Lindsay & Joe's pre-surgery shotgun wedding

The offbeat bride: Lindsay, Registration Coordinator

Her offbeat partner: Joe, Adoptions Manager

Location & date of wedding: Magisterial Courthouse, Pittsburgh, PA — July 9, 2009

What made our wedding offbeat: When I found out that I'd need major surgery for a serious health condition, my husband and I scrapped our original plan to get engaged and then wait a year before getting married. Instead, we got married on the Thursday of that same week at our local magisterial courthouse. Criminals were
being led out as we walked in.

I did my own hair and make up and my mother made my bouquet. The entire wedding, including the license and my dress, cost less than $150. Our guest list included my mom, brother, and best friend.

The groom and I couldn't afford to take off work because the surgery was scheduled for 11 days after our wedding, so we had no reception. We grabbed coffee after the ceremony (with me still in a veil) and returned to work. While I was out, my fabulous coworkers decorated my office and surprised me with a mini reception.

Despite our rushed ceremony and total lack of reception, honeymoon, and general fanciness, our wedding was absolutely beautiful. My husband promised to love me "in sickness and in health," and he did exactly that. My only regret is that most of our family and friends didn't share that day with us. We plan to have a vow renewal in October so everyone can attend.

Our biggest challenge: Our biggest challenge, beyond the fact that I was sick and medicated, was that we didn't have our families at the ceremony. My husband comes from a traditional Catholic family. Both of his parents work in the church. We opted not to tell them about our uber-secular wedding until after the fact. Our vow renewal will provide everyone with the party we missed out on the first time around.

My favorite moment: My favorite moment was actually saying our vows. My husband, never one to shy away from a difficult situation, not only offered to nurse me back to health, but responded to the news of my illness by marrying me immediately. I think it's a rare man who proposes knowing that he'll be spending his honeymoon sleeping next to a hospital bed. Our vows were my chance to thank him for being extra great, taking me to endless doctor appointments, and for loving me always, no matter what.

My advice for other offbeat brides: Involve your family, even if you think they won't be thrilled with every detail. If they love you, they want you to be happy. They'll deal with the parts they don't agree with because they want to be a part of one of the biggest days of your life.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links? Everything was homemade. I think I bought my dress at TJ Maxx, but every other detail of our wedding was DIY.

Enough talk — show me the wedding porn: