Anli on the left, and Laura on the right. Photo by Capturing Essence

The offbeat bride: Anli, data analyst

Her offbeat partner: Laura, public servant

Location & date of wedding: The Old Stone House, NSW Australia — 5 September 2009

What made our wedding offbeat: We wanted a ceremony that reflected our geeky, romantic, pink aesthetic, while at the same time being profound and meaningful. Our ceremony was themed around the video game Portal and the anime series Revolutionary Girl Utena.

We incorporated lots of geeky details, from the table names (Revolution, Sierra, Katara and GLaDOS) to the choice of music. We also kept several traditional elements such as bouquets, dresses and bridesmaids. However, we both walked down the aisle unaccompanied and skipped the garter/bouquet toss.

Continue reading "Anli & Laura's Lesbian Gamer Geek Wedding" →

The offbeat bride: Emi, Barbershop Receptionist/Manager (and OBT member)

Her offbeat partner: Trevor, Call Center Supervisor

Location & date of wedding: Aunt Karla's Backyard Garden, Portland, OR — 07/18/2009

What made our wedding offbeat: We really didn't hire anyone for anything. We had a few rentals delivered (tables, chairs, our Honeybucket) from outside vendors, but we did all the food & drinks, cupcakes, table settings and flowers, decor, etc., ourselves (that is, with TONS of help from family and friends).

Continue reading "Emi & Trevor's Beer & Hot Dogs Garden Party Wedding" →

The Offbeat Bride: Monica, Market Information Administrator (and OBT member "Monk")

Her Offbeat Partner: Tony, Night Auditor

Location & date of wedding: Faust Park, Chesterfield MO, the historic village garden & carousel — 8/30/08

What made our wedding offbeat: We made decisions based on what we wanted to do rather than what we were supposed to do, which in this day is a total bucking of tradition! Based on that idea, every aspect of our wedding was carefully thought out.

The most obvious offbeat aspect of our wedding was that the reception was held in a historic carousel, but there were a lot of little ways the day was a reflection of ourselves. If we didn't want it we didn't do it. So no dollar dance, flower girl, garter toss, etc. We created our own ceremony by looking at five or six different ones, cutting out the stuff we liked and putting it together. I switched to Chucks for the less formal parts of the day. We had a small parade to the reception lead by a guitarist playing The Darkness' "Do You Believe In A Thing Called Love".

Continue reading "Monica & Tony's historic village garden & carousel wedding" →

The Offbeat Bride: Sharla, newspaper production designer (and OBT member "Firecracker")

Her Offbeat Partner: Kris, engineer

Location & date of wedding: Moab, Utah — April 25, 2009

What made our wedding offbeat: We love Moab for its scenery and fantastic trails, so we chose to get married there. We had about 23 guests, no attendants, and very little of the traditional trappings. I made my own gown in blue silk, and I had orange crinoline, orange shoes, orange fishnets, flowers, etc.

Our table decorations featured local rock arrangements, handmade tablecloths & runners, thrift store bowls with miniature Jeeps and chocolate rocks. And we served gourmet sandwiches and cheesecake to our guests. I walked down the aisle to Funtwo's electric guitar rendition of the Canon in D, and our ceremony was brief and nonreligious. The town mayor performed the ceremony, which included a Native American wedding blessing as well as just the right touch of humor.

Continue reading "Sharla & Kris' Moab, Utah Motorhead Wedding" →

The Offbeat Bride: Becky, Counseling Teacher

Her Offbeat Partner: Andy, Math Grad Student

Location & date of wedding: St Joseph's Co-Cathedral and Sunset Ballroom, Burlington, VT — 01/03/09

What made our wedding offbeat: To save money, we got married during the "off-season," which was sweet because we wanted to show our family and friends a good old time in our current hometown in Vermont and… what's more picturesque than Vermont in winter?

Continue reading "Becky & Andy's DIY Vermont Winter Wedding" →