Samantha & Justin's Eccentric, Music-filled Wedding • Offbeat Wed (was Offbeat Bride)

Remember Sam and her crazy awesome Lego boutonnieres? Or her fantastic red dress and colorful lanterns in a Monday Montage? Here's the rest of her colorful and creative Catholic wedding! -Becca

The offbeat bride: Sam(antha), Communications Manager by day, Catholic Liturgical Music Director by night (and OBT Member)

Her offbeat partner: Justin, PhD in History at University of Southern California, Gentleman Adventurer by night.

Location & date of wedding: St. Patricks Church, Whitney Point, NY and Kalurah Shrine, Endicott, NY — August 7, 2010

What made our wedding offbeat: I sang my way down the aisle.

I wore a red gown (I'm Catholic and part of the reason I chose red is because the color red symbolizes the Holy Spirit).

My husband played and sang “Lady in Red” at the reception while my father and I danced.

I worked myself crazy DIYing things in attempts to keep costs down, as well as keep things personal and unique.

Tell us about the ceremony: I am a practicing Catholic. My husband is a non-practicing Lutheran. We had a mass, my husband and I did receive communion, and we then turned around and handed out the bread and wine to our friends and our family. I loved this because it really supported the idea that as a community we come together to nourish each other.

Interesting and different aspects of this ceremony included:

I was inspired by the Filipino tradition where all of the sponsors walk into the church as part of the procession. I didn't have sponsors, but I did have our God parents, the two priests presiding, our parents, and our wedding party. It was a long procession, but full of meaning for me.
All of my bridesmaids were already married. In a way, it was like they had lit the way for me. So as they processed in, I had each of them carrying a lantern which they hung on a shepherds hook before taking their place up front.

My favorite moment:
The speech my father gave at the reception: “So there was a little girl, probably 3 years old. She loved to play, and — I dunno, maybe you older folks remember those kids blocks that snap together? Well Samantha had those blocks — and one night I was laying on the couch and she toddled over to me, blocks in hand and she says (and his voice cracked when he said this) ‘Do it together pop?'. (So now dad looks over at Justin and I) ‘So that's it, really. There isn't anything for me to tell you — you already know it all — just do it together'” and then he sang us The Water is Wide. Every woman in the room was crying by the time he was done.

The wedding cake was a four generation cake. It was made for me by my mother, the topper was my grandmother's, and the recipe for the cake was my great-grandmother's!

My funniest moment: Oh man. There were many. I'd say it was a hands down tie between:

I don't dig the whole garter thing. Its just not my style. So, I sewed a pocket into the crinoline of my dress, and we had a few different “garter attempts”. Each time, Justin would pull something different out of my skirt. The funniest by far was the second, because he pulled the cake service set out of there. People laughed so darnd hard.
I also don't dig the clink your glass until the couple kisses thing. Totally bugs me. So the first time a table did it, my friend Emily was right next to me, so I kissed her instead. It was hilarious. I was quite proud of myself. 🙂

My advice for offbeat brides: I have two bits of advice.

Be your own well of happiness. Don't let anyone poop in your well. I see it like this: If you are your own well of happiness, you are giving yourself the power and control you need, not only to enjoy every moment of this journey for yourself, but to be able to let your happiness bubble up and seep into the folks around you until they have been caught in your energy and joy. I tell you, it's the recipe for a magical experience.
It is all about the journey. So cliché. So true. Don't let the planning process become a long arduous walk to one single day. It is genuinely important to enjoy, learn and grow along the way.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

Headband, necklace, and earrings: Twisted Sister Arts
Dress: Maggie Sottero, Amara Royale from Jay's Bridal
Shoes: My <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/samiam16801/4969593686/in/set-72157624833892439/"fabulous sparkly red ballroom dance shoes where from Take the Lead Dancewear
Photographer: John Dudak

Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!