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ArchivesEmily & Emory's small, vegan, indie-rock wedding
Real Weddings: Midwest US
By
on February 11, 2010
27
Tags: backyard wedding, red-shoes, short wedding dress, shrug, vegan cake, vegan wedding, wisconsin wedding
The offbeat bride: Emily, psychology student
Her offbeat partner: Emory, graphic and motion designer
Location & date of wedding: My parent's backyard on a small lake in Hartland, Wisconsin — Oct. 10, 2009
What made our wedding offbeat: It was an entirely vegan wedding. Our cake toppers were urban designer toys. We wrote the ceremony and our vows and wore dressy-casual clothing that suited our personalities. We played indie-rock music throughout the reception, drank local beer, and basically treated it like a laid-back party!
Our biggest challenge: The weather! It was the first week in October and, as I was getting my hair done, it got dark and started snowing! Not ideal for an outdoor wedding. Luckily, by the time the wedding started, it was still cold, but sunny and free of snow. And the tent heaters worked great!
Another little snaffoo was that our friends, who were performing first at the wedding broke a guitar string right before heading the the ceremony! Luckily they fixed it in time and showed up about ten minutes before they had to perform. And they sounded amazing.
My favorite moment: When our friend, Joe, ran in dressed as Kanye and interrupted the father of the groom’s speech to say, “Yo Marty, I’m really happy for you and I’m gonna let you finish, but Emory and Emily had one of the best weddings of all time!” Cheesy cultural reference, but man, was it funny. And, of course, it was all staged. Marty was the one who planned it.
My offbeat advice: Your wedding is a means of expressing, to those closest to you, who you are as a couple. Don't let others pressure you into a wedding that doesn't fit you. It's perhaps one of the most memorable days of your lives. Make sure it's exactly what you want.
Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?:
- Dress: Nanette Lepore Bluefly.com
- Suit: Banana Republic
- Red vegan heals: beyondskin.com
- Accessories: Etsy.com, eBay.com
- Photographer: Erol Reyal
- Caterer: Apron Annie's
- Tent: Canopies
- Cake toppers: Robot Love
Enough talk — show me the wedding porn:
Jill said
Kanye moment = genius. And yay for having your friends play your wedding! We did the same and it was amazing — the best version of a "wedding party" ever.
emily said
Thanks Jill! They performed "Sea of Love" and it was just magical.
Brigitta said
WHAT are those little critters on top of your cake and WHY are they so ridiculously cute?
Congrats, your wedding looks wonderful!
emily said
Thanks! They're wooden Pecan Pals. http://www.myplasticheart.com/c/PECANPALS/Pecan+P…
We really lucked out that they matched the cake so well, too!
Hayley said
that little sweater is perfect! Did you find it on etsy and if so, who made it?
emily said
Thanks Hayley! I actually found it on on ebay.
Peter said
Great blog, really like the pictures!
@Emsquem said
Thanks, Peter!
Kristen in Oregon said
Love the Kanye idea. Too funny! My fh wouldn't be into that, but man it would be funny! Love what you wore, it's about the tone I hope to strike. I wear an 18/20 so it's a bit challenging to find something semi formal, but I've only just begun. Thanks for sharing, and all the happiness in the world to the two of you!
@Emsquem said
Thanks Kristen! It took me lot of searching to find the right outfit for the big day. I even bought another dress and realized shortly after that I hated it!! But with with patience and persistence, I found just what I wanted. I know you will, too!
Stiletto said
I have those exact same Beyond Skin heels! Maybe I don't need to buy another pair of shoes after all…
@Emsquem said
They're the coolest shoes ever! Although, for someone like me who never wears heals, much less super high ones, I knew I couldn't last all night in them. So, I brought along a backup pair of flats which came in handy for dancing. I highly recommend this.
Tera Williams said
Love the wedding, but the beyond skin link is wrong.
offbeat_megan said
I just tried it and it worked find for me.
rxqueen said
Yeah, I had trouble. I think it's .co.uk not .com
@Emsquem said
Yup. It's http://www.beyondskin.co.uk/ Looks like that link goes to a massage site.
offbeat_megan said
Oh, I see what you were saying now. Okay, link changed!
Emily said
It is so great to see so many vegan weddings on here lately! Looks like you had a wonderful day
@Emsquem said
I agree! I love seeing all the vegan weddings, too! And thank you, it was!
Marla said
Yay for vegan weddings! Thanks for sharing and you're right: it is one of the few days you can do just as you want. To plan it in accordance with your values and incorporate all your personal charm into it makes it all the more special. Sniff! It makes me wistful for me own vegan wedding back in '98.
@Emsquem said
Awe. Thanks, Marla!
Jean said
Yay Beyond Skin! They make the best vegan shoes. I've found that they hold up better than any other vegan shoe brand out there right now (after Stella McCartney) Love your shoe pick.
And the cake is adorable.
@Emsquem said
Thanks Jean!
Bahee said
Love the colors and the casualness!
Marielle said
I love the not-floor-length dress! So adorable
Alyson said
I absolutely love your parents place, it's soo beautiful. I'm looking for something similar for my wedding. I currently live in NC with my Fiance where he is stationed in the Marine Corps, but we are both from WI. We are wanting to find a Lake House somewhere in southeastern WI to have the wedding. Your wedding was absolutely beautiful, Congrats!!
Emily said
Thanks, Alyson! The wedding was on North Lake in small down Hartland, WI about 30 min from Milwaukee. Fortunately, there are lots of "great lakes" to choose from in Wisconsin. I'm sure you'll find something fantastic!