A Double Wedding!

Viola weds Duke Orsino

Lady Olivia weds Sebastian

                        By Edward Grey                                           March 1602

Duke Orsino and Viola met about two months prior to their extravagant wedding in the kingdom of Illyria. Viola and her brother had recently been shipwrecked on the Adriatic Sea and she believed him to be dead. She came into Illyria under a disguise, pretending to be a young man named Cesario. She became a servant for Duke Orsino and very quickly fell in love with him. Viola knew this love could never amount to anything since Orsino knew her as a man; but that soon changed. In a huge unraveling of secrets, Sebastian, Viola’s brother, was discovered to be alive and recently married to Lady Olivia. At this same time, Viola’s identity was discovered. Duke Orsino was so pleased with Viola’s loyalty to him that he knew she was the one, “Give me your hand and let me see you dressed in woman’s clothing” he said to her. He did not even need to see her dressed as a woman before he proposed. 

Seeing that Sebastian and Lady Olivia’s wedding was very small with only one witness, Orsino and Viola decided they wanted to go in the complete opposite direction. They had hundreds of friends and family in the kingdom of Illyria come to their celebration of marriage. They did not want to waste much time so they planned to have their wedding three weeks after the proposal on March 10, 1602. 

The entire Kingdom was invited to the beautiful wedding and reception. Viola’s elegant long sleeve silk dress was the object of everyone’s attention. Since she had to wear men’s clothing for so long, the Duke spared no expense on Viola’s gown.  The dress, which had to be made rather quickly, looked like it took months to create. It fit her perfectly accentuating all of her features and forcing all eyes to be on her.  The finest beef, pork, and poultry were served at the reception along with the Illyria’s best made pastries and cakes. The wedding celebration soon turned into a celebration of both Orsino and Viola’s wedding along with Sebastian and Olivia’s marriage. The excitement of the party lasted late into the night.

The Details:

Date: 3/10/1602

Place: Illyria

Venue: The Grand Ballroom in the Duke’s palace

Music: Provided by Illyria’s finest musicians