FRIDAY LATE: I Do

29 April 2011
18.30 - 22.00

In a playful nod to the Royal Wedding, this Friday Late features fun and games in street party fashion, and with a Victorian twist! In the style of celebrations around Edward VII and Alexandra’s ceremony of 1863, make your own commemorative bunting, join a sing-along, have some trifle and pose for a wedding photo.

Admission free
Please note, timing and location of activities subject to change.

The Celebration

ContainerPLUS installation

Grand Entrance
18.30–21.50

Going to the chapel …
Art and design collective ContainerPLUS welcomes visitors with this altar installation. Commemorate the day by documenting your own commitment to amorous devotion and exalted passion. Grab a friend and pose for a picture.

Rockaoke wedding band

Grand Entrance
18.30–19.30 and 20.30–21.30

Take the stage with Rockaoke as part of the band’s live karaoke sets or join in the dancing fun in the Grand Entrance.

Best man speech

Grand Entrance
21.15

Raise your glass for comedian Steve Oram’s cringe-worthy toast to the happy couple. It’s always awkward and often distasteful, but the best man speech is an essential part of every wedding celebration.

One-man band

Throughout Level 1
18.30–21.50

In the Victorian tradition one-man band Pete Moser will move around Level 1 of the Museum. Seek him out for a song and a dance or wait for him to come to you. You’ll certainly hear him coming!

Live Canon’s royal wedding

National Art Library
18.45, 19.45 and 20.45 (each performance lasts approximately 20 minutes)

The Live Canon ensemble presents a live performance of poems to mark the occasion. Some are new (and perhaps surprising) commissions, which are mixed with poems written over the last five centuries to celebrate royal marriages.
Places are limited. No large bags are allowed.

Welcome to the wedding

Bunting

John Madejski Garden
18.30–21.50

Let the colourful decoration of ‘HOTCAKES Presents’ draw you into the Garden. Take a seat at the banqueting table and leave your own personal message on a piece of bunting, adding to the lattice created over the course of evening.

Christopher Green

John Madejski Garden & Gamble Room, Café
18.30–19.30 (Garden) & 20.00–21.00 (Café)

One of the originators for tonight’s event, Christopher Green turns MC for the night, inviting visitors to join sing-alongs and formal wedding dances in the Garden for the first part of the evening. He will then move into the Gamble Room of the Café for cabaret.

Lily Vanilli cake

John Madejski Garden
Cake-cutting ceremony at 21.00

Enjoy the spectacle of this gold-plated wedding cake by Lily Vanilli throughout the evening and indulge in a piece once it’s cut.

Always a bridesmaid …

John Madejski Garden
20.30

Come one, come all in your finest wedding garb for a catwalk competition.
With esteemed judges designer Louise Gray, William Banks-Blaney, and V&A curator Ligaya Salazar.

Preparing for the big day

William Banks Blaney: Vintage dressing with style

Seminar Room 1, Sackler Centre
19.15–19.45

Vintage Couturier, William Banks-Blaney, reveals the secrets of how to look your best in glamorous outfits from the past. He discusses the styles most suited for friends and relatives, as well as daughters and mothers of the bride. Get hot tips on how to make the best of vintage clothes.

Dressing the vintage bride

Sackler Centre Reception
18.30–21.00

Drop in on Jane Bourvis to learn about wedding day accessories, from veils to vintage jewellery. This event is a must for all brides to be!

Souvenir handkerchiefs workshop

Art Studio, Sackler Centre
18.30–21.00

Inca Starzinsky invites visitors to print and keep a unique handkerchief with specially-designed motifs and patterns, inspired by the Victorian era and sourced partly from objects and textiles within the V&A archives. The handkerchief can become a piece of memorabilia or a personalised gift with a loved one’s initials.

Paper flowers workshop

Lunchroom 1, Sackler Centre
18.30–21.00

Join Jessica Palmer to make paper flowers to wear for the evening. Create your own designs for brooches, necklaces and headbands and show off to your friends.