The Offbeat Bride: Sara

Her Offbeat Partner: Kev

Location & date of wedding: Rufford Mill, Rufford Country Park, Nottinghamshire, UK — 21st August 2009

What made our wedding offbeat: Our wedding was simple in ceremony but lavish in dress. I had a gorgeous red silk 50s dress and had a bouquet of white roses with diamante and black feathers, which I held with a black silk hanky. My daughters dress complimented mine with a red sash, underskirt and slip on pumps. My groom wore a Ben Sherman pinstripe suit, converse trainers, a red tie and red silk handkerchief.

Continue reading "Sara & Kev's 1950s Inspired UK Wedding" →

The offbeat bride: Jo, HR Management Information Manager (and OBT member "Jo")

Her offbeat partner: Nova, Financial Processor

Location & date of wedding: Perth Town Hall, WA, Australia AND on the frozen Alta Lake, Rainbow Park, Whistler, BC, Canada — Perth: 15 Feb 2009, Whistler: 20 Feb 2009

What made our wedding offbeat: We had two wedding ceremonies, one in the peak of summer in our home town of Perth, Australia — which we called our "Unlawful Union" as gay marriage is not recognised over here — and one a few days later in Canada.

Continue reading "Jo & Nova: two brides, two countries with two weddings" →

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" →