Melissa & Matt’s Medieval Fantasy wedding

The offbeat bride: Melissa, Medical Lab Tech Student

My offbeat partner: Matt, Locksmith/Night Club Owner

Location & date of wedding: Stan Hywet Hall in Akron, Ohio.

What made our wedding offbeat: My husband was dressed as a king, and I wore a Medieval inspired dress from a pattern that is discontinued (making it a rare kind). I wore a cape instead of a veil and it was clasped with a 19th century brooch. The best man was dressed as a prince, and his groomsman was dressed as a knight. My bridesmaids wore simple medieval style dresses.

We had a ring bearer AND a crown bearer. Instead of a candle lighting ceremony we had a “crowning ceremony” where I was crowned his queen. Instead of flower girls we had “bubble fairies.” Merlin married us, reading the ceremony, which was written by my husband and myself in medieval jargon, from a scroll. My father read some bible verses from a scroll.

We had a horse drawn carriage take us from my mothers house to the reception sight. Everything was medieval/fantasy inspired, all the way down to the instrument we used to cut the cake. And as favors we gave out velvet pouches filled with chocolate gold coins.

Our biggest challenge: Most of our family wasn't very supportive. But those who were we appreciate very much. It was hard to deal with my mom not being supportive. The more details she heard, the more she thought it was going to turn into an ugly circus. Crying when she saw me in my dress and admitting that it was a perfect wedding helped a lot.

My favorite moment: I absolutely love the rain, and it started raining about noon. It was raining pretty hard during the limo ride from my moms house to the ceremony site. We arrived at 2:30 when the ceremony was to start, and right before the music started for everyone to proceed down the isle, the rain stopped, the clouds parted, and the sun came out. Once the ceremony was over it started raining again. You can see rain drops in the pond behind us in one of the pictures.

My offbeat advice: Sit down and plan out every little detail, personalizing everything as much as you can. If there is something you can make instead of buy, not only will it save you money, but it will also keep you occupied. There are many ways to achieve what you want so make sure to plot down every way possible to get there. It will give you options, and maybe help come up with something you might not have thought of before.

Enough talk — show me the wedding porn: