You've found your Prince Charming! While you may not be celebrating your nuptials at Westminster Abbey like Prince William and Kate Middleton, there's no reason your Arizona wedding can't have all the pomp, circumstance and flair of the royal one, right?
If you've dreamed of your perfect wedding since you were a child, and what bride hasn't, there are many ways to incorporate a royal theme into your wedding day. There are many things to take into consideration when planning a royal wedding theme, but why not start with the location for the wedding and the reception. Is there a castle that you can book to host the ceremony and/or reception? If not, book the most upscale hotel that you have access to.
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Your guests will know they are in for a treat when they receive engraved wedding invitations. Go all out and use hand-made paper and hand-calligraphy for the address. If you can hand deliver some of the invitations, why not use a wax seal to close the envelope. Include wedding programs scrolls as part of the decorations. Your programs will list your and your husband's names, the parents' names, information on the wedding party and other pertinent information. Tie the scrolls in a color to match your wedding theme and leave them at the guest's place settings.
Grand entrance
Making a dramatic entrance is part and parcel of a royal wedding. See if some of the groomsmen can be pressed into service as footmen or trumpeters to herald your arrival and precede you down the aisle. Arrive at your reception in a horse drawn carriage. Upon your arrival, your new husband can "hand you down" from the carriage and escort you to the reception hall.
Your gown should be traditional and made of heavy silk or brocade. The train can be carried by a miniature "bride and groom" if you have younger children who want to be part of the ceremony. What bridal gown would be complete without a royal tiara? Your jewelry - other than the tiara - should be understated and opulent. Your bridesmaid's attire should also be of rich fabrics such as velvet or satin. They should wear elbow length satin gloves. Ask your groom-to-be whether he and his groomsmen would be willing to wear top hats and carry canes.
Set the mood
Your reception hall should be draped with rich fabrics in your Arizona wedding colors. Table decorations should be opulent and should consist of floating candles, ice sculptures or even glass slippers! To carry your royal theme even further, consider using silver candelabra at each reception table.
The chairs at the reception should be covered in rich fabrics as well. String quartets or a pianist can set the mood during the meal - which should consist of at least five courses. Rather than sending waiters around to fill guests' champagne glasses, consider having a bucket with champagne at each table. Between meal courses, waiters can circulate and offer hors d'oeuvres to cleanse the palate for the next course.
Your wedding cake should make an opulent statement. Your cake top should be understated and elegant and made of crystal. If you want a Cinderella feel to the cake, use a horse-drawn carriage or emulate the wax seal you used for your wedding invitations as the cake topper. Slice your cake with silver cake servers; consider using a monogrammed one adorned with the same ribbons you used to tie your programs with.
The royal dance
You and your fiancé should take some ballroom dance lessons so when the first dance rolls around, you and he can twirl around the dance floor to the string quartets' playing a waltz.
Grand departure
Once the wedding and reception have wound down and you and your husband ride off into the moonlight to begin your lives together, he can hand you back into your horse drawn carriage and off you go into your new lives together!
