Tracey & Michael's steampunk Venetian masquerade wedding • Offbeat Wed (was Offbeat Bride)

The offbeat bride: Tracey, MBA Fulbright Grantee

Her offbeat partner: Michael, Visual Effects Artist

Date and location of wedding: Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, Eugene, Oregon — June 24, 2011

What made our wedding offbeat: We did a steampunk/Venetian masquerade theme for our wedding. We couldn't decide which we liked more, so we just did both. We marched down the aisle to an electric guitar played by the Best Man. Then we tied the knot Dr. Suess-style, with vows that rhymed.

After the ceremony, which was performed by our steampunk minister, we headed to the reception room, which was decked out in purple and teal colored lights. We ate some food, heard some touching toasts, and danced our first dance to Muse's Feeling Good. Then we partied to dubstep. We ended the evening by cutting the steampunk cake and watching a troupe of fire dancers perform while we ate.

Tell us about the ceremony: My bridesmaids and groomsmen danced down the aisle to Pachelbel's Canon, rock ‘n' roll-style. Then I walked down the aisle to Wagner's Bridal March played Jimmy Hendrix-style. We kept the ceremony itself short and simple, as most of the guests were standing.

I wore my mask down the aisle in place of a veil. Michael also wore his mask during the first part of the ceremony. Then we did an “Unmasking Ceremony,” where we promised to always be our true selves to each other and never wear a “mask” of false pretenses. We ended with our rhyming vows and the blessing of our union by The Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Our biggest challenge: The biggest challenge was not losing my cool. Overall, everything went smoothly, but there was a time early in the day where everyone was calling me with their problems and expecting me to fix them. Then my phone battery died and it was the best thing that happened all day.

My favorite moment: We did the Dr. Suess vows, which were lighthearted, but we left room for some seriousness when we placed the rings on each other's fingers. I tried not to cry, but the speech Michael prepared choked me up. The speeches given by my friends and family were also very meaningful.

My funniest moment: Probably my dad's speech. He tried to give all of the moms and grandmas gifts to remember the wedding, and right before he got to my mom, she had to rush out the door to take my daughter to the bathroom. My dad said, “She left me once before. Seems like she's gone and done it again.”

Was there anything you were sure was going to be a total disaster that unexpectedly turned out great? My biggest concern was that we ran much later then I wanted to and did not have time to get as many pictures as I would have liked. Or so I thought! We ended up with over 2000 pictures! Since my husband edits media for a living, that's a lot of potential photographs.

My advice for offbeat brides: Don't be afraid to really own a theme. I obsessed over even the most minute details of the wedding to make them fun. I didn't want a guest book, but I wanted people to leave something that said they were there. So upon researching, I found the idea of doing a Mad Libs guestbook!

What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding? Follow your heart. I got so many mixed reactions when I tried to explain to people what I was going for. I stuck to my guns and loved how it turned out.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

Photographer: Annesha Montez
Regency shirts and waistcoats: Etsy seller Hedges8
Clockhand boutonnières: Etsy seller Antickquities
Peacock feather fans for the bridesmaids: Etsy seller Ivyndell
Organic, vegan masquerade soaps for wedding favors: Etsy seller FairylandBazaar
Masks: Party Oasis
Bridal mask: Venice Buys
Groom's coat: Find Cool Clothes
Bride's dress: Maggie Sottero from Charlotte's Weddings. It was a beat up floor model, but a steal.
Seamstress: Sheryl Peterson did and amazing job making it both fit me right an look as good as new.