A Day at the Festival

At long last, my post about the glorious day spent at the Renaissance Festival. These are the dresses/accessories I've spent so much time working on. I love how they turned out, and will be making some adjustments for the next time I wear the dress (Ward trunk or treat and Halloween, well at least until the next Renfest!).

Lessons learned from the faire:
- When you dress the part, people might think you work there
- Some pirates don't like finely dressed ladies
- Look for pointy ears on fairies (they're everywhere and you can buy them)
- Don't sit in the front row at the joust, you'll get splattered with mud
- Use lots of napkins when eating bratwurst and sauerkraut
- Drink TONS of water during the day (so you don't get a killer headache by day's end)
- Practice the curtsy and head nod before you you go - and practice while walking
- Get used to hearing "M'lady"
- Be prepared to have lots of people ask you for your picture
- If you volunteer to be in a comedy act, you might have knives thrown within inches of your self (just ask Lester)
- Don't try to make your 2 year old wear a hoop skirt, it will end up as a stroller decoration
- Leave some breathing room when you tighten your corset
- If someone tells you (when you're dressed like this) that you look like Cleopatra, just remember you're in the south (as long as you live here...otherwise well, yikes!)
- Go to the bathroom before getting completely dressed - big dresses and port-a-pots don't go well together
- Too many people smoke at the faire
- Check out all the vendor's clothes for sale and you might see a skirt made out of the same fabric as your dress
- Know what the "privies" are and where to find them
- Stay away from the incense vendors - the smell is overpowering
- If the Queen leans in to "kiss the air" remember to "kiss" both sides of her cheek
- When the Queen and Princess invite you to be guests of honor at the final joust of the day, say yes (we did and it was amazing!)

We're looking forward to going to the next fair in March. Here's a couple more pictures, tomorrow I'll make a slide show of all the rest.

All the girls in our beautiful dresses

These smiles say it all - a truly amazing day!