Violetta & Jason's funky chicken dance-off wedding • Offbeat Wed (was Offbeat Bride)

The offbeat bride: Violetta, marketing

Her offbeat partner: Jason, chef

Location & date of wedding: Central Square, Cambridge and World's End, Hingham, MA — October 28, 2010

What made our wedding offbeat: Our wedding was a fabulous result of spontaneity. We decided that we simply wanted a fun lighthearted day off/night out with our dear friends. And so it was!

We “planned” it in six weeks and set the day to be a Thursday, based on my favorite funky/soul band's schedule. The band plays at our local bar so that was the reception venue.

Cambridge City Hall was happy to accommodate our canine “best man” in their ceremony hall and they had the lowest marriage license fee around.

The closest restaurant was Hungry Mother, which specializes in soul food. This piggy backed onto our choice of music entertainment for the night. Hungry Mother could only fit a party of sixteen, which gave us a perfect excuse to keep the guest list trim!

We called it our “W Party” instead of the wedding day.

Tell us about the ceremony: The ceremony, scheduled for noon, was short and sweet. It was just the five of us — bride, groom and “the best man” (our Doberman, Calabos), Jason's mom, and our photographer.

Fifteen minutes and a box of tissues later, we were on our way to the World's End in Hingham, MA — a magical spot with rich New England foliage, hiking paths, and serene beach shores. We had a light hike in the woods, a bottle of bubbly from a highway-side liquor store, and an artful photo shoot — all impromptu!

The dinner was set for 7pm and a ten minute ride from our apartment. The comfort food, the cozy atmosphere, and the great company of our close friends made the big W party a success!

Oh, and the Funky Chicken dance-off did take place to the tunes of the Chicken Slacks band, but no one remembers who took the prize 🙂

Our biggest challenge: The usual suspects: money and family.

We did not set the budget, but were realistic about how much we could afford.

The only big expense we couldn't avoid was the dinner, but food, being one of Jason's biggest passions, was worth it.

The stationary expense was solved by emailed invitations, designed by the fabulous Erin Deeley.

The photography was a gracious gift by another friend, the talented Kat Nania.

The all-night-dancing fest was secured by the funkiest Chicken Slacks, the Thursday night resident band at the Cantab.

In lieu of wedding favors and other decorations, we chose to support our friend's project, which happen to fit in really well with our chicken theme.

The rest of the fluff was long gone off the list.

The family story: We broke the news a month in advance. After fours years of living together, it wasn't necessarily a shocker. There were hugs and congratulations, and a slight confusion about our plans. Long story short — the day is yours, the family will understand, and forgive and forget.

My favorite moment: I shed my first happy tears when Jason's mom (who was the only other person at the City Hall ceremony beside us two and our photographer), gave me these beautiful bangle bracelets for my “something old.” They were mementos of her late mother. It was very meaningful and heartfelt for the both of us.

Another favorite moment was when I saw Jason on the footsteps of the City Hall. I spent the previous night at my friends' house to honor some bits of tradition. He had shaved his (scraggly) beard — the fruit of four years of growing — for the big W day. I made a bet with him the day before: I promised to take his name if the beard is out of the picture

Another surprise by Jason was the wedding cake. It completely slipped my mind, and our wedding menu featured scrumptious caramel ice cream with Maine sea salt. Then out of the blue, the real wedding cake, with layers and toppers (and a cutesy line from a card he had given to me four years ago), emerged. Jason had planned and pulled it off.

My advice for offbeat brides: Please don't listen to your mother's advice about wearing everything new on your big day. My feet were screaming in disapproval of my Kenneth Cole's Gentle Soles after the first hour — good thing I packed a pair of little red flats or the dance party would have been much slower paced.