Lina and Karl’s Swedish wedding was inspired by Grimm’s fairytales and the darker side of fantasy.
“We chose to call our wedding theme ‘dark fairytales’, alluding to the real endings of the Grimm fairytales and the writings of H.C. Andersen”, said the bride. “It also came from the love of fantasy and dressing up. We are the couple that wear elf ears and robes when The Hobbit opens in the cinema so we couldn’t have a ‘normal’ wedding! Visually, A Midsummer Nights Dream was a strong influence, but there were also nods to Tolkien, Norse and Greek mythology, Game of Thrones and many of our hobbies.”
The bride had her dress made by The Couture Company in the UK and the groom rocked a morning suit owned by his grandfather! “My dress was magical and working with Jo at The Couture Company was a joy from start to finish. My shoes came from Amazon and I decorated them myself. I also customised Karl’s suit a bit with feathers and some homemade little insects to match my dress. I made his antlers too, in black and gold. The influences for both of our outfits came from Titania and Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
“I think one of our most unique details was that we wore elf ears and antlers. We also had a string duo play Raines of Castamere in the church, right after the ceremony, with the doors guarded by a werewolf and an albino elf warrior! Nothing about our wedding was normal! The ceremony was in a church. My parents married there, it’s small, pink and very pretty. We are not religious, I was surprised that Karl (being a very clear atheist) really wanted a church wedding, but I don’t regret it one second. It all came down to the priest being so wonderful and inclusive. I had great memories of her from my confirmation, and was thrilled when she said she would do the ceremony. She has the rainbow flag outside her church, it was a very positive message of love.”
The bride also did plenty of DIY. “I do a lot of craft, plus I work in events with design and dressing so it was natural, and fun, to do a lot of things myself”, she explained. “Some friends work in the same industry, some have experience of light design and the restaurant world, and they were invaluable when getting the venue ready the day before. Not only creative, but tireless and talented, things would never have turned out the way it did without their wonderful help!”
“The signpost for the entrance listing references to our interests in fantasy and gaming were made by my father, Karl and myself. The guestbook table was heaped with stuff we had at home, especially from LARPs and reenactment (and my parents attic). I think I only actually bought the guestbook itself and the two black quills. The place for cards was a decorative birdcage I found in a sale and sprayed the way I wanted it. The dressing up table had some masks, headbands and hats that I customised with paint and feathers to match the theme, and I did get a some fairy wings from Amazon for this as well! The best thing about planning the wedding was getting excited about all the little details we could add.”
