groom with a cane on offbeat bride alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

The offbeat bride: Anna, Credit Controller

Her offbeat partner: Jon, IT Support

Date and location of wedding: Pitville Pump Rooms and The Tithe Barn, Cheltenham, UK — October 1, 2011

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: We started off with many grand ideas and eventually pared this down to the few things we both really wanted: awesome shoes, colour, SWEETS, family, and cupcakes. I also really wanted my brother to walk in with me, not due to any issues with my pops or step-dad, but just because my brother is my closest relative and I wanted him to be part of the day. We had centrepieces that were glass bowls filled with water beads in lime green and purple, and that served as our “colors.”

_MG_7947

_MG_7979

My sisters and best friend were my little bridal party, and all wore short black dresses of their choosing.

cupcakes 061812 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

We wanted lots of cake and along with the 80+ cupcakes, we ended up with carrot cake and a lemon cake made by my mum. At the end of the night we were giving people trays of cake to take home.

IMG_8015

Tell us about the ceremony: We had a fairly standard ceremony, but were able to include our own readings and music. We had a fab reading of “A Lovely Love Story” by Edward Monkton, read by my “makeup Jedi” Mary, complete with dinosaur noises and hand puppetry. My step-dad picked out his own reading as well:

MARRIAGE IS
Someone to believe in
And to put their trust in you
Someone who appreciates
The special things you do,
Someone to be close to,
In your heart and mind,
Someone who's the love
You might have thought you'd never find,
Someone who stands by you
And whose faith can make you strong,
Someone you will cherish
Every day, your whole life long
– Emily Matthews
_MG_7991

As our piece of music whilst signing the register, we had “If I Didn't Have You” by Tim Minchin.

Jon is a massive Star Wars fan, so we had “The Imperial March” playing as we left the ceremony.

IMG_8035
Epic Iron Fist shoes!

Our biggest challenge: We had some family issues that escalated into some guests not coming to the wedding. We realised that anyone spouting negative and spiteful things to us about our decisions was not what we wanted. So the decision was made to not include them in the day.

But everyone else was really excited and enthusiastic. My mum told all her friends how “alternative” it was going to be and how excited she was about it. I understand not everyone will react like this, but you might be surprised by who ends up being the most supportive.

330407_10150416423110100_510845099_10595049_249034109_o

Also, the day we got married was ridiculously hot. It was the hottest October day the UK has had for 100 years. It was baking hot and, if you know English weather, this was unheard of. Instead of dodging the rain for photos, we had to rush through them so people didnt pass out from the heat. Luckily, our reception venue had nice outside areas, so people ended up roaming around all day in the shade.

336993_10150416439740100_510845099_10595220_698397920_o

My favorite moment: I only teared up twice. The first was when my youngest sister gave me a letter on the wedding morning, and the contents of it just slayed me. The other moment was when the speeches started. My dad started out with some jokes, but then very seriously said he was proud to know me.

I also loved the moments with my brother before walking in to the ceremony, and then walking into the hall and everyone spontaneously bursting into applause. What a lovely moment.

299794_10150878661865019_523040018_21560599_1362866172_n

My funniest moment: I loved when all the men with long hair and beards had a photo together. All the hairy men had gathered!

293333_10150878660455019_523040018_21560589_778388154_n

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!

Meet our fave wedding vendors

Comments on Anna & Jon’s family and sweets, hot-day wedding

  1. The picture of all the long haired men makes me swoon 🙂 I think we’re only going to have 3 at mine (including the groom, luckily!) I am also loving the bride’s hair and shoes!

  2. Wow, I love the blue and green dress; so gorgeous and retro. And the hairy men of course!

    • That was my comfy dress, I am also wearing pink converse trainers with it – it was so hot i was starting to wobble a bit in my wedding garb so came prepared 😉

  3. Love your use of Tim Minchin! We want that hilarious number as our first dance!

  4. Tim Minchin FTW. Love it. (I performed Peace Anthem for Palestine at a piano recital a couple of years ago– my mom about passed out from mortification, but the rest of the crowd seemed to enjoy it).

  5. I adore the bride’s getup! Dress, socks, shoes, veil, hair=all amazing. This cheered up my whole day to see someone rocking this hard and looking so good while doing it. Thanks

  6. Beautiful blue hair, handsome hirsute men and Tim Minchin… oh my, this is like the ultimate trifecta of awesome! Amazing 🙂

  7. I love it Anna! Once again you guys look amazing and it was absolutely loverly to read the details.

  8. Thanks for all the awesome comments, there are more picks on my Flickr page 🙂

  9. Huzzah for that particular Minchin song! That is just the best. Now if only my ultra-romantic partner couldmget on board with it…

  10. Just had to pipe up as another person who’s pleased as punch about the Tim MInchin song. Love that man so much.

  11. what a babe! i love this wedding and that the bride and groom have such a cool style. i hope i can take inspiration from this wedding and not care what the “people who dont matter” think of our wedding or the fact we will be “alternative” too. your mum sounds gorgeous and supportive, much like my mum.

    xo.

  12. Big hugs to supportive moms! We hear so much of the negative and I can’t be grateful enough for our awesome moms. I knew it was *aaall gonna be ok* when his mom said “I just can’t wait to see what YOU TWO come up with”
    Thanks for the positive reminder.

Comments are closed.