Tom Thumb Wedding: A Miniature Nuptial Extravaganza

A Tom Thumb wedding is a pageant where children act out a marriage ceremony. The tradition began with Charles Sherwood Stratton, aka General Tom Thumb, a man with dwarfism who achieved great fame as a performer under circus pioneer P.T. Barnum. In 1863, Stratton, an adult at the time, married Lavinia Warren, a fellow little person, in a lavish New York ceremony. The Fairy Wedding was a sensation, knocking Civil War news off the front page of the New York Times for three days straight. Soon, theatres began staging reenactments of the nuptials, and the tradition of Tom Thumb weddings was born. Today, Tom Thumb weddings are still performed by children, often as a way to raise money, teach etiquette, or simply celebrate.

Tom Thumb was a dwarf in P. T. Barnum's circus

Charles Sherwood Stratton, better known by his stage name "General Tom Thumb", was an American with dwarfism who achieved great fame as a performer under circus pioneer P. T. Barnum. Born in 1838 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Stratton was a relatively large baby, weighing 9 pounds 8 ounces at birth. He developed and grew normally for the first six months of his life, but then suddenly stopped growing. By the time he was almost five years old, Stratton had only grown an inch since he was six months old and had not gained any weight. Apart from this, he was a completely normal, healthy child, with several siblings who were of average size. His body was proportionate and functional.

P. T. Barnum heard about Stratton and, after contacting his parents, taught the boy how to sing, dance, mime, and impersonate famous people. Barnum went into business with Stratton's father and gave him the name General Tom Thumb, naming him after the popular English fairy tale. At the age of five, Stratton made his first tour of America, with routines that included impersonating characters such as Cupid and Napoleon Bonaparte, as well as singing, dancing, and comical banter with another performer. The tour was a huge success and soon expanded to Europe, making him an international celebrity.

In 1844, Barnum and Stratton departed for England, accompanied by a tutor, Stratton's parents, and the New York municipal brass band. They were received by Queen Victoria, who was entranced by Stratton, and he performed for her on three occasions. The royal interest was used to full advantage in subsequent publicity, claiming that the General was "under the patronage of Her Majesty, his Royal Highness Prince Albert, etc.". The tour was a financial success, both for Barnum and for Tom Thumb's parents, who augmented their income by selling souvenirs of their famous son. It also helped to increase both Tom Thumb's and Barnum's profiles in the United States, giving the latter respectability that he had previously lacked.

From the age of seven, Stratton performed in grand full-length fairytale melodramas under the management of P.T. Barnum. A few of the melodramas that Stratton performed were "Hop o' My Thumb and the Seven League Boots". While Barnum sought to capitalize on Stratton's small stature, he also aimed to highlight and showcase his many true gifts as a performer. For example, Stratton was noted to be clever in his acts and was a talented actor, singer, dancer, and comedian. As a result, certain dramatic critics did not compare his skills to those of the freak show community of which he was a member but preferred to judge him on his merits as a professional entertainer.

Stratton's fame and popularity continued to grow, and he became a wealthy man under Barnum's management. He owned a house in a fashionable part of New York, a steam yacht, and a specially adapted home on one of Connecticut's Thimble Islands. When Barnum got into financial difficulty, Stratton bailed him out, and they later became business partners. In 1863, Stratton married Lavinia Warren, also a little person, in a lavish ceremony in Manhattan that became front-page news. The wedding distracted the headlines from the brutal reality of the Civil War, and the New York Times remarked:

> "Those who did and those who did not attend the wedding of Gen. Thomas Thumb and Queen LAVINIA WARREN composed the population of this great Metropolis yesterday, and thenceforth religious and civil parties sink into comparative insignificance before this one arbitrating query of fate—Did you or did you not see Tom Thumb married?"

Stratton's marriage would be his lasting legacy, though certainly not in the way he or anyone else would have expected. In the years following his death in 1883, the idea of a theatrical child-wedding as his memorial appeared, taking root particularly in churches and community organizations. These "Tom Thumb weddings" became a big American fad during the 1920s and were staged fairly regularly until the 1970s.

Tom Thumb married Lavinia Warren in 1863

In February 1863, Tom Thumb (born Charles Sherwood Stratton) married Lavinia Warren in a lavish and highly publicised ceremony in Manhattan, New York. The couple were both short-statured performers in P.T. Barnum's circus, and their wedding was a spectacle.

Lavinia's dress was designed by Madame Demorest, a fashion trendsetter with her own magazine. The wedding was attended by nearly 10,000 guests, some of whom paid up to $50 for the privilege. The circus impresario P.T. Barnum had successfully turned the couple's nuptials into the social event of the season, and the media was present to report on the ceremony. Barnum paid all the expenses, and the couple posed for multiple images that were later sold by E. & H.T. Anthony under the title "The Fairy Wedding". Individuals could purchase carte des visite images of the couple in their wedding attire, the bridal party, and even scenes in the church.

The wedding was a welcome distraction from the ongoing Civil War, and the New York Times story was the first time in three years that the war hadn't been on the front page. The couple's fame grew even greater after the wedding, and they were invited to a White House reception during their honeymoon by President Lincoln, who joked about the great difference between their heights and his own: "sometimes God likes to do funny things; and here you have the long and the short of it".

The wedding ceremony took place at Grace Church, a fashionable church on Broadway, and the reception was held at the equally stylish Metropolitan Hotel. The couple greeted their guests from atop a grand piano. Although admission to the wedding was free, Barnum sold tickets to the reception for $75 each to the first 5,000 applicants.

The wedding was an elaborate ceremony in Manhattan

The ceremony took place at Grace Episcopal Church in Manhattan, and the reception was held at the Metropolitan Hotel in New York City. The couple stood on top of a grand piano to greet their 10,000 guests. The wedding party included Tom Thumb's fellow performers, with George Washington Morrison, aka Commodore Nutt, as best man, and Lavinia's sister, Minnie Warren, as maid of honour. The happy couple received a gift of a miniature silver horse and chariot from Tiffany & Co. and were later received by President Lincoln at the White House.

The wedding was a commercial success for P.T. Barnum, who sold tickets to the reception for $75 each (around $1,374 with inflation). It was also a success in terms of publicity, with the New York Times reporting on the event in detail. Despite some criticism of the wedding as a commercialised sideshow, the public was captivated by the fairy-tale-like nuptials. The event was a significant moment in the history of freak show entertainment, marking a shift in public perception towards this type of performance.

The legacy of this wedding lived on in the form of "Tom Thumb Weddings", pageants where children act out the marriage ceremony. These became popular in the early 1900s and were often held by churches and community organisations as youth activities or fundraisers. The pageants usually included a full cast of wedding roles played by children, with fancy dress, parties, and age-appropriate vows.

The tradition of Tom Thumb weddings began in the 1890s

Not long after Stratton's death in 1883, the idea of a theatrical child-wedding emerged, particularly within churches and community organizations during the 1890s. These "Tom Thumb weddings" were plays or pageants in which young children, usually under ten years old, would act out a wedding ceremony. All the major wedding roles, from the bride and groom to attendants and even the minister, were played by children. The events often included fancy dress, parties, and age-appropriate vows. While the tradition may have started as a way to memorialize Stratton's wedding, it quickly became a popular form of entertainment and a way to teach children about religious and moral values.

The first recorded instance of a Tom Thumb wedding was hosted by the First African Presbyterian Church's Sunday School in 1891 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Soon, other churches and organizations followed suit, and by the early 1900s, Tom Thumb weddings had become a popular fad. In 1898, the Walter H. Baker Company published a pamphlet as a do-it-yourself guide to hosting a Tom Thumb Wedding, helping to standardize and spread the tradition.

The pageants typically included a full cast of wedding participants, with recommendations for 40 to 50 children to ensure a successful performance. The young bride and groom would often be referred to as ""Tom Thumb" and "Jennie June," though other names like "Lillie Putian" also appeared in different scripts. The vows were often filled with jokes and stereotypes about marriage, gender roles, and progressive womanhood.

Tom Thumb weddings provided an opportunity for children to dress up, perform, and learn about wedding traditions and etiquette. They also served as a form of entertainment and community fundraising, especially in smaller towns. While the tradition waned in popularity after World War I, it experienced a resurgence in the 1920s and continued to be staged regularly until the 1970s. Even today, Tom Thumb weddings continue to be held, though the scripts have evolved to reflect modern interests and values.

The weddings are an opportunity to teach children about friendship and promises

Tom Thumb weddings are mock weddings where children act out the marriage ceremony. The tradition began with Charles Sherwood Stratton, a man with dwarfism who performed under the name "General Tom Thumb" in P.T. Barnum's circus. In 1863, Stratton married Lavinia Warren, another little person, in an elaborate ceremony in Manhattan. The public was captivated by the wedding, which was one of the highlights of Barnum's career.

Following this, Tom Thumb weddings became popular in churches and community organizations as a way to teach children about adult conduct and religious or moral values. The weddings are an opportunity to teach children about friendship and promises. The vows exchanged in these weddings are often lighthearted and age-appropriate, focusing on things like snacks, video games, and spending time together. For example, in one wedding, the 10-year-old minister asked the bridegroom, "Do you promise to take Nyla to the movies?" and "Do you promise to buy her popcorn and bonbons if she wants them?" The minister then turned to the bride and asked, "Do you promise to let Lenox play X-Box Kinect in peace?" and "Do you promise to push him in the swing when you are in the park?" The ceremony concluded with the minister announcing that the couple had "vowed to be kind to each other and share their childhood as friends."

These weddings can also be a way to raise money for a good cause, teach children about formal fashion and wedding etiquette, or simply celebrate. They are often elaborate affairs with fancy dress, parties, and age-appropriate vows. While the tradition quieted down after World War I, it experienced a resurgence in the 1980s and continues to be practiced today.

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