This weekend my husband and I went to a wedding . . . in costumes! This was a first for us, and it turned out to be lots of fun.
A former student of mine got married. OK, OK, I'm not that old. When you teach high school, your students reach marrying age a lot quicker than say the students of a kindergarten teacher.
Emily was one of my favorite students (I can say that because it's not like picking your favorite child) and she used to babysit my daughter. So, I was really looking forward to her wedding.
Emily and her fiance, Eric, both love Halloween and wanted a Halloween-themed, costume wedding. After convincing my husband that we wouldn't be the only ones dressed up, we decided to wear renaissance outfits. The only thing my husband had to leave behind was his sword. Apparently, double-sided knives more than 3 inches (or so) are illegal to carry around. Since his sword is a couple FEET long, he left it at home.
The wedding and reception were held at the Wabasha Street Caves which is said to be one of the most haunted places in the country. The Caves were also a big hangout for several gangsters in the 1930's like Ma Barker and John Dillinger. During Prohibition, St. Paul was known as a "safe-haven" for gangsters. The crooked police chief looked the other way as long as gangsters: 1. Didn't commit a crime within the city limits of St. Paul (apparently Minneapolis was fair game), and 2. Made large, yearly donations to the city.
The Caves were, surprisingly, less dank and creepy than I thought they would be. But there are plenty of stories. Rumor has it that three gangsters were actually buried there by a fellow thug. I can't vouch for that, nor can I say I saw any ghosts, but the caves were creepy enough to be the perfect spot for the beautiful bride and groom and their costumed guests.
Oh what fun! Did the bride and groom dress up, too? Or just the guests?
ReplyDeleteThe bride wore a beautiful black wedding dress. The groom wore a black tux with orange accents. The guests were everything from John Lennon (Bride's father) to Miss Piggy (Bride's friend).
ReplyDeleteHow fun! Great costumes ~ I have a bunch of cousins who perform at the Ren Faire and I always wanted to dress up too.
ReplyDeleteWhat were some of the other costumes the guests came in?
There were several gangsters (as you can imagine), two jesters with skull masks, Abe Lincoln, a Star Wars ton-ton, Kermit was there with Miss Piggy, princess, hillbillies (complete with little brown jug), more gangsters, Sid and Nancy, a frightening clown, and John Dillinger gave us the tour.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Dressing up in Ren Fest gear is really fun!