The License
The Common/Ordinary License (approximately 10 shillings). This was the biggest struggle in planning Elizabeth's wedding. Though Lizzy had made it clear to me from the start that a common license would do very well for her, her mother kept interrupting the conversation and declaring that she and Mr. Darcy "must have the special license!" Eventually, an agreement was struck up: Lizzy did not have to get the more expensive (and largely pointless except for bragging purposes) special license, but her wedding dress was to be finer than she had originally planned.
The Clothes
The dress: A white gown specially made for the wedding (but also simple enough to be worn on special occasions afterwards). The material was a fine muslin and richly embellished with white lace embroidery.
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| The Dress |
The groom's style: Mr. Darcy wore a muslin white shirt with black breeches. Instead of boots, he wore the more fashionable and formal black pumps and offset these with white stockings and a white cravat made of silk. To top of the look, Darcy wore a white swallow-tail coat that was unbuttoned.
Bridal accessories: White gloves and white satin slippers that were inscribed on them a short and pleasant description of the wedding and the date by Elizabeth's hand. The gloves were worn again, the slippers were locked up in a keepsake box. A white, elegant bonnet was also worn that was trimmed with lace and had a veil attached to it (the richly-decorated veil being another concession made to Lizzy's mother). Lizzy also wore a gorgeous off-white silk shawl, embroidered with satin flowers, given to her as a gift by Georgiana Darcy, and a dainty gold cross on a necklace. Her bouquet was made up of lilac and white roses, flowers which were in season at the time. Lizzy's best accessory, however, was the gold, thin wedding ring presented to her at church.
The Guest List
The wedding party:
- The bride: Elizabeth Bennet
- The groom: Fitzwilliam Darcy
- The best man: Colonel Fitzwilliam*
- Bridesmaid: Georgiana Darcy**
- Father of the bride: Mr. Bennet
- The clergyman
- The parish clerk
Invited guests:
- The Bennets (Mrs. Bennet, Mary Bennet, and Kitty Bennet)
- The Collinses
- The Lucases
- The Gardiners
- Caroline Bingley
- The Hursts
- Mrs. Phillips
Lady Catherine de Bourgh and her daughter Anne were decidedly not at the wedding.
The Wickhams were also an obvious exclusion.
The Wickhams were also an obvious exclusion.
* As it was a double wedding with Jane Bennet and Mr. Bingley, the latter could not double-dip his duties. Colonel Fitzwilliam therefore took the reins and was the best man.
** Same as with Jane. Mrs. Collins, being already married, was also ineligible as a bridesmaid, as they have historically been maidens.
The Timeline
November 20, 1812
10:00 a.m.: Wedding begins in the local church in Longbourn.
11:35 a.m.: Exchanging of the vows, prayers, a blessing, Scripture readings, and a homily
12:00 a.m: The Darcys sign the wedding registry
12:10 a.m.: The wedding party and their guests go to the Bennet's residence, where they are served a wedding breakfast.
3:30 p.m.: Elizabeth and Darcy set off for their treasured honeymoon (a secret location that not even I have knowledge about!)
The Food
The wedding breakfast consisted of food items that were in season at the time, such as apples, brussels sprouts, cabbage, celery, chestnut, cranberries, and onions. None of the meals were made by the Miss Bennets themselves, something which Mrs. Bennet reiterated to Mr. Collins once more when they were dining. The course consisted of hot bread rolls and buttered toast, chocolate, cabbage soup, fish, and, of course, tea. There were also some exquisite cold beef cuts, which were very much appreciated by the guests. The wedding cake was a dense fruitcake, which was rather large and therefore made up plenty of take-homes for the guests.