Susana & Carlos' gothic-inspired wedding (with tango!) #Real Weddings: Global#candy buffet#catholic#goth#mexico#photo booth Updated Oct 12 2015 (Posted Dec 13 2011) Offbeat Editors Photos by Cecy and Chuy of Photoptika The offbeat bride: Susana, PhD Student Her offbeat partner: Carlos, Psychoanalyst Date and location of wedding: Catedral Metropolitana de Nuestra Señora de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico — July 15, 2011 What made our wedding offbeat: Carlos and I met at a gothic party and, as corny as it sounds, it was love at first sight. After four years of being together, we wanted to tie the knot. We have very eclectic tastes, but I believe it was present all over the event. I wore a black and white dress and black shoes. Our invitations were designed by our friend. http://www.flickr.com/photos/suza/6220454607 I made the boutonnieres with feathers. There was meaningful DIY stuff, like the ring book (we LOVE reading), and bookmarks and pins with our monograms. We designed our candy table, the cake, and made a cake topper that is a replica of us. We had finger food and not a regular dinner. Carlos loves hats, so he had a custom-made top hat — so gorgeous. We didn't want a huge party, but it was almost impossible with our large Mexican families. So the we had 230 guests on our list, after a lot of effort cutting it down. At the reception, Carlos and I danced to "Just Like Heaven" by Katie Meula, and my dad and I danced to "Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd, which was awesome. After that, it was insane, non-stop dancing for all. http://www.flickr.com/photos/suza/6439134121 Tell us about the ceremony: Carlos and I are Catholic, so we wanted a Catholic ceremony. We got married in the city cathedral, which was built in 1777, so it's a huge and beautiful old building. The priest was a friend of my father, so the ceremony was very personal and had a strong and beautiful message specific to us. Some of our friends and family read the lectures, made the universal prayer, and even sang the Psalm. http://www.flickr.com/photos/suza/6439126829 We gave flowers to the Virgin of Guadalupe, a very common tradition here in Mexico, and we had a lasso (another mexican tradition) made from Chiapas amber, that a couple of artisan friends made for us. At the end of the ceremony, two of our friends played some music outside the church, with a bagpipe and a flamenco box. Our biggest challenge: My wedding dress! I didn't know what I wanted and didn't want to spend a fortune. I found one on eBay, a very cheap and nice one, so I bought it. I wasn't aware of Chinese replicas (oops), so when the dress arrived, it was a huge deception. The dress was $200, but with the importation tax and the shipping, it was almost $500. So I stuck to the idea of wearing that dress, because it had been my mistake, and I should take responsibility. We tried everything to make that dress look good. One month before the wedding, in the middle of a dress crisis, I remembered a dress that almost a year ago I had tried and loved, but didn't buy because of the price. So I called, and yes, the dress was still there. It fit perfectly and the store gave me a huge discount. So I bought it and voilà! My favorite moment: I was wearing my great-grandmother's engagement ring on my right hand. It was very beautiful, antique gold with a ruby. She gave it to me a while ago, and I knew this was the perfect moment to wear it. Another very special moment was our choreographed tango! We were not nervous about the church, our first dance, or the civil ceremony, but we were SUPER nervous about the tango. We had been practicing for three months, but the last week before the wedding, we didn't have the chance to do a rehearsal, so we were actually shaking. Thankfully, we didn't make a mistake. See a video of the wedding, including the dance! My funniest moment: Tossing the bouquet and the garter. We chose the song "L'amour" from the Carmen opera, but in the Goran Bregovic version plus some other Balkan songs. We were dancing around the dance floor. It was great. http://www.flickr.com/photos/suza/6242363755 Was there anything you were sure was going to be a total disaster that unexpectedly turned out great? Besides the tango, we were afraid that people didn't enjoy our wedding, because it didn't fit the traditions or people expectations. But that fear was unfounded. My advice for offbeat brides: Many people will tell you how to do stuff, or how you must respect tradition. It's important to be respectful when saying "we will take your advice in consideration." In the end, you can ignore them if necessary, but without hurting any feelings. Also: cheaper is not always better. http://www.flickr.com/photos/suza/6439243515 http://www.flickr.com/photos/suza/6439251561 Care to share a few vendor/shopping links? Photography: Photoptika Shoes: Bordello Venue: Calicanto Church: Catedral Metropolitana de Nuestra Señora de Monterrey Photo booth: Party Pics Dress: Allure Bridal Enough talk — show me the wedding porn! PREVIOUS A butch bridentity crisis: pretending I don't care NEXT Green and purple fairy wedding dress Show/Hide comments [ 18 ] Loooooove the colour of your hair!! Reply This is fantastic! Looks like such a love-filled blast o'fun. And yes – THAT HAIR. Gorgey color. Reply gorgeous wedding! congratulations! Reply Wonderful caketopper. Love the shot at the rail with the priest, your smile is just awesome. Reply What an interesting way to do a wedding. It seems so artistic and elegant and the pictures make it look so beautiful! Reply What a beautiful day! Yes your hair ROCKS! and top hats *are* awesome. AND I loved how EVERYONE looked like they were having a total blast at the reception!! I also loved the 'cheers' right after the wedding – great idea! 🙂 I hope everyone looks so happy at my wedding! stealing some ideas here THNANKS! 😀 Reply THOSE SHOES! and THAT HAIR! love it. love it. Reply *glurg* The hair! The shoes! THE ADORABLE. I love the lift in your last tango photo–totally awesome! Reply I love the brides dresses and the cake toppers are amazing! I loved the video of the highlights – so well done, and it looked like such a joyful celebration! Reply I'm so glad you ended up getting the dress you wanted. You're worth it. I believe in "making do with what you have" but not on your wedding day! It looks like you got everything you wanted. I'm thrilled for you. Reply Everything looks absolutely perfect. I love the looks of the venue/salon, too! And the flowers <3 Reply This is a gorgeous wedding! i love the dress and hair 🙂 Reply Thank you very much for all your lovely comments! It makes me very happy that you like our wedding. Hope this gives you some ideas! 🙂 Reply LOVE the hair. Like srsly. Wish I could dye my hair that color. Pretty wedding too. <3 Reply Beautiful couple and beautiful wedding! Makes me wish I could have been there! 🙂 Reply omg!!! the two of you are adorable! and yes, your hair looks gorgeous! the black and white table settings look sooo pretty. great job! Reply My husband and I met and fell in love through tango, so this was wonderful to see. Best to you in your marriage! Reply Beautiful, gorgeous dress – and the hair! O.M.G. You two look so happy! And you all look like you're having so much fun in your photos! Reply Join the conversation Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Sign me up for your offbeat awesomeness newsletter! No-drama comment policy Part of what makes the Offbeat Empire different is our commitment to civil, constructive commenting. 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This is fantastic! Looks like such a love-filled blast o'fun. And yes – THAT HAIR. Gorgey color. Reply
What an interesting way to do a wedding. It seems so artistic and elegant and the pictures make it look so beautiful! Reply
What a beautiful day! Yes your hair ROCKS! and top hats *are* awesome. AND I loved how EVERYONE looked like they were having a total blast at the reception!! I also loved the 'cheers' right after the wedding – great idea! 🙂 I hope everyone looks so happy at my wedding! stealing some ideas here THNANKS! 😀 Reply
*glurg* The hair! The shoes! THE ADORABLE. I love the lift in your last tango photo–totally awesome! Reply
I love the brides dresses and the cake toppers are amazing! I loved the video of the highlights – so well done, and it looked like such a joyful celebration! Reply
I'm so glad you ended up getting the dress you wanted. You're worth it. I believe in "making do with what you have" but not on your wedding day! It looks like you got everything you wanted. I'm thrilled for you. Reply
Everything looks absolutely perfect. I love the looks of the venue/salon, too! And the flowers <3 Reply
Thank you very much for all your lovely comments! It makes me very happy that you like our wedding. Hope this gives you some ideas! 🙂 Reply
omg!!! the two of you are adorable! and yes, your hair looks gorgeous! the black and white table settings look sooo pretty. great job! Reply
My husband and I met and fell in love through tango, so this was wonderful to see. Best to you in your marriage! Reply
Beautiful, gorgeous dress – and the hair! O.M.G. You two look so happy! And you all look like you're having so much fun in your photos! Reply