Posted by
The offbeat bride: Kristen, Media Coordinator
Her offbeat partner: Mike
Location & date of wedding: 200-year-old church Akron, OH — October 9, 2010
What made our wedding offbeat: We had an Alice in Wonderland-inspired wedding and reception with a play on the funky black and white patterns. Some people were scared (especially my mom!), until people received the invitations. They really set the bar high for me for the rest of the wedding details.
I am known for wearing and buying all things black and white and my husband and I have a punk style that fit the theme. I have always loved Alice in Wonderland and knew I would one day inject it into my wedding day. Almost everything was handmade, too.
Tell us about the ceremony: The ceremony was in the cul-de-sac of a historical 200-year-old church. I knew since I was little I would one day get married there. The flower girls wore Alice dresses and the ring bearers wore Mad Hatter-inspired suits with top hats. It was a traditional ceremony with a little of our style. The entire wedding party wore Chuck Taylors, including the flower girls.
Our biggest challenge: All the handmade items were tough. I had 300 guests, meaning 300 “Eat Me” tags for the favors and cupcakes, all the food identification cards, hand-painted centerpiece pots, and the list goes on and on! I enlisted the help of my friends and threw “crafting parties.” I lured them over with tasty snacks and wine and they all took the bait! Ha!
My favorite moment: I typically have always dressed a little off-the-wall. When I entered the church and my dad saw me in my traditional dress for the first time, he started crying. It was very touching.
I carried a handkerchief around my bouquet which was my grandmother's who is no longer with us. It has been passed down through generations and was my “something old” and “something blue.” My aunts presented it to me at my bridal shower.
Lastly, I was so caught up in the little details for so long that seeing it all come together was worth all of the (literal) blood, sweat, and tears.
My funniest moment: Watching the little kids rock out to Prince's “Let's Go Crazy” while being introduced at the reception!
Was there anything you were sure was going to be a total disaster that unexpectedly turned out great? Ummm… everything! Being in Ohio, I was concerned about the weather, but we reached a high temperature that day and it was 80 degrees and sunny. I was even a little toasty in my dress.
My advice for offbeat brides: Scour the internet and use it as your greatest resource. I can't tell you how inspirational sifting through a simple “Alice in Wonderland wedding” Google search was when I had lost some steam!
Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?
- Photographer: Aaron Van Dike. I went to school with Aaron and he is amazing.
- Etsy.com was my saving grace!
Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!
About the Author: Offbeat Editors
Working tirelessly to bring you stimulating content day after day, the Offbeat Empire's editors will not sleep until you've gotten your offbeat fix.
word! That invitation suite is AWESOME. such a fun theme!
I’m from NE Ohio as well!!! What’s the name of the church? It looks so familiar!
It’s the Tallmadge Historical Church in Tallmadge, Ohio! 🙂
Thank you so much! I’ve been looking for vintage-y churches…love it!
No prob! Only drawback was the carpet on the floor (boo!) but other than that, it was pretty awesome!
Congratulations!
I’m from the Midwest so I can’t/ can believe it was 80F!
The details are delightful the little men look so delightful in top hats!
I know! When we originally picked the date, we said it could be really hot, or could snow! Good ole’ Midwest, you never know what you’re gonna get!
i was in the wedding and one of the friends who was lured over to craft with wine and snacks. kristen is probably the most creative person i know – this wedding was a total blast and gorgeous and fun to boot. i loved being involved in helping her to make her vision a reality. kudos to the stellars!!
Precious! I wish i could have made your dress, I love Alice in Wonderland! The bridal party looks fabulous 😉
MMMKAY! I pretty much love everything about this wedding. Especially all the topiary love.
This is SUCH a cool theme! And they executed it so wonderfully! I love that it’s still so unique and elegant but has those funky Alice in Wonderland touches.
I love the veil/flower. where’d that come from?
Hey! The veil was from tigerlily.com. It was the “Esther Veil”: http://www.tigerlillyjewelry.com/birdcage.html
The flower was from a local salon, Carol Martin’s. I did see similar ones on etsy though! 🙂
I NEED TO SEE THE SHOES!
That pic of them upside down looks awesome and I am desperate to see them from the top and sides. Pretty please with a cherry on top can you pop up a link to where you bought them so I can check them out?!?!
(PS. I love your wedding!)
The shoes are Pour La Victoire, here’s a link to the exact ones: http://www.6pm.com/pour-la-victoire-bridal-and-evening-sonya-ivory-satin
I also LOVE these ones: http://www.6pm.com/pour-la-victoire-bridal-and-evening-giada-ivory-satin
🙂
OH. EM. GEE!!! I love everything about this wedding!! I’m living in Michigan right now and had no idea a Midwestern wedding could be so fantabulous! I adore the invites! Did you do them yourself??
Thank you so much! I work at an advertising agency and the graphic designer and I worked on them! He did all the sketching by hand!