The offbeat bride: Staci Robinson, Licensed Veterinary Technician

My offbeat groom: Benjamin White, Medical Laboratory Technologist

Location & date of wedding: Opossum Creek Retreat Cabins, Lansing, West Virginia, October 2006

What made our wedding offbeat: We took tradition and tossed it far, far out the window. I wore a red dress that I bought off the rack (on sale!) at Macy’s and no veil. Each of us had both of our parents escort us down the aisle. I walked down the aisle not to some stiff traditional bridal march but instead to Death Cab for Cutie’s “I Will Follow You Into the Dark.”

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The offbeat bride: Brittany Wager, Audio Engineer (and Offbeat Bride lab rat!)

My offbeat groom: Steve Wager, Web Consultant

Location & date of wedding: August 2002 at the Buffalo Gap Camp in Capon Bridge, West Virginia — the same place where we met at the All Good Music Festival in 2000.

What made our wedding offbeat: Since we met at a music festival, we wanted to recreate that atmosphere. Once we booked the location everything else sort of fell in to place. We had the campground from Friday morning to Sunday afternoon, so we invited everyone to join us for the whole weekend — not just the day of the wedding. We had a bonfire and jam on Friday night, a cookout and open mic at the lake on Saturday afternoon, and one of our favorite bands played three sets after the wedding. Getting everyone together so far ahead of the actual ceremony was wonderful. They all knew each other very well before the “main event” and it helped to being together our different groups of friends and family into one community.

I put a lot of focus into the music and making sure that everyone would be comfortable and have a good time. I didn’t spend too much time on things like linens, centerpieces, food, etc. In the end people don’t tend to remember those things anyway.

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