Mollie & Scott's "Piradical" High Seas Wedding Adventure

Hey, remember the pirate wedding porn that I promised would knock yer boots off, and then it totally did? Well Mollie was kind enough to drop the details for us!

The offbeat bride: Mollie, Digital Alchemy, Graphic Designer & waitress extraordinaire (and OBT member "themolliellama")

Her offbeat partner: Scott,  Digital Alchemy, Web and Graphic Designer

Location & date of wedding: Pirates Ransom, Clearwater Beach, Florida — October 31, 2009

What made our wedding offbeat: Complete pirate wedding. Guest were not allowed on the ship without costume. We even had back up cheesy costumes if someone dared, but everyone really did it up! The whole wedding and reception was on the pirate ship (three hour tour, lol) and then we went to the bar at our hotel.

We did have our reverend speak in pirate lingo, but the wording was still very meaningful — never did I think we would have people cry in our ceremony, come on, we are dressed as pirates! But we did Then the ship fired off two black powder cannons after the "I do's"… I mean the "Arrrrr's!" It was really cool.

We did have a ring warming at the sign in table which was a nice way to introduce religion and prayer for guests who would have been upset at the idea of no mention of God and no bible readings in the wedding. People really liked it a lot. We had a bridesman and groomswoman-- which is so commonplace now, is it offbeat?

Our biggest challenge:
MOLLIE: Making our wedding piradical and not fifth grade birthday party and do it on a budget. It's a fine line. It's really in the little details and you have to watch it. No skull and crossbones plates and cups — go with silver or gold. I used the plastic silverware that looks like real silver and people loved it. Buy fake pearls not white beads. Buy chocolate gold coins that look like real pirate coins and not US mint coins. I found tons of things that I wanted to use in the wedding that I didn't. Just because it has a skull and crossbones/pirate on it doesn't mean you HAVE to use it. Think movie set… it helps. The internet is your greatest friend in finding cool themed stuff. Become one with Etsy.

SCOTT: I agree with Mollie, the biggest challenge was making sure this was not cheesy. What we were aiming for was an 'elegant pirate wedding.' The real challenge was conveying that idea to our guests. Our solution was to make the invitations to get that point across by making them as beautiful and 'piradical' as possible. It was definetly effective as all our guests really got an idea of where we were going with everything and stepped it up when it came to their costumes.

My favorite moment: MOLLIE: Moments actually.

I loved hearing about what people were wearing to my wedding. It was great! People were so excited to get dressed up for the wedding that I can't tell you how many picture messages, emails, and facebook posts I received on just that. It went on for months before the wedding too… some people changed their outfit two or three times before settling on the one for the wedding. And whether they spent a fortune or made it out of stuff in their closet — it meant so much to me that everyone looked so great and that people cared. We even did a costume contest (Dad picked) because we knew there was going to be some killer costumes there and wanted to make a big deal about them.

SCOTT: I really enjoyed standing on the bow of the ship and looking down at the dock and seeing 100 of our closest friends and family, crowded around, all dressed to the nines, anxiously awaiting their chance to get on the ship. It was a very cool moment I wish Mollie could have witnessed with me.

My offbeat advice: When it comes to the day of the wedding… just… let… go. There is nothing more you can do and no amount of running around and freaking out is going to fix anything. You will only ruin the memories of the day and drive everyone around you crazy. If your flowers aren't there yet your day will go on and will be beautiful with or without flowers. It will all come together in the end, enjoy.

As far as being offbeat, well the fact that your guests are at your wedding should be a pretty good indicator that they know you well… so don't worry about what they think — they are expecting you to be you anyway.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?:

• Mollie's Dress — Was custom made by a dear friend, Luis Ortiz (Pirate with sweet eye patch in photos). If you are interested in having Luis put your wedding dream dress together, please contact Mollie through Offbeat Bride Tribe and she will help you get in contact.
• Photoraphy — Vadim Photography
• Mollie's Hattie — Topsy Turvy
• Scott's Tricorn Hat — Captain Jack's Pirate Hats
• Mollie's Necklace — Archeress
• Scott's Costume — Dragonfly Designs by TH
• Leather Goods (Baldric, Bracers, Belts) — NyghtCraft Leatherwerks
• All Pirate Shirts — BardsBoutique
• Chocolate Gold coins — Chocolate Coin Store
• Guest book — Rogue Journals
• Sister & Niece's costume — Damsel in this Dress

Enough talk — show me the wedding porn: