Andrea & Drew's quirky colorful museum wedding

Photos by Erica Rose

The offbeat bride: Andrea, Customer Care Representative and (Tribe member)

Her offbeat partner: Drew, Library Clerk and Metal God

Date and location of wedding: Swedish American Museum, Chicago, IL — April 30, 2011

What made our wedding offbeat: Drew and I are both well into our 30s, so no one tried to force their opinion on us. There was a mix of traditional and less traditional in our wedding. We had the whole wedding at one site. There were no real flowers at all. I made my invites, programs, and table numbers in PowerPoint using clip art and free fonts. I also got to know my hot glue gun, ribbon, glitter, and paint very well.

There wasn't really a theme, I just had colors that I liked. I knew I wanted a bright, colorful affair. There were also ninjas — cupcake tower topper ninjas. Our wedding was completely secular, with no mention of God at all, and no one said one bad word about it. The bridal party walked in to "I Do" by Colbie Calliet, and I walked down the aisle to "Hey You, Get Off My Moon" by Velocity Girl.

Tell us about the ceremony: I had my friend, Sara, do two readings — one by Madeleine L'Engle from "The Irrational Season," and "On Marriage" by Ogden Nash. While the overall tone of the wedding was funny, the reading from "The Irrational Season" let people know we actually put a lot of thought into the whole concept of marriage.

Our biggest challenge: I got laid off two months into my engagement. Suddenly, all the money I was going to make to pay for my wedding was gone. I had to get creative, but I also had a lot of help. My parents and Drew's parents really pulled through with extra cash, and I scaled back on a lot of things.

But somehow we managed to pay for a wedding with me being laid off for ten months of the engagement. I negotiated with my vendors to pay in installments. I also bought crafting materials at the dollar store.

My funniest moment: While reciting our vows, Drew said, "With this wing, I thee wed." It was hilarious, made everyone giggle, and broke the tension. Also, my mother walked down the aisle with her purse. Seeing that documented in the photos just cracks me up.

Was there anything you were sure was going to be a total disaster that unexpectedly turned out great? I had this idea that nothing was going to come together and look coherent. There was a lot of self doubt about the choices we made. I really didn't think it was going to come together until I got to my wedding and saw that everything looked great. I really should have owned my choices and had some faith in myself.

What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding? It's okay to be a control freak to make sure things are how you and your partner want them. It's also okay to let things go. In the end, once the day happened, I had to let go and just enjoy things. It was out of my control.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

• Dress: Alfred Angelo from Greta's Bridal in South Bend, IN
• Shrug and fascinator: Etsy seller Countessa
• Groom's suit: Macy's
• Ninja cake topper: Etsy seller Temple7e
• Bouquets, boutonnières, and corsages: Jilliann's
• Shoes: Miss L Fire
• Catering: Fig Catering
• Day of coordination: An Event Less Ordinary
• Photography: Erica Rose

Enough talk — show me the wedding porn!