you can have the gown of your dreams for little more than an off the rack dress would cost. You don't have to stick with white, either. Up until the 1850s, women wore stylish, extravagant gowns in all colors of the rainbow. Many brides having renaissance weddings have chosen to follow suit. You can see gowns in the usual white, but also in gold, black, deep jewel tones like crimson, blue, and purple, and many other colors. If you're thinking about a renaissance wedding dress, feel free to let your imagination soar.

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