Real Weddings – Bobby and Heather

OK guys, you really need to see this amazing Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones wedding <insert clever Red Wedding joke here>.

This is the epic wedding of Bobby and Heather that was featured on Offbeat Bride in July, and it is amazing! It’s like…perfect. The clothes, the setting, the guests, the props, ug, don’t even. And it doesn’t just look amazing, it actually had amazing things going on in the wedding, like having the 4 elements represented in the ceremony in unique ways, the wedding party going above and beyond their royal duties, and the perfect gift for the bride’s father (hint, it’s a crown fit for a king *wink*) OK, read on! Let’s just jump right in, shall we?

The wedding was held in Dunafon Castle, in Idledale, CO, on May 24, 2014. An actual castle, guys. The bride, Heather, has this to say on how they actually chose to go with their LOTR and Game of Thrones wedding.

“Bobby and I are geeks: Dungeon & Dragons, Battlestar Galactica, Elder Scrolls, Doctor Who, Zombies, Comic-Cons, cosplay… you name it, we’re probably into it. So when it came to our wedding, it wasn’t a question of “What should we do?” but “How do we narrow this down?” We decided on a Lord of the Rings meets Game of Thrones theme because we discovered we could get married in an actual castle right here in the Colorado mountains. Suddenly, we had visions of armor, swords, dragons, and elves”

The couple encouraged their guests to come in costume, which instantly makes any wedding or event 10 times better. They also had this really cool idea to have their own sigils. The bride and her side were represented by the phoenix and bore crimson, ivory, and copper. The groom was represented by a dragon and his side bore green, silver, and black. The bride’s side also had feathers woven into their hair and the grooms men had dragon pendants. I love it!

The bride’s bouquet was meant to look like fire pouring out of her hands to fit with the whole phoenix theme, and, you know, it’s crazy awesome.

Listen to this

“…the groom’s armor was custom-made (it took over a year to complete) and was accessorized with all his favorite alchemy bottles, wand, thief’s tools, and copper flagon. Each of the groomsmen wore unique armor that represented a very specific character. The groom was the hero (of course), his best man the mercenary, my brother the paladin, and his third groomsman was the bard.’

“My dress was custom-made to reflect a combination Celtic/Medieval/Elven style that included gossamer draping sleeves and long, heavy layers of ivory with copper embroidery.”

“I also accessorized with a silver and copper circlet, pearled elf ears, and a necklace designed after Galadriel’s ring.”

“Though by far, my favorite accessory was my white doeskin boots with antler buttons that I’d had made to my feet at the Renaissance Faire the summer before”

OK, let’s talk about the ceremony itself. I freaking love what they did here.

“Bobby and I combined several elements into our ceremony to reflect our Pagan beliefs as well as our personalities. Our sword-armed ushers helped seat guests and asked willing guests who were armed with their own swords to sit on the inner aisle. They informed said guests that they would be asked to participate in making a sword “tunnel” for the recessional. Programs sealed with wax seals, green with a dragon and gold with a phoenix, were handed out so guests would understand what was going on.”

The groomsmen brought candles and an empty hourglass. The best man entered with two vials of colored sand on his belt. He placed those two vials in front of the first of four pedestals. The DJ then played “Into the West” from the Lord of the Rings soundtrack. My mom, Jocelyn, entered with her partner, Mac. Jocelyn carried the handfasting box. She placed the box on a third pedestal. She then opened the box, removed the handfast rope, and draped it lengthwise across the table. The bridesmaids then entered carrying lanterns, wind chimes, a goblet of water, and a unity candle for the other pedestals.

When we got to the altar, my father handed Greg his sheathed sword. Greg addressed Robert regarding the importance of the sword. This part of the ceremony is based on a very old Irish tradition. The father of the bride passes a sword on to the groom, signaling the passing of protection of the bride from her father to her husband.

Greg then explained the Unity Ceremony of the Four Elements, which invokes each of the four elements and asking them to provide their unique strengths to unite the couple. We used the colored sand, wind chimes, goblet of water, and the unity candle. It was concluded with a handfasting, which represented the binding of our two spirits.

When the bagpipes began, the two ushers down front stood, drew their swords and created the entrance to the sword tunnel. This signaled the rest of the guests to stand and, for those on the aisle, to draw their swords and form a tunnel as well.

It’s such a beautiful ceremony! Look at the reception though!

The food was in three stations. We had “The Hand’s Feast Station,” which included traditional turkey legs and less traditional “Orc Pot Pies.” We had “The Lothlorien Land Station,” which included fish and Lembas Bread. And we had “The Shire’s Harvest Station,” which was entirely vegetarian and vegan.

Orc pot pies, I’m dying! Also, I want Lothlorien fish and Lembas bread. The cake though is like…the greatest cake ever (we’ve already featured it once here already, but you need to see it again. And again.)

“The cake had four layers with a bottom layer of dragon scales and the top two reflecting the embroidery in my dress. We had a middle layer as The One Ring, with our house motto on it “A Light in the Darkness.”

But the most incredible feat our cake artist accomplished was the 3D dragon wrapped around the layers and a 3D phoenix lifting into flight off the top. We cut it using a sword which also had our motto engraved upon it.”

Here are a few photos of the reception, and like I said, having your guests dress up only makes an event better. Look how much fun everyone is having!

The couple even awarded a prize to the best dressed guests! Here are the winners, a couple dressed as Pan and a Dryad, with full on ram’s horns, giant wings, and glow-in-the-dark facepaint. The gave them an authentic replica of a Dragonglass dagger and arrowheads, from the Game of Thrones Series.

They also had a special surprise for the bride’s father, which is really touching I think.

“…we awarded my dad the Crown of Aragorn at the reception to honor him. My father is a very conservative, quiet, traditional man. And despite the fact it was the exact opposite of everything he would have done, he financially and emotionally supported this crazy over-the-top production of a wedding and even agreed (after much persuading) to wear a costume. The best moment was after I’d given a speech about how amazing he was and had handed him the crown, as he turned to return to his seat, Bobby spontaneously called out “Long live the king!” The entire audience echoed “Long live the king!” And my hates-to-be-in-the-spotlight dad, held up the crown for everyone to see, and was cheered all the way back to his chair”

One of Bobby’s groomsmen had a special surprise for the couple as well.

“Bobby’s groomsman and our good friend, Phyl, had decided to take his role as the “bard” very seriously. He’d spent days rehearsing in secret before the wedding, and at the reception, brought out his flute (which neither of us even knew he played) and sang and played a beautiful and moving rendition of “Far Over the Misty Mountains.” Not only does he have one of the loveliest baritones I’ve ever heard, he rewrote the lyrics to bless our wedding specifically…These gifts meant more to us than any gift. We were genuinely amazed and honored.”

At the end of the night, the couple exited under an arch of blow-up swords to”He’s a Pirate” from the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack, because that’s pretty much the best way to leave a wedding like this.

Here are a few more photos of this beautiful day!

So, there’s one freaking awesome wedding, right? It’s beautiful, I loved the venue and all of the personal touches the bride and groom put in really makes you recognize what is important to them right away, with even having never met them. Of course I loved all of the LOTR touches, but you can just see all the love everyone here has for each other. And that’s what’s really important in a wedding, celebrating the love you have for your partner and new family.

Here’s a list of vendors used in this wedding as well. And head on over to Offbeat Bride’s original post about this wedding for more photos and information.

Photography: The Willinghams, with additional photography by guests. Boots: Windwalker Footwear. Bridesmaid Dresses: Camelot Costumes. Cake: Intricate Icings Cake Design. Caterers: Relish Catering. Circlets: Elnara’s Medieval Bridal Fashions. Coordinator: Calluna Events. Dress Designer: Maggie Evans Designs. DJ: A Great Time DJs. Elf Ears: Made By Kozee. Florist: The Perfect Petal. Hair: The Side Door Salon. Invitations: Scroll Wedding Invitations. Linens: Wildflower Linen. Makeup: Alchemy Mineral Blends. Registry: Honeyfund. Rentals: Event Rents. Venue: Dunafon Castle. Videographers: KHodge Films

Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed it!