If you and your spouse can agree to tie the knot at a Renaissance faire, it is likely a good sign for your marriage. On Saturday, October 5, Robert Hale, an English teacher at MHS, did exactly that, using King Richard’s Faire as the venue for what he described as “a literal Fairy Tale wedding.”

 Hale and his wife, Haley Mazzarella, have been going to King Richard’s Faire for years. After they got engaged, Hale and Mazzarella knew they wanted their wedding to “tell a story.” 

Hale, eager to indulge his inner English teacher’s love for Shakespearean tropes, chose to have their wedding there. This decision ultimately led him to stand on stage, dressed as a knight in shining armor with a large sword. 

But while Hale and his wife were on stage, most of the crowd didn’t realize it was an actual wedding, believing it to be another one of the various shows across the faire. One man in the back was on a loud phone call during the ceremony. Eventually, I piped up to let him know it was a real wedding and he immediately left. 

The only other hiccup occurred when Mazzarella arrived late to the grand procession around the faire, which was led by King Richard and the Queen with their royal entourage. Hale was marching alone, prompting people to ask him, “Where is your wife?” to which he jokingly replied, “Honestly, I’m surprised she lasted that long.” 

Mazzarella joined him after she grabbed her new bow, which seems to be a very fitting reason to be late at a Renaissance faire. 

Even though the wedding setting was fantastical -filled with the sound of bagpipes and cheers of “Huzzah!”- the emotions shared by the couple’s friends and family were genuine. Hale explained, “The people who were invited were the people I knew who would love it.” 

While their wedding might not be for everyone, it was exactly what they wanted. And hopefully their fairytale wedding will end with a happily ever after.