Medieval Wedding Location Ideas

by Rose Smith

One of the more difficult aspects of having a medieval wedding is finding a suitable location. Look for old, gothic type churches, historical buildings, Tudor style homes or large open park areas or gardens.

In a lot of cases though, you can make almost any location have the look and feel of a medieval castle or garden, without actually having to be in one by using decorations and various props.

Here are several ideas on where to hold your wedding and reception. Make sure to keep a list of sites you look at, take note of their good and bad points and list ideas that you can incorporate into your medieval scheme.

Churches

The most obvious place to start is a local church. Many churches are built from stone and have a historical look and feel to them. A nice setting would be at a local country church in the area. You will need to speak to the clergy at several churches to see if they are willing to officiate at a medieval type of wedding. This could be a problem, however, as most will want to stick to a traditional type of wedding.

Backyard Weddings

A backyard setting can be lovely for an outdoors-medieval wedding, especially if it has a beautiful garden. Make sure the site has mature trees, lots of flowers and some benches.

Local Woodland Park or Gardens

If you have park areas that are filled with trees and pathways, with some open field space, this would be a great location for a wedding. You will need to find out whether this is a city park or provincial/state park. Contact the Parks and Recreation department.

Historical Homes

Sometimes, you can rent out historical homes in your community. Some of these homes are owned by the city and function as "tourist" sites. You can also find local people who are willing to rent their homes for such occasions. What you are looking for is gothic type homes or Tudor style homes.

Golf and Country Clubs

Local Golf and Country Clubs usually have banquet facilities and private rooms. In some cases, they also have a garden area that you may be able to use. Remember you can easily create the feel of a medieval setting with various decorations, so don't dismiss the idea of a Country Club.

Chalets and Inns

Consider having your wedding and reception at a Country Inn or Chalet in the mountains. The scenery is usually outstanding and, as they are in the "tourist" industry, they will most often have a kitchen for catering and a dining room.

Larger Hotels

A popular spot for receptions are local hotels. They have plenty of room, your guests can stay right in the hotel and they provide the meal. A draw back to this location is that in many cases the room you are reserving may be in use the night before and you won't be able to get in to set up until early morning, the day of the wedding. Also, even if you CAN get in to set up the day before, you may be charged for booking the room for two days, instead of for one.

Castles

If you live in an area where there is a castle in the vicinity, you are very lucky. Find out who owns it and see if they are willing to allow you to use their castle for your wedding. If you are willing to travel, there are a number of castles in Europe who book out to wedding parties. If you dig deeply enough, you may be able to find replica type castles in the United States and Canada as well.

Renaissance Fairs

Almost all of the Renaissance Fairs held throughout the world conduct wedding ceremonies or will allow you to arrange your wedding ceremony to take place at their faire. The Society for Creative Anachronism is the best place to start your search. http://www.sca.org

My ebook - How to Create a Beautiful Medieval Wedding - goes into more detail on locations and provides you with questions to ask when researching a site to use, as well as providing links to various castle locations. However, the above should give you a good base of ideas to start with. Use your imagination when searching for a great location, you'd be surprised as to what's out there that you could use.
 

Rose Smith is the owner of Wedding Themes and More, a website designed to help you discover your perfect wedding theme. Find more great ideas, resources and articles on her Holiday Wedding Themes page.