Our first date inspired our fantasy wedding
When Isabell Etz, 38, got engaged she knew her wedding would be pure fantasy... Saying our vows
Scrolling through different profiles on a dating website, one immediately caught my attention. His name was Ferenc and he had gorgeous long dark hair. I’m a professional author of fantasy novels… his dating profile read.
I was a huge fan of Lord of the Rings and the whole world of fantasy in general.
I was intrigued and after exchanging a few messages, we went on our first date near our homes in Stockholm.
‘Is that the One Ring from Lord of the Rings?’ Ferenc, 47, asked, pointing to the gold band gleaming on my finger.
‘It is,’ I smiled.
I was impressed that he knew what it meant.
From that moment, I knew we’d get on.
Ferenc loved Lord of the Rings and the world of fantasy just as much as me.
And as the months went on, we became inseparable.
We loved attending costume and masquerade balls and it wasn’t long before we became just as obsessed with Game of Thrones, too.
We even named our kitten after one of our favourite characters from the series, Kalisi.
And after two years together, Ferenc finally popped the question.
‘Will you marry me, Isabell?’ he asked me, as family gathered round at a BBQ in August 2016.
‘Of course I will,’ I beamed.
I was over the moon, and couldn’t wait to start planning my dream wedding with Ferenc.
‘I don’t want a boring white wedding,’ I said to my fiancé confidently one afternoon.
‘What if we did a themed wedding instead?’
‘Sounds great,’ he replied. Ferenc had been married before, so for him a registry office ceremony would have been enough.
But this was my first wedding and I wanted it to be really special.
‘What about a Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings inspired ceremony?’ I suggested to him.
Ferenc loved the idea and I soon started organising it.
But not everyone seemed to understand our magical vision.
‘I don’t know anything about Game of Thrones,’ my mother said, completely baffled by our choice.
Flicking through images on
Pinterest, I showed her what I meant and she soon came around to the idea. My grandmother was slightly more concerned. ‘As long as you don’t wear a black dress,’ she said, as I explained what we were doing over the phone. ‘I won’t – don’t worry,’ I chuckled to her.
My family are all over the world, with my mother in Florida and my father where I grew up, back in Germany.
I wanted my grandmother to be a part of our day and knew she wouldn’t be able to travel far, so we decided to hold the wedding in my hometown in Germany.
It made the wedding prep a logistical nightmare.
Piles of decorations were delivered to my grandmother’s house in preparation and I was hand crafting wedding favours and props until all hours at night. Thankfully, my father helped us find the picturesque venue up in the mountains and it wasn’t long before I had found the wedding dress of my dreams.
Trying it on for the first time, my mother started welling up.
‘You look amazing,’ she said, as I swirled around in the gold gown complete with an elven inspired crown.
And in September 2018, everything was ready for our big day.
I couldn’t wait to see all out guests dressed up in fantasy themed outfits.
And they certainly didn’t disappoint.
As I walked down the aisle, I could see Khal Drogo, Daenerys Targaryen and even Jon Snow
Our amazing guests staring back at me in the seats.
There were elves and dragons and seven kingdom chieftains, too.
Everyone had gone to so much effort with their costumes and it was really great to see.
And waiting at the end of the aisle, Ferenc looked great in his elven inspired outfit.
We had a handfasting ceremony on top of the mountains, followed by a falconry display of eagles, owls and flying falcons. ‘That was incredible,’ one of our guests said afterwards.
It was something different and everyone was so surprised by what we had done.
Next, it was time for our wedding food menu titled ‘Dinner is Coming’.
Guests enjoyed ‘Children of the Forest’ mushroom soup and ‘Wilding in Melissandre Sauce’ roast beef.
We finished off the food with a beautiful wedding cake made by my mum as a surprise.
‘Thank you so much,’ I said, hugging her.
Once she’d understood the wedding idea, Mum was so supportive – baking, shopping, and making decorations.
Everything had an enchanting fantasy feel to it and all the hours of preparation and props had finally paid off.
I had such a clear image in my head of what I wanted and despite all of the stress, it all came together.
‘I always knew your wedding would be something special,’ one of my friends said, as we celebrated on the dance floor.
Everyone seemed to love our big day and I’ve only had positive reactions from all my friends and family.
Now, we’ve been married for nearly three years.
For our first anniversary, we didn’t stick to tradition and went to a medieval restaurant to celebrate.
I’m so glad we decided to go for something different and had the wedding we really wanted.
It was an incredible celebration of love and family and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Our menu was magical
I didn’t want a boring wedding