Haley & Joe's infamous porange Buddhist hippie party wedding • Offbeat Wed (was Offbeat Bride)

Haley & Joe are totally Burners, and since half my friends are at Burning Man this week, I figured it was the perfect time to feature this fabulously PORANGE wedding!

The offbeat bride: Haley, Nanny

Her offbeat partner: Joe, Engineer

Location & date of wedding: Joaquin Miller Park Cascade, Oakland, CA. June 29, 2008

What made our wedding offbeat: My favorite color is pink, he likes orange. I like cats, he likes rabbits. So instead of having a wedding where I picked everything and he said, “Yes Dear” this wedding was all about our “Us-ness”. Pink and orange make Porange, and Porange suits us.

A kitty and bunny cake topper (by AngelaTiara on Etsy), was uniquely US. His hemp suit, studded belt and chucks were uniquely him, as was my dress … which was made just for me. We walked down the aisle holding hands, and we said “Yes we pledge” instead of “I do”. We picked our own music, his favorites, my favorites, and our favorites. We had carrot cake, because that's what we made on our first date! And we made all the favors ourselves, together.

While we were planning, if an idea wasn't something that suited us, we chucked it. We didn't do anything for the sake of tradition, or because such-and-such relative was expecting it. What we did or did not do was purely decided on what we wanted, liked, and loved. We were married by a dear friend with one attendant present, but in front of 150 people, who, to support us, all wore Porange too.

And the best part (I mean besides the marriage..) We got it all done for about 5K, and 90% Waste Free, with everything either composted or recycled!

Our biggest challenge: Oh, the typical stuff. Other people's expectations and demands. His family is Christian and was upset about us not being married in the church. My family had some silly ideas about what food we would have, and what music would be played. Since we paid for *almost* everything ourselves, it was very easy to say no! But we had to say it a lot.

My favorite moment: As we were walking down the aisle, to look out over the crowd and see nearly 150 people, most of them wearing pink and orange. Pink feather boas, orange fishnets, fun fur, crinolines, dread falls, saris, coveralls, platforms, 70's prom tuxes, all of it, in pink and orange. Even the children!

My offbeat advice: Make sure that when you plan your wedding that you are celebrating your union AND yours and your partner's STYLE. Don't go with what's trendy in magazines, or what colors look good on your bridesmaids — go with your fantasy style. Think of what you would do if you had no limits whatsoever, and even if you cant afford the fantasy, what you end up with will be so uniquely you, and you will always be happy with that. 20, 30 years from now, you will have seen a million white weddings, a gigaton of fondant towers, and a metric butt load of chintzy favors, but your wedding will stand out in the annuls of history as the one with breakdancing, a dunk-tank, fire hooping, whatever!