Michelle & Dan’s scooters and papel picado wedding

The offbeat bride: Michelle, product coordinator, handbag designer, and Mid-Mod Picker

Her offbeat partner: Dan, print production and Mid-Mod picker

Date and location of wedding: Harrison Center for the Arts, Indianapolis, IN — August 11, 2012

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: Our top priority for the wedding was just to have a great party. Neither of us cared too much about the ceremony, so we kept it small with family and bridal party only, including our Boston Terrier, Roxie. We really wanted to incorporate a few elements of what we love, such as scooters and Mexican folkloric art.

The ceremony and the reception were held at the Harrison Art Center, a former church turned art center. Our color scheme was based on our favorite colors: turquoise and red. We incorporated touches of Mexican flair with custom papel picado banners and a nacho bar.

We are both lovers of thrifting, so we collected vintage ceramic animal planters and spray painted them the colors of the wedding to use as centerpieces. I also made all of the turquoise/white chevron center tablecloths, my hairpiece and veil, and Roxie's dog dress.

Our biggest challenge: I have never been a girl who cared about weddings, and in fact never envisioned myself getting married at all! It took me quite a while to actually start planning the event, over a year in fact. Once I discovered Offbeat Bride, I had some hope that I could do something that was my style. Once we picked a color scheme, a date, and a venue, the ideas started flowing.

My favorite moment: When Dan and I met at a local Scooter club ride, he was on his moped at the time and I was on my Vespa. To incorporate this passion into the wedding day, we brought my grandpa's vintage Cushman scooter to the wedding and used it in our pictures. He had recently passed away, so it meant a lot to me.

My funniest moment: Our Boston Terrier, Roxie, was included in the ceremony. She was a great tension reliever because during the ceremony she started whining and crying for attention. Once the ceremony was over and the guests started clapping, she started barking. It was too cute.

Was there anything you were sure was going to be a total disaster that unexpectedly turned out great? My friends were skeptical that I would actually get everything done because I had no idea what I was doing. They kept drilling me with questions about the progress of the planning and half of the things they asked me about I didn't even think of. This was a good thing because it kept me from forgetting things and made me choose what I actually cared about.

What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding? People were more open-minded than I gave them credit for. Some people who I thought might turn their nose up at our non-traditional wedding seemed to embrace it. I was really happy about that.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

• Venue: Harrison Center for the Arts
• Dress: Custom by Catherine Fritsch of Mercurious Designs
• Photography: Michelle Pemberton of Red Rocket Photography
• Papel Picado Banners: Casa Bonampak
• Catering: Zest
• Bridesmaid dresses: Etsy seller TheRadicalThreadCo

Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!

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