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The offbeat bride: Lith, Pregnancy and Postpartum Doula
Her offbeat partner: Ealesy, Community Corrections Officer
Location & date of wedding: Tecoma Pavilion in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, Australia on February 24th, 2007
What made our wedding offbeat: I planned our wedding in a total of 9 days! Our wedding was not a legally recognised ceremony. We had a friend facilitate the ceremony because we did not want our “marriage” legally recognized as a way to protest that our nation does not currently permit same-sex couples to marry.
Our facilitator spoke about feminism and why many feminists rightly object to weddings and marriage but why the feminists in this wedding celebrated this particular wedding.
We actually refer to it as a unity celebration rather than a wedding because it was not a legally official or recognised occasion.
We designed our own rings (our engagement rings were $2 mood rings from the reject shop) which are silver and feature one another's birth stone. Mine has zirconias rather than diamonds because my favourite episode of The Simpson's is the one where the world's largest cubic zirconia was stolen from The Springfield Museum.
Father of the groom made the wedding cake, Aunt of the bride made the wedding invitations and former guitar teacher of the bride played at the ceremony (Bride and Groom's favourite song as the bridal party entered the ceremony).
Our biggest challenge: The bride, groom and first bridesmaid all had gastro on the big day! The bride and bridesmaid took turns vomiting in the hairdresser's bathroom in the morning before driving to a doctors clinic (hair and make up complete) for an emergency shot of an anti-nausea drug. We carried empty waste bags with us all day, just in case they were needed.
My favorite moment: Walking into the ceremony together and exchanging vows surrounded by a circle of friends and family. So high on oxytocin, joyful tear in my eye, enormous smiles.
My offbeat advice: Do nothing out of obligation!
Keep it small, the intimate feeling of less than 30 people (including bridal party of eight) was awesome.
Some of my vendors:
- Photos by Clare Murray
- Dress from Abbey Bridal (now closed)
- Reception on a Melbourne River Cruiser
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