4 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)
The offbeat bride: Angel, Fulltime Mommy (and OBT Member)

Her offbeat partner: Dave, Lineman

Location & date of wedding: My grandparents' backyard in Dousman, WI — June 26, 2010

What made our wedding offbeat: We'd discussed doing a theme, but realized doing a theme (regardless of how fun it sounded) was a bad idea for two people like us. We don't have enough in common for one thing and for two, its hard to categorize everything we wanted in our wedding to one central theme. We decided that we'd just keep bouncing ideas off of each other, and if we liked them we'd use 'em. It became a real mash of ideas, that somehow came together in colors of reds, blacks and silvers. Clipboard10

We wrote our own vows, and had rings made for each other that included a part of the vows engraved upon them. Dave's sister suspired us with a poem she wrote for us. My brother was supposed to read but ended up saying, “What I wrote is great. But its not ceremony appropriate so I'll save it for the reception, folks!” Which made us all laugh.

We had two guys and six girls stand up, as well as two flower girls and a ring bearer. Before we got married, a lot of people expressed confusion when it came to the man vs woman ratio in the wedding but I think that in the end they saw that it really did come together beautifully. DSC_0872

Tell us about the ceremony: Our ceremony went pretty quickly. We had a standing, outdoor ceremony so we didn't want anything too long. Dave's sister Sarah wrote a poem for us and read that as the first reading. We then said our vows (which we wrote ourselves), and said ‘I do.' DSC_1047

Next came the unity ceremony. We decided to kind of make our own up. We used a traditional German Bridal Cup to drink our favorite beer out of (a raspberry dessert beer, the first beer we ever drank together). Turns out the Best Man totally spaced and forgot to bring the beer outside though so while he ran back down to find it, we had our second reader come up and read “What Is Real” from Velveteen Rabbit. We finished with our unity ceremony and the kiss.

Our biggest challenge: The biggest challenge of all was the slowly diminishing groomsmen. When we first started planning the wedding, we had four groomsmen. Then one dropped out because he lost his job, and didn't want to say he could get a tux when he might not be able to. Then my best friend Daniel (who was supposed to be my best man) called me a month before the wedding, totally heartbroken, he couldn't get leave to come to the wedding. Of course, we understood, and so I called my brother up and asked if he would stand in for Daniel. He told me he'd be honored. DSC_0313

Then, two days before the wedding the last groomsman told us he wouldn't be coming to the wedding. We were down to two groomsmen to work with, but it worked out great after all. My brother insisted that he and kyle run down the hill and walk each girl up so they didn't have to walk alone and all in all, I think it looked pretty classy.

My favorite moment: Besides the entire thing being a very emotional and meaningful event, I'd probably single out a couple of odd things. Such as, my son running up to us to “bust the ghosts” trying to ruin my wedding (he is obsessed with ghostbusters). Trent had a big stick, and was making laser noises. He looked at me and said, “I saved the day mom. I busted all the ghosts up here now.” It brought some much needed hilarity to such a serious event… Dave and I really aren't very somber or emotional people and it just cut some tension I know we were both feeling. DSC_0070

Seeing Dave see me for the first time was pretty breath taking too. I think I faltered a little bit, just overwhelmed by the moment. My dad nudged me and said, ‘He's waiting for you,' to get me moving again. When I got up there Dave told me I took his breath away.

The speeches really touched our hearts too. My brother's speech almost made me cry. He said, “Who gets to marry the girl next door anymore now a days? Dave does. Who gets to marry the first boy they ever kissed? Angel does. I looked up definitions of love, and none of them do these two any justice.” As well reliving many old moments in our past. Our friend Jon ended up rickrolling the reception by singing “Never Gonna Give You Up” mid-wedding speech. DSC_0334

My funniest moment: There were a few of them. One was when it was time to take pictures, my daughter was NOT having it. She made the most adorable angry faces however. We couldn't stop laughing at her. She's quite the over actor.

OR, the fact that when it came time to do our unity ceremony. We realized that the best man forgot to bring the beer. He ran back into the house and couldn't find it. It took two bridesmaids to help him, and then as they came up the hill my uncle chased after him saying, ‘You need the bottle opener!' That made us all laugh pretty hard. 35649_1472354097791_1501813977_1199512_6697355_n

Then at the reception hall, we kept noticing cupcakes going missing, but couldn't figure out who was taking them. We hadn't cut the cake yet, so no one should've been eating them. Then we heard the giggling and saw a hand reach up from under the table. Our daughter Bela had gathered all the other little girls under the table for a cupcake feast, and was the ring leader of the group, haha!

My advice for offbeat brides: Don't let people tell you that a wedding has to cost a lot of money. We had an amazing wedding on a budget under 2000 dollars. The key is keep your eyes open for great deals, and don't be afraid to ask people for their help. Most friends and family are more than happy to help. Our photographer was a friend of ours, and did our pictures as a gift. The program maker, the baker, the dj… were all friends who were honored we asked them to be a part of our big day. 36696_662675066808_11703408_37747891_35081_n

Also, if you want it, include it. At the end of the day, it matters what you thought of your wedding. Sure, there were a few complaints or some shocked older relatives but it just doesn't matter much. I can't even remember anything negative anymore, just how epically amazing the day was.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

  • Bride's dress: a cute local bridal boutique by the name of Hartland Bridal.
  • Headpiece: a great little shop on etsy: Boring Sidney. The customer service was phenomenal!
  • Cake topper: Etsy as well, Bella Smiles and this seller was fantastic to work with.

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Comments on Angel & Dave’s old-school glamour, “Dangelous” backyard wedding

  1. Oh, Angel! I love that you guys were chosen for OBB! Thanks again for letting me a part of your special day! I loved reading your thoughs on all of it here, as well as seeing some of the amazing pictures. What memories! Love you lady! (and, of course, love Dave and the kiddels, too!)

  2. Groom’s pants! 😀 😀 😀

    The rest of you also looked lovely. But GROOM’S PANTS!

    • AGREED, that groom has the most awesome pants I’ve seen on OBB. I think my beau may get jealous if he ever catches a glimpse of this pic.

      • GROOM’S PANTS! I’m adding to it. 🙂 My panda would be super stoked on those.

        • I had him read this before work today, and he was all sorts of smiles due to all the compliments on his pants. Thanks everyone! 🙂

    • *THIS*!! I admit I kinda skimmed through the article because I had to race to the bottom to comment on the GROOM’S PANTS! Now that I’ve done that, going back up to read in detail. 🙂

  3. lol I love that your friend Jon “rickrolled” the wedding!!! That is awesome! Everything sounds so wonderful and fun. Congratulations on such a beautiful celebration!

  4. where did you find the wine glass holder? with the two silver hands- love it.

    and I can’t decide whether I love the dress or the groom’s pants better.

    • thanks! um, i searched for the glasses on google shopping. if you search specifically for “Love Beyond the Grave Intimity Glass Set” it’ll come up immediately. Then I just picked the place that the price and location worked best for me. 🙂

      thank you so much! dave surprised me with what he wore, and I surprised him with what I wore. We were both amazed at the other’s choice in clothing. 😀

  5. This is totally freakin fantasmic!!! I loved the pics but loved reading the description of the day even more. I love that you seem to have embraced every aspect of the celebration, including the unplanned ones. And I looooove your dress, and the red and black color scheme, and of course, the groom’s pants. LOVE.

  6. My favorite wedding aesthetically by far! And y’all sound like you had such a fun, sweet time. That little girl’s angry faces are PRECIOUS

  7. YES to the pants as well. I love all the little mis-steps…it may not have been as planned but it relieves tension and makes for awesome memories! It sounds like the speeches were amazing too!

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