Let's get soggy with Miranda & Joe's wonderfully woodsy, rainy wedding

The Offbeat Bride: Miranda, Director of Creative Operations

Her offbeat partner: Joe, Technology Security Consultant

Date and location of wedding: Rattlesnake Ridge, North Bend, WA — January 17, 2015

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: We decided over text message to get married in the Seattle area. We were planning on a quick courthouse wedding in Chicago, but I love Seattle and figured I could get a trip out of it. The only guests were our two close friends, Tom and Annelise, and their dog Jacques Cousteau. Tom was also our officiant and planned way more for our wedding than we did — he wrote the entire ceremony, including our vows.

In the end, it wasn't like we did it "our way" — we're not the kind of couple to go for a two-hour hike in the rain! — but we did it, and it was memorable.

Tell us about the ceremony:
Our ceremony included haikus from Tom and another friend Mac:

Joe and Miranda
Amazon beasts in the wild
Let them run….and buckHis chest hair, her vice
It never made her think twice
So clean, never liceThe Green Eye bustled
Joe’s gaze locked, he gasped
It’s totally on

(NOTE: The Green Eye is a bar in Chicago where we met.)

Our biggest challenge:
Our families were extremely supportive of our elopement. Honestly, the hardest thing was walking two miles uphill in my Nike Sky Hi Dunks.

My favorite moment:
The ceremony, written completely by our friend Tom. And drinking whiskey after the ceremony was over — Annelise brought copper mugs, and we mixed up some bourbon with blood oranges.

My funniest moment:
My favorite moment was during the ceremony when Tom referenced our habit of backing out of an event last-minute or leaving whenever we feel like it:

You’ve lived together, created an amazing house to live in together, found your favorite places, hangouts, and dives in Chicago — your favorite artists, your favorite vacation spots, and your favorite time of the day to say 'forget whatever we’re doing, who we’re with, or what the plans were… we’re going home to spend some time together. Nothing else matters.' You love it, I love it, and everyone around you is so happy to see you so happy together.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

• Photography: Tyler Ray
• Dress: Cynthia Steffe, purchased at Nordstrom
• Jewelry: Melinda Maria purchased at Nordstrom

Enough talk — show me the wedding porn!