A Fractured Fairytale

Last month I held a regency weekend party at my house, and was lucky enough to have so many wonderful attendees! I removed anything glaringly modern from the library, foyer, and dining room and tried to set the scene with period prints and accessories. Add to that the dozens of candles and I feel like it really made all the difference. It wasn’t time-travel, but it created a period atmosphere that carried throughout the whole weekend. Next time, I want to add some more accessories and stage the scene a little more, but I am thrilled with my first try. I was too busy playing hostess to take many pictures, so I’m using a few of my favorite photos from my guests.

We started the weekend with breakfast in costume. I refitted an old short gown and wore it with a new regency cap (more detail on that later).


The rest of the day was spent prepping for the evening party. My guests kindly helped me by polishing all the silver, and assisted me while I worked in the kitchen.

We then dressed in our finest for an evening of champagne, conversation, and cards.

I wore my new green sarcenet gown (sans embroidery), and my husband joined in on the fun with his new 1790s evening suit. I made the waistcoat and jacket and the breeches were commissioned from The Period Tailor.

(Photo Courtesy of Amy)


(Photo Courtesy of Amy)

I have to say a big thank you to Katherine for helping me to get his outfit wearable. I had it mostly completed by the time they arrived, but it still had a lot of little fiddly bits that seem to take forever. Katherine was awesome and finished his waistcoat hems, temporarily fixed the derpy sleeve cuffs, and came up with the brilliant solution of doing hooks and eyes with false buttons. So much quicker! Seriously, Nate would have been pinned together without her help! I do plan to go back and add buttonholes to everything, as well as redo his jacket cuffs, but there is no rush now and I can take my time. After I finish his outfit, I plan to do a proper photoshoot to document all my hard work.

 

Posing in the library after breakfast the next morning. (Photo Courtesy of Jenny-Rose)

Sunday I had planned a picnic (I even bought a tent!), but tt ended up being too hot and humid to be outside for more than a couple of minutes, so we enjoyed a mellow day inside instead, playing silly parlor games, reading letters from abroad, enjoying a leisurely lunch, and ending with more champagne and silliness that evening.

I wore my block print gown (so comfy!) but Nate was too hot to get fully dressed up. The week before the party I tried to whip out a second linen waistcoat for Nate so he wouldn’t be over heated.I didn't have enought time to finish the last little bits, so Katherine saved me again.  Since we put so much effort into the linen waistcoat, he gamely wore it over a t-shirt and shorts. It was actually pretty hilarious. Again, I plan to get him dress up again to take proper photos.
 

It is far too hot outside for this nonesense. (Photo Courtesy of Amy)


However, we did take the requisite regency wedgie picture before retreating to the AC. (Photo Courtesy of Amy)


Lunch with friends across the pond thanks to the miracles of modern technology. (Photo Courtesy of Amy)



Playing period parlor games. (Photo Courtesy of Amy)


And indulging in general silliness. (Photo Courtesy of Amy)


(Photo Courtesy of Amy)

In case you want to see more, here are the full albums for Jenny-Rose’s photos and Amy’s photos.