Just for fun, and perhaps evidence that the wedding industrial compex isn't always a bad thing.

The offbeat bride: Michelle, Woodshop Maven

Her offbeat partner: Jason, Clockmaker

Location & date of wedding: Friend's backyard in Audubon PA, near Philly. July 19, 2008

What made our wedding offbeat: We wanted a wedding that was simple, low budget, and entirely ours. Our budget was very modest but we had complete editorial control. Also, we wanted COSTUMES!!! Not just for the bride and groom or for a genre, but a costume party for everyone with free food and booze for all.

Continue reading "Michelle & Jason's costume party picnic extravaganza" →

Last week I introduced you to Dana Jay Bein, the wedding industry's premier male flower girl. First seen at Bobby & Clare's puppet wedding, Dana seemed to be such a hit with y'all, that I decided it was time for a gritty 1-on-1 interview with him.

Dana, was this the realization of a long-time dream?
I never thought I'd have flower girl on my resume … but to be honest I'd never ruled it out. That's just the type of person I am. Anything is possible. I'm open to life's opportunities!

Tell us about your journey to male flower girl.
Bobby (groom/giant) has been one of my best friends since college. We're both comedians so laughter and fun is inherently part of whatever we do.

To be honest, until Claire, I never really imagined Bobby as a married man. So when he told me he was engaged, I knew instantly that this wedding would be different. Deep down, I knew Bobby would have a surprise or two in store for the wedding party.

When Bobby approached me about the wedding, I was open minded and definitely prepared for anything he might propose. I'm used to doing outlandish and ridiculous things on a day to day basis so it was likely that he would up the ante for a special occasion.

To be honest, I don't even think he even asked me. I think he just said, "You're our flower girl."

Continue reading "Dana the male flower girl" →

The offbeat bride: Claire, Operations Manager at a non-profit

Her offbeat partner: Bobby, Comedian, Puppeteer and Giant

Location & date of wedding: Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, MA. July 12, 2008

What made our wedding offbeat: Our wedding was subversively quirky. We both went back and forth about certain traditions and our families had some say in that. I was in a big pouffy white dress with a veil for the ceremony and the boys were in tuxes.

But! Our attitudes were not traditional, which made the whole day wonderful. I didn't care about being a bridey-bride and just wanted everyone to have a blast. We chose to focus on the quirky funny details and on us starting a new partnership together.

To start, we had a 29 year old male flower girl. My wedding party walked down the aisle to Raider's of the Lost Ark and we walked out to the Ghostbuster's theme song.

My husband is a puppeteer and made each wedding party member a puppet to match them as our gifts to them. The wedding party entered the reception with their puppets, and our flower girl even slow danced with his at one point.

Continue reading "Claire & Bobby's puppet wedding" →

The offbeat bride: Laurie, Admin. Asst.

My offbeat groom: Santiago, Quality Control Engineer

Location & date of wedding: April 1, 2007. Methuen Memorial Music Hall in Methuen, MA for ceremony / Springstep dance & arts complex in Medford, MA for reception

What made our wedding offbeat: We had a very DIY wedding, with tons of help from friends. I wrote our ceremony. We had a potluck reception with better food than many catered affairs I've attended. We bought flowers online and arranged them ourselves. I am Jewish, he is Catholic; we decided to have a secular wedding with elements of each tradition, with a hefty dose of science fiction/fantasy geekery thrown in.

Continue reading "Laurie's Big Fat Geek Wedding!" →