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The offbeat groom: Rick, Coworking Space owner
His offbeat partner: Emma, Graphic Designer
Date and location of wedding: Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY — August 17, 2013
Our offbeat wedding at a glance: 500 people. Four bands. Two meals. 500 cupcakes.
We had a dance party until 4:00 a.m. and lots of sci-fi themes. The venue was a rock club where we've seen some of our favorite bands, and was only one block from our house.
Tell us about the ceremony:
The readings were the worst rock lyrics ever (from New Order), and a Klingon love poem. The pastor was from The Church of the SubGenius. Emma's entrance music was a custom arrangement of Annie Lennox arranged by Sean Drinkwater, the best man.
Our biggest challenge:
The hardest challenge of a big wedding is that you get this once-in a-lifetime moment to have everyone important to you, and who has ever been important to you, in one room, but you barely get to talk to any one of them for very long at all. Some people did not know what they were in for. You have to work hard to let them know how appreciative of them you are, even if you don't get to talk to them very much. It can be hard. Some people felt slighted. Make extra time with out-of-towner events the night before and morning after, if you can. If I had it to do over again, I might have warned people.
My favorite moment:
My band played their first show in 13 years. All our friends bands played, too: Freezepop, Lifestyle, Rockets Burst from the Streetlamps, and Plushgun.
My funniest moment:
The biggest laugh was from a line of Emma's vows: “Like Buffy, if you turn to evil, I will put a stake through your heart.”
What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding?
Being a groom planning a wedding is pretty hilarious. Many people don't want to talk to you. They assume the bride's an easier target, or wants something you don't care about. Everything costs more than you think, which is fine if you give yourself enough time, but I didn't start early enough. Typical male… just kidding!
Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?
- Photography: Aga Matuszewska
- Dress: Vera Wang for David's Bridal, hand-altered to add a black bow.
- Catering: La Esqina and Vinnie's Pizzeria
- Cupcakes: Baking for Good, a NY-Based charity bakery
- Flowers: DM Events
- Drapes: Drape King
- Wedding Planners: Jove Meyer and Ali Vingiano (friend of the couple)
- Photo booth: Nicky Digital
- Hair: Meaghan Costello, The Parlour, Brooklyn and Kellianne Benson for the bridesmaids
- Makeup: Ingo Pixel
- Bands: Freezepop, Lifestyle, Rockets Burst from the Streetlamps, and Plushgun
- DJs: Videodrome, and Mallory and Bianca of Small Girls PR
- Lighting: Levy Lighting & Stars
- Rick's tux and shirt: Isaia
- Grooms Bow Ties: The Tie Bar
- Bride's shoes: Amazon
- Printing: Couer Noir Specialty Printing
- Venue: Bowery Presents
- Matchbook printing: Fat Rat Press
- Photobooth Props: Amazon and Think Geek
- Chairs and tables: Broadway Rentals
- Photo Booth Backdrop: Photo Pie Backdrops
- Graphic Design: The bride
Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!
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What an amazing wedding and gorgeous photos! I also worry about neglecting my guests (and I have 107 to your 500).
I love hearing about weddings from the groom’s perspective. I can’t imagine having 500 people I’d want to invite to my wedding. You guys are incredibly lucky to know so many people you wanted to share the night with and wanted to share it with you!
That venue is kick-ass! Managing 200 guests was hard, I cannot imagine 500. The groom really rocked the planning. I love the curtains and stars, the intergalactic photo booth, the matches, and the bride’s amazing dress!!!
Wow! Fantastic wedding! Congratulations!
500 guests. That number makes me anxious just thinking about it!
What a spectacular wedding! Please tell Emma her black bow is kick-ass.
Also, I love reading about your wedding from your POV as the groom. I would love to see more weddings planned by grooms, or even hear the groom’s perspective on jointly-planned weddings. Even though Offbeat Bride is super-inclusive and includes great posts about grooms, most of the real weddings are from the bride’s POV. It’s so cool to mix it up!
Great to see another groom’s post on here! Looks like a great wedding.
As a fellow DIY groom wedding planner, I don’t think a groom planned wedding is necessarily any different to a bride planning it. I think doing things ‘offbeat’ is more different/harder for traditional vendors to deal with than the groom being the main coordinator.
Wow, that’s just beautiful, awesome, amazing!
What a beautiful wedding, so many happy faces!
You got FREEZEPOP to play at your wedding? That is amazing!!!!
It could have something to do with the fact that the best man was Sean Drinkwater…
looks like it was a fantastic day!
Such an awesome looking wedding. And your dress had me uber jealous, respectively. 😛 It really is stunning.
Awesome!!! As a diehard Buffy nerd, Emma using a reference to the show makes my heart go tingley lol. Amazing wedding!
YOU KNOW FREEZEPOP?!?!?!
I’m sorry I’m sorry. 😛
Lovely wedding. Everything is just amazing. The Buffy quote was the clincher. SO AWESOME!
Seriously LOVE this wedding. It was quirky but still well coordinated and gorgeous. I want to show all of the naysayers in my life that harken to tradition since for them sometimes, the way I want to do things they say is hard to pull off, tacky or just not the way you plan a wedding so just “stick with the typical.” I don’t feel that way and I think that even if not everyone is into my theme they can still have a great time.
Blog posts like this are the last semblance of sanity I have sometimes. I loved this wedding, it just made me happy reading about it!