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The
Greatest Little Wedding
The
Tom Thumb Wedding was inspired by the famous couple Charles
Stratton and Lavinia Warren. They appeared at P. T. Barnum's,
Barnum's American Museum in New York in the 1800's. Charles
Stratton known as General Tom Thumb was deeply in love with
Lavinia Warren. It was said they fell in love at first sight. On
February 10, 1863 the couple married in New York's Grace Church.
It was a Lavish affair. The New York Illustrated News wrote,
"The History of General Tom Thumb and Lavinia Warren, reads
so much like some fanciful fairy legend, that it is nearly
impossible to regard the affair in any other light." Also
written was ," For several weeks past, the approaching
nuptials of the little pair have been the one absorbing topic
discussed by high and low."
Everyone wanted to attend the ceremony. The only way you
could get in to see the couple exchange their vows was to have an
invite. This consisted of a Wedding card created by Gimbrede, and
it bore the words, Church - Tuesday, February 10th, at twelve
o'clock. Reception - From one till three o'clock, Metropolitan
Hotel. Accompanying that card was also two individual cards. One
of Miss Lavinia Warren & one of Charles Stratton. This was not
all. With each individual card was a ticket of admission, signed
with the initials of Tom Thumb's private secretary. These were
neatly tied together with a white ribbon and given to their
guest. Without these items there was no admission in the
Church.
The Tom
Thumb Wedding Is Created
The
fascination of this wedding still carries on to this date.
Shortly after, "The Greatest Little Wedding," people
everywhere were putting on their own Miniature Weddings as
plays. The Walter H. Baker & Co. of Boston put out a
play 35 years later called, 'The Tom Thumb Wedding." It
was published in 1898. Many churches and schools put on
theses plays for the fun of it and also as fundraisers. (Original
invitation from 1915)
The old play is a bit out dated with some of it's vocabulary in the
wedding vows. If you were to put on a Tom Thumb play today,
it would be nice if the kids wrote the play with their own vows. I
think they could be very creative. Don't get stuck on it having to
be the same as the older plays. Just have fun with it.
If you feel you need a script and do not have the time to write
your own, I have written some updated vows for the children along
with simple guidelines for the play. You may purchase my play
"Wedding in Miniature" for a fee of $5.00 and a
copy of it will be emailed to you using a wordpad file or jpg
file. No hard copies. You may make as
many copies as you need but not for resale. To receive a copy just
send a request invoice for the
play.
To view upcoming plays and
photos of past plays, or if you are putting on a play,
visit our Post your Tom Thumb
Play and we will be happy to list it's Time and Place for
you. Contact Us at: aweddingtradition@aweddingtradition.com |
A
Wedding Tradition