Themed weddings are becoming increasingly popular with people who are bored by the same old, same old, white dress and tux routine. If you want a wedding that's fun for everyone, and just a bit edgy too, why not consider getting hitched pirate style? Arrrrrrggghhhhhh!!!!!!
Send out invitations in the form of a treasure map. If you like, you can even have the invitations stuffed inside of plastic bottles, although these may be pretty pricey if you're planning to mail out a large number.
Rent, or buy, some high-end pirate costumes for your wedding attire. If you can't find suitable female pirate attire, or if you really do want that white dress, that's okay, although if you can find one in a Renaissance style this will be more in keeping with your pirate theme, as the "golden age" of piracy, at least according to pirate re-enactors, was 1650 to 1720.
Suggest that guests dress in pirate attire, too. If your guests do not have suitable pirate clothing, and are not sure how to improvise, you can have a large "treasure chest" filled with hats, cloaks and ruffly shirts for them to play dress-up in before the ceremony begins, or you can pass out pirate hats, eye patches, and hooks (all of which can be ordered in bulk from party supply houses) at the door.
Choose white flowers decorated with blood-red ribbons and little skulls and crossbones. You can incorporate other colors if you wish, but try to make sure the bouquets have some sort of pirate motif, such as skulls, swords and pieces of eight. Perhaps you can find ribbon with a pirate print (or a skeleton print leftover from Halloween).
Consider hiring a Caribbean or Mediterranean restaurant to do the catering. Pirate dishes include shish kebabs, hearty stews, and seafood. Just make that sure the bar is stocked with plenty of rum, matey!
Serve a wedding cake shaped like a pirate ship, if you can arrange one. If not, you can use a regular wedding cake and top it with little pirate figurines. You could even go all-out and decorate the lower layers with tiny skeletons, treasure chests, and gold (candy) coins.
Select pirate music for the wedding reception. Sea chanteys are always appropriate but, if you don't care for folk music, you could keep with a Caribbean theme and consider steel drum bands or even reggae.
Present members of the wedding party with really nice pirate hats, spyglasses or other piratical favors. If you'd already planned on some other type of gift, you could at least arrange to present it in a cardboard (or wooden, or plastic) treasure chest.
