AisleDash

Enter the world of frivolity when you transport your wedding guests to the Colorado Renaissance Festival. Kick off with a royal bagpipe procession with bride and groom riding on the festival elephant or in a horse drawn carriage. Enjoy a seat next to King Henry while you watch the medieval jousting competition. Then get married in a Renaissance chapel and enjoy a full Renaissance-style meal. Guests need not worry what to wear; they will be costumed in head-to-toe Renaissance style. Top it all off with a release of white doves above the chapel to announce the new couple. The Colorado Renaissance Festival runs weekends throughout the summer months. For more information including pricing, visit their website.

The theme at AisleDash this week is hosting a wedding with a Renaissance flare -- the cultural movement that swept through Europe between the 14th and 17th centuries. Although that's quite the timespan to draw from, it's also an incredible period of history to be inspired by, from the dress to the food to the shoes to the decorations.

If you've decided upon a Renaissance wedding, you're sure to have a beautiful day and every detail can come back to your theme. One such detail are your toasting flutes -- those fun glasses you get to sip bubbly from as husband and wife for the first time. And, if you feel nostalgic in the years to come, you can pull them out on each anniversary and sip champagne from them.

This lovely set of toasting flutes at Daisy-Days.com has a Renaissance feel with ornate silver accents. They'd be the perfect addition to a Renaissance wedding.

(You can purchase these flutes at Daisy-Days.com for $44.95 each.)

When you get invited to a Renaissance theme wedding, you are expected to get into the theme. The bride and groom don't really expect you to pull a 16th-century ball gown out of the back of your closet, but they do hope you'll dress the part.

Costume stores are a great place to look for clothes for a Renaissance wedding. You're probably not going to ever have an occasion to wear such an outfit again, so look for costume rentals in the yellow pages. Ebay is another great place to look for bargains on Renaissance inspired clothing.
Ask the bride and groom about the dress code. For theme weddings, dressing up is usually more important than dressing formally, so if you like the more casual clothes of the period better than the super-fancy, super-layered stuff, go with what you like!

A key feature of medieval banquets were gloriously rich wall tapestries and banners. In the 21st century, you can either get a specialist company such as Fantaysia Limited to do all the decorating for you, or do it yourself.

• For banner patterns and inspiration, do an Internet search, using keywords such as 'medieval banners' and 'renaissance banners' and, an absolute must, have a browse through renfairwench's wonderful renaissance wedding photos.

• The simplest method is to make your banners from felt. The great thing with felt is that it doesn't need sewing. Simply cut the pattern out then fix any decorations in place with fabric glue. (For more detailed information, have a look at this website on banner making.)

• Or buy plain calico and dye it in the colours you need; alternatively look around for cheap, coloured cottons. Using stencils and fabric paints (you'll need lots of gold and silver paint,) paint on a design and glue on any ribbons that are needed.