Christina & Marius' stellar trans-continental, Oslo to NYC, wedding celebration • Offbeat Wed (was Offbeat Bride)

The offbeat bride: Christina, Curator

Her offbeat partner: Marius, Artist & blogger

Location & date of wedding: Sister's garden in Oslo, Norway AND Galapagos Art Space, Brooklyn, NY — June 22, 2009

What made our wedding offbeat: He's Norwegian and I'm American, so we decided to have two parties — one in Oslo, Norway and one in NYC.

We got married at the City Hall in Oslo on the third anniversary of the day we met and had a DIY high-tea-proper-sit-down party in his sister's garden. The entire family pulled together to provide everything from a full seafood and meat menu complete with a cocktail bar, to four or five different sets of antique dinnerware to serve it on. Some of our friends made the trip from NYC to Norway and even came with us on our amazing journey of a honeymoon in Reykjavik, Iceland.

A month after the wedding we got to celebrate again (and wear our fantastic wedding clothes twice)! This time, many of the Norwegians came to NYC and we had a super sleek art fest at the incredibly cool Galapagos in Brooklyn, which quickly turned into a crazy get-down-and-dance party. They let us hijack their projector so that we could display the groom's digital artwork on the wall behind the stage, which doubled as our dance floor.

Every element of both parties was “us,” which is pretty neat considering how different the two parties were.

Our biggest challenge: Throwing two wedding parties is stressful and expensive so we relied on the special talents of our friends and family to make it all go smoothly (twice).

The groom's former graphic design partner gave the parties their visual style by designing the invitations for us and creating a super cute monogram for us to incorporate into the decorations. The groom's family in Norway pooled their resources together to provide gorgeous antique tableware, decorations, alcohol, and food prep. In NYC, our friend served as the photographer, my aunt provided the flowers, and the groom lent a special touch with his brightly colored and dynamic artwork. The Norwegians even transported a special Scandinavian liquor and cheese that our caterers integrated into our NYC party.

My favorite moment: Our friend Hilary said that she was in the middle of experiencing one of the best moments of her life at our party in Oslo. You know it's a great party when a guest is having that kind of moment at YOUR wedding! Being able to share a new culture with your lifelong friends — a culture that you've just married into — is quite a fulfilling and overwhelming experience.

My offbeat advice: Be as generous as possible to your guests, and not just by shelling out lots of money to feed and impress them. Remember that your party is both a celebration of your wedding and also of how you feel about your friends and new family. Tell them that and you will feel the love pouring in!

Also, try to step out of the wedding planning frenzy before you make any large purchases or agreements. Even if you have only a few weeks to plan your wedding, sleep on the big decisions for at least one night.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?