Goth Karaoke Wedding on offbeat bride alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

The offbeat couple: Baxter & Chris

Location & date of wedding: Discovery Park and Sunset Tavern – Seattle, WA (06-07-08)

What made our wedding offbeat: Our ceremony was a short and sweet number in Discovery Park, overlooking the Sound with only family and a few friends in attendance. I wore a red corset top and a black skirt. He grew out his chops and wore a custom vest to go with his black pinstripe suit. A friend played “The Air That I Breathe” on acoustic guitar. Another friend officiated. We wrote our own vows which were basically love letters to each other, posed for some pictures and then it was on to the real party!

IMG_0291_1We met up with 80-some friends at the Sunset Tavern for a karaoke extravaganza with cocktail buffet. The affair had a playing card theme, mainly because we like the black and red color scheme but also because he proposed in Vegas. Instead of cake we had mini tarts decorated with the card suits.

We kicked things off with our first song: “Suddenly Seymour” from Little Shop of Horrors. The open bar helped eradicate any inhibitions that our non-karaoke inclined guests might have. My mother even sang a couple of numbers. The groom's parents wouldn't sing but happily danced all night.

2563844726_5d3cb9d4aa_bOur biggest challenge: Initially, it was difficult to explain to people that we wanted to keep the ceremony small. We wanted only immediate family and a few close friends. Some extended family (and my mother) had a hard time understanding why we wouldn't want every single person we happened to be related to by blood or marriage to watch us get hitched (in a very untraditional manner). We overcame these issues through many phone conversations gently explaining our reasons behind this decision and that it wasn't meant to be a mean-spirited exclusion. We just wanted to keep everything small and simple.

WeddingPortraits_030My favorite moment: Our silly photoshoot in a rickety canoe in Discovery Park using umbrellas (sure it's June, but it's also SEATTLE) and all of our normally mic-shy friends belting out the tunes for us.

My offbeat advice: If you plan to have booze at your wedding and there aren't a lot of minors on your guest list, DEFINITELY look into renting a bar or tavern.

Sunset Tavern won out, but we had many affordable options for bar venues who were charging only a reasonable bar minimum for the use of the space. We could have a cash or open bar (we chose the latter) but either way, we needed only to meet previously agreed-upon a dollar amount. Also, they had all their own tables and chairs and since we liked the decor of the place the way it was, we didn't have to spend any money on decorations.

Also, try not to tell any of your vendors it's for a wedding until they've already given you a quote. “Parties” tend to be much cheaper than “weddings”.

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Comments on Goth Karaoke Wedding

  1. Cheers, my karaoke sister! Love your music selections. If you’re ever in Los Angeles, look us up and we’ll take you out to sing!

    Great advice about the “party” vs. “wedding” thing. Sad but true – you’ll get better prices if you tell them you’re planning a party.

  2. As a Seattle native I gotta say that Discovery Park and the Sunset Tavern is classic offbeat Seattle. Gawd I love the Sunset – for years now.
    Great corset skirt combo; the lines of that skirt are so Edwardian as opposed to Victorian – just makes me want to go out and design a costume

  3. Lovely wedding! The color scheme is fantastic.

    I especially like the groom’s vest. Where did you get it made?

    Congratulations!

  4. Thank you, everybody! The groom’s vest was designed by an old friend of his. We have so many talented (and useful 🙂 friends, it’s scary!

  5. oh darling! It looks like it was a blast! The only thing I felt was missing from my wedding was karaoke (besides that, it was perfect). I’m a teensy bit green (yr so awesome) envy. xo

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