#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a cat lady nerdy wedding
Photos by Alison Dunn Photography

The Offbeat Bride: Erin, 6th Grade English Teacher

Her offbeat partner: Tim, Machinery Mechanic

Date and location of wedding: Abbie Holmes Estate in Clermont, NJ — October 15, 2016

Our offbeat wedding at a glance:

Our wedding had a loose theme of books, cats, and glitter. I really wanted my four cats to be at the wedding, but it wasn't possible, so I had to just let my cat lady status show in other ways. I wore cat shoes and had a cat purse. We had our cats added to our cake topper, cat paw chocolate pops favors, and made sure to have cat ears at the photo booth. And, of course, used a cat lady wedding hashtag: #ErinAndTimGetMeowied.

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a cat lady nerdy wedding

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a cat lady nerdy wedding

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a cat lady nerdy wedding

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a cat lady nerdy wedding

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a cat lady nerdy wedding

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a nerdy cat lady wedding

I'm an English teacher and generally nerdy, so I incorporated my love of books by using books as centerpieces, scattering books throughout the venue, having a book-themed guest book, and book page flowers. The book page flowers were all handmade by myself and one of my bridesmaids and went into all the bouquets and in some of the vases, as well. I also made our own newspapers for our ceremony programs.

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a nerdy cat lady wedding

I used as much gold glitter as I could without making everything look super gaudy. I painted and glittered a ton of old bottles and vases for the tables. Tim and I also hollowed out a bunch of old hardcover books (and used gold glitter on some of the spines of the weirder titled books) and planted succulents in them. To add to the cat lady wedding theme, I put cat figures in the planters, too.

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a nerdy cat lady wedding

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a nerdy cat lady wedding

Tell us about the ceremony:

I'm pretty bummed we weren't able to participate in the pre-ceremony, really, because I feel like it must have been a blast. We had a mini cocktail hour before the ceremony, where guests could get some non-alcoholic drinks or partake in bourbon apple cider to pregame while the DJ played songs by Vitamin String Quartet, who do classical covers of pop songs.

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a nerdy cat lady wedding

I designed and made our programs to look like a newspaper — it had a featured article, a crossword puzzle, editorials, horoscopes, and even two personal ads from me and Tim, “w4m and m4w.”

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a nerdy cat lady wedding

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a nerdy cat lady wedding

The bridal party came out to Vitamin String Quartet cover of “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want” by The Smiths and then my dad walked me down the aisle to the Vitamin String Quartet cover of “No Alarms and No Surprises” by Radiohead.

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a nerdy cat lady wedding

We were married by one of my best friends from high school, who doubled as a bridesman. His ceremony was amazing and hilarious, we spent so much of it laughing. He incorporated all kinds of wacky things about our lives and legitimately worked lines from “Mmmbop” (Hanson was always my thing) into our vows.

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a nerdy cat lady wedding

We had two close friends do readings, also. A Lovely Love Story by Edward Monkton (about two dinosaurs in love), and an excerpt from Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, my favorite book.

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a nerdy cat lady wedding

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a nerdy cat lady wedding

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a nerdy cat lady wedding

As we exited to “You Make My Dreams” by Hall and Oates, our guests threw confetti hearts made from book pages inside of dictionary page cones, also DIYed by me.

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a cat lady nerdy wedding

Tell us about your reception:

We wanted to keep our reception laid-back, so we had the room setup with a variety of low-top and high-top tables and couches inside the dining room and out onto the back patio with no assigned seating. We had a temporary tattoo station where people could have our names, our initials, or our faces tattooed onto themselves. We also had a fire pit on the back patio with a s'mores station.

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a cat lady nerdy wedding

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a cat lady nerdy wedding

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a cat lady nerdy wedding

Our invitations boasted an “Epic Dance Party” and our amazing DJ definitely delivered. He really nailed our musical interests after seeing our requests list. We had so many awesome '90s songs playing and had a blast dancing with our friends and family. We even got to Rick Roll our guests during the cake cutting.

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a cat lady nerdy wedding

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a cat lady nerdy wedding

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a cat lady nerdy wedding

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a cat lady nerdy wedding

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a cat lady nerdy wedding

Our wedding was for adults only, with the exception of Tim's 16-year-old son, so there was a big emphasis on partying, letting loose, and having a blast. We bought a variety of craft beers and had ceremonial Irish car bomb cocktails with our bridal party.

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a cat lady nerdy wedding

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a cat lady nerdy wedding

Possibly the greatest part of the night, though, was when two of my bridesmaids made an announcement that their gift to us was outside: an ice cream truck! I don't think either of us had ever been so happy: hanging out with our favorite people, drinking good beer, and eating ice cream cones (with sprinkles).

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a cat lady nerdy wedding

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a cat lady nerdy wedding

What was your most important lesson learned?

If you're DIYing things, get started on it earlier than you think you should and ask for help. I did a LOT of the DIY stuff myself, mostly because I waited too long to begin, and it resulted in not getting everything done that I wanted to get done. I had planned on making cardboard cutouts of my cats and just didn't have time unfortunately.

Also, make sure to spend time with your partner at the wedding. It seems silly, but Tim and I spent a lot of time dancing and hanging out with our friends and family in separate areas of the wedding, but not so much time dancing and hanging out with each other. I wish we had made an effort to set some time aside together, besides our first dance, a quick meal and our eventual trip to the photo booth at the end of the night.

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a cat lady nerdy wedding

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a cat lady nerdy wedding

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a cat lady nerdy wedding

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a cat lady nerdy wedding

#ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a cat lady nerdy wedding

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Comments on #ErinAndTimGetMeowied: a nerdy cat lady wedding

  1. My name is also Erin and my fiancé is named tim… and we also have a cat themed wedding….. whaaaaat.
    You both look so happy! I love this wedding!

  2. I have never been so upset at not attending a wedding before. You look like you had so much fun! What a great day, I’m glad it turned out so well. C:

  3. What a lovely wedding!
    I love your succulent book centrepieces-were they one of your diy projects? Any tips (or a tutorial post perhaps?!)

  4. I *knew* that was a Pixie Pocket dress! I’ve been eyeing her designs for YEARS.
    It’s good to know they look even better on curvy ladies! (said the curvy lady)

  5. OMG are you me? I’m also Erin and I have four cats that I wish could be a part of my wedding! Your party looked fabulous, and the cake toppers were super adorable! I guess I better get working on my cardboard cat cut-outs now haha

  6. This is so freakin’ adorable! Also props to you on the amazing amount of DIY! I did the same for our wedding (waited too long, didn’t ask for help, had to scrap projects) so I totally know where you’re coming from what that BUT from looking at the pictures what you did get done is amazing and I’m sure no one but you realized anything was “missing.” I also totally understand your feelings on not spending time together at the wedding, because the same thing happened to me and my husband. We also did not do a first look OR posed photos so unfortunately there are only a handful of photos of us together at our own wedding! Oh well, live and learn for … the awesome cat themed anniversary party? 😉

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