Alix & Nick's WWII era 1940s elopement • Offbeat Wed (was Offbeat Bride)

We couldn't stop ourselves from doing another theme week once we saw a pattern of era-inspired weddings. This time? The 1940s!

The offbeat bride: Alix, Color Team Bitch

Her offbeat partner: Nick, Speech Pathologist

Date and location of wedding: King County Courthouse, Seattle, WA — March 20, 2012

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: We had just moved to Seattle from the Midwest when we also found out we were pregnant. We wanted to get married, but it didn't take long to figure out that we didn't have enough money to throw the kind of wedding we wanted to have while simultaneously saving for a baby. More importantly, we knew a lot of our friends and family wouldn't be able to afford to travel to a wedding on such short notice. We figured if we had to do it with just us, we'd do it in style — 1940s style!

We made the day special and intimate for the two of us by getting up early, driving around and getting the corsage and coats from the dry cleaners, taking pictures with Cindy Wagner in our neighborhood and at the courthouse, and having a fancy dinner at Canlis, courtesy of my girlfriends who chipped in to pay for our meal.

Tell us about the ceremony: We made an appointment with a judge at the King County Courthouse. When we arrived, we were the only people in the room who weren't there on drug charges. We knew it was going to be memorable at least. Our judge runs the drug court and took a moment to explain why he had volunteered to help turn people's lives around, but that he was happiest ending his day with a wedding. He performed the ceremony straight from the book, and it was short, but really touching! I don't think I could have emotionally lasted through a much longer ceremony.

Our biggest challenge: My biggest challenge was getting my hair done. I just hated the result and ended up redoing it in a bathroom, and watched all afternoon as it kept falling out of my hat. I didn't care in the end though, as it was a windy day and we had a lot of fun regardless.

My favorite moment: My family is pretty religious and I was terrified that a courthouse wedding would not be “special.” Looking Nick in the eye and reciting our vows was incredibly moving and I cried the whole time! There was no reason to worry about it not being special.

My funniest moment: The very first thing that happened during the day was the photographer telling us to walk down these steps whilst looking at her. I was wearing five-inch heels and the steps were wet and mossy. I immediately tripped and would have face planted down the stairs had Nick not caught me. My ego and hands were bruised, but it took the edge off of taking pictures. There weren't fake or stiff smiles after that!

My advice for Offbeat Brides: Have a clear vision for what you want to accomplish from your day. I collaborated via Pinterest with my photographer, and put together inspiration boards to solidify hair, makeup, jewelry, mood, and theme. I definitely recommend using a site like Pinterest.

I knew the day would fly by, so I wanted the best pictures money could buy. I'm a crafty person, but at the end of the day, stressing out to craft a bunch of stuff wasn't worth it and wasn't going to make our day any more special.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

Photography: Cindy Wagner of Wagner Photographics is a genius! She is seriously the reason why I felt comfortable eloping because I knew the pictures would capture the day for my mom in such a way that she would be ok not being there in person.
Bride's dress: Sway and Cake
Hats: Goorin Bros.

Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!