ISO Theme Officiant

That is gonna look super cheesy. I know you guys are trying to go for something cool and a specific vision in your head but this is the type of stuff that goes viral and people share on Facebook everyday. I'll stick to my "boring" traditional beautiful wedding.

Op, I fully support your vision. I originally wanted a very LotR inspired wedding (think straight out of Hobbiton). But alas, my planning took another turn and the only LotR reference I had was walking down the aisle to "Concerning Hobbits".

The officiant is someone you don't hire for aesthetic. This is literally the reason for why you are even planning this elaborate day and the last thing you want is for the wizardly looking gentleman to bail or not be legally able to perform your ceremony.

I think you should follow the advice of others and have someone who is a professional that would be willing to wear a medieval outfit and keep the Gandalf lookalike as a possible cosplayer for hire to take pictures with.

Will Hobbits be your caterer?

Get a nice, official officiant. Buy him/her medieval style clothes. Hell, find someone with long blonde hair and pretend they are Galadriel. However, dressing like Gandalf would take me out of the wedding.

By the way, I'm a huge nerd. My husband proposed with a TARDIS that opened with a Sonic Screwdriver and the ring was on the console. Our officiant quoted "together or not at all" during his sermon. We danced to a song from Doctor Who. My DH even built us a CARDIS. So I'm not at all nerd shaming you. I'm just genuinely confused why your vision is more important than a legal and meaningful ceremony from a pro.

However you resolve the question of the officiant, I would love to see your BAM. My BFF is going for something similar...woodsy, ethereal, elegant, and she and her FH are both LoTR fans.

OP, contact the county clerk for what's necessary..

https://www.myorangeclerk.com/Divisions/Marriages/Marriage-License-FAQs

That's awesome and I hope you find someone who can do this for you! I'm having my brother be our officiant and since we're having a Star Wars themed wedding he will be dressed as Obi-Wan Kenobi and I'm super excited about it!

Hello there!

First off, I will not laugh at your dream wedding vision, in fact my favourite book of all times is Lord of the Rings and although I never much envisioned my wedding day, I have wanted an elvish/medieval inspired wedding dress myself since I was 11. So I see nothing wrong with your vision... on paper.

However, I do think there are a couple of practical problems with what you are looking for. I might talk nonsense, because I am from a different continent, so I have exactly 0 experience with your weddings first hand (basically movies and this forum I have been stalking for almost a year now is the extend of my limited knowledge). But one thing I have seen time and time again mentioned here -and indeed in this thread too- is how important is the officiant for the ceremony, that they can make it or break it. Bearing that in mind, I believe only a very experienced professional could give you what you seek, because perhaps you would like LotR touches incorporated in your ceremony too, other than the visuals? Or in any case you need a custom made ceremony (do correct me if I am wrong, because this is not something we have over here), so that person needs to be able to work well with you.

Now of course, ideally, you would find a professional with the look you are after, but the problem is that this look... is not that common in general. The long white hair and beard I mean. It is not really something you come across daily, especially the long, luxurious beard. Many men have beards, but very few can reach Gandalf level. So you are looking for something pretty hard to come by and you are further limited by wanting that person to also happen to be a professional officiant.

As I see it, maybe your best bet would be an expert officiant, that would not be opposed to some dressing up, including professional make-up? After all, Sir Ian McKellen did not grow out his beard for the role (nor did he have plastic surgery to alter his nose to make it more "wizard-like"). This would be very expensive to do properly, but if it is that important to you, maybe try that approach?

The next option would be actually casting for the part, an actor, or cosplayer, but it sounds pretty risky to me, from the ceremony quality point of view. Still, it might be worth it to you.

But there two final details I would like you to think about.

The first one, are you absolutely positive Gandalf was the one announcing the wedding? I quickly went over The Steward and the King chapter, which is where the wedding is mentioned (at the very end of the chapter) and also the Appendix A, where the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen is, but I could not find anything of the sort. Maybe you could point me in the direction of the passage that mentions this, because I truly have no memory of it. Or perhaps you made a mistake and if so, your problem could be solved much more easily. It is far easier, I imagine, to find someone who could fit with the overall elvish aesthetics, if you don't need a long-bearded wizard.

And the very last note. I understand the vision and wanting cohesiveness, But I have to say, I think an officiant looking totally the part, would be a bit distracting for me. I mean, I totally get the Arwen/Aragorn combination and I think if the clothes are well made, it will look absolutely lovely. But I would prefer to focus completely on the couple and if the officiant looked too much the Middle Earth part, I for one would be focusing too much on a third person, instead of the 2 that really matter.

Whatever you decide, I hope you find exactly what you are looking for (and sorry for the wall of text!)

It's insulting. Honestly.

@Shelob As far as whether it is canon that Gandalf married them, I don't believe it is in the books or appendices. However, it is in the movies, and would make sense given the entire story. Finding someone who looks a little like the part shouldn't be THAT hard... I mean, he doesn't have to have a two foot long beard or anything, lol, but I have seen plenty of older guys who looked kind of like that (though I was raised in a biker family, so maybe that's not as common as I once thought I guess?)

And thank you to everyone who is actually more open-minded about this kind of thing. We're not doing a kids party.

Wouldn’t you want to stay true to the story, not merely the movie?

It being hard to find or not isn’t the issue, it’s the legality of it. Last I knew, and I could be wrong, not just anyone can perform legal ceremonies in Florida. You’re choosing aesthetics over legality, which is necessary for a legally binding marriage..

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@shelob really hit the nail on the head with that one!!

@HisBeauty What if we just do the actual marriage completely at the courthouse before we even have the formal "party/event" itself? That wouldn't change the legality, right?

And someone out there has to have a grandfather or something who fits the bill, right?

Why not just have the officiant marry you, and then do some "inspired pictures" with an actor after the ceremony. That could be really nice!

You have over a year, reach out to cosplay groups in Orlando, post in cosplay forums or fb groups what you’re looking for.

OP it’s up to you, I merely stated last I knew not just anyone could do it.

Shelob is correct, I think In theory it would be nice, in practice it wouldn’t be distracting, what if the person you hire fumbles the entire way through the ceremony. Will you be ok with that? Will you be ok if names are messed up, or something truly happens?

Wait, better idea! Officiant marry you, but the Gandalf guy could do a reading from LOTR (perhaps one of the scenes between Arwen and Aragorn?). The pictures will look the same, no legal issues, and it would really tie it all in together without being super distracting.

I love how you called everyone else's wedding boring and yet you literally want to copy someone else's fake wedding.

Cool. Go be super unique and different.

Just don't do it it insulting the rest of us who had "boring" weddings but had details of our own personal stuff in the actual event.

I can tell you right now chances are slim you'll find a Gandalf who lives near you willing to do it. If they get paid and someone finds out (either New Line or Tolkien's estate), your officiant will get a cease and desist.

@OP Your wedding is on a Tuesday?

@LOTRBrideAli Oh if it's not book canon, then it's even simpler, because it's not in the movies either. What you are referring to, I think, is the coronation of Aragorn scene. That is indeed performed by Gandalf, you are right, but the wedding is not shown (there are no details about it at all in the book either). In fact, Elrond would be more suitable for what you need and for that you simply need a distinguished looking man, maybe with long hair, but then again, that is much easier to manage I think.

I thought about bikers actually, when I was trying to remember when I have seen something close to Gandalf in real life, but for me, my experiences were only either spectacular beards, often with bald head, or long-ish hair with short beards. I am sure it exists, it's just a combo I have not come across often.

P.S. I know nothing about the legalities of wedding ceremonies on your parts, so I am not touching that at all.

P.S. 2 After a year or lurking, of course it's the LotR thread that makes me post... figures!

P.S. 3 Your gown is lovely, I also kept going back to that one and still often look at it, but I decided it was not for me for my wedding. Still, it really is amazing!

My friend had a LOTR wedding. She had her readers read some passages from LOTR. She decorated the place like it was the Shire, all greens and flowers. Her tables were all locations from LOTR. Not once did anyone show up in costume. A good chunk of my friends (including myself) are costumers and would still find it bizarre if the officiant was dressed as Gandalf.