More and more people are opting out of the traditional white wedding dress for something more unique. A popular option today is a Medieval or Renaissance gown. With rich colors, intricate embroidery, and elegant sleeves, these are dresses fit for a queen. But where you can find them? You can't exactly pick them up at David's or J. C. Penny's.

The easiest place to look would be the nearest Renaissance Fair. These places have all kinds of vendors of period items, dresses included. These can range from the relatively simple to the extremely ornate. You can pick one up there, or you can talk to the vendor about a personal order. Most of the seamstresses and tailors there are used to taking custom orders and can put together a dream wedding dress made to order.

Failing actual Renaissance Fairs, other good places to look are local music festivals and craft shows. You can also try to find a local chapter of the SCA, the Society of Creative Anachronism. They're an international historical reenactment society, and of course they need costumes. Someone there will be able to tell you where to find a good period dressmaker. If you decide to go the route of personal dressmaker, spend some time browsing the Internet for inspiration. Search terms like "Renaissance gowns" or "Medieval dresses" will turn up lots of images. Look through those to decide what you like and want to copy, and also to decide on what you don't like. Be as clear and specific as possible about your preferences.

You can also find quite a selection of pre-made dresses available on auction sites like eBay and etsy.com. If you decide to order a dress from the Internet, make sure that you have all of your measurements and that they're accurate. A good shop on eBay or etsy will have a sizing chart they use for all of their clothes, as well as an explanation of how they calculate measurements. Many of them won't do returns or exchanges based on incorrect sizing, so you need to be careful.

Finally, you can go the route of movie costume replicas. The immense popularity of medieval fantasy movies like Lord of the Rings have resulted in fans trying their hands at recreating the fashions on the big screen, and the result? Free patterns available on the Internet, from the simple to the complex. You can bring these to a dressmaker, or if you're feeling particularly daring, you can try to put it together yourself-just allow plenty of time! But walking down the aisle in a dress you made yourself is a feeling that can't be beat.