Nathan and EJ's 1950s B Grade Horror movie Beach BBQ wedding DIY

The Offbeat Bride: EJ, creative sort, living the dream (and Tribesmaid)

Her offbeat partner: Nathan, Microsoft nerd

Date and location of wedding: Washington Park, Anacortes, Washington — July 27, 2013

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: For our B-movie themed wedding, we created our own fake horror movie poster and covered VHS cassette cases with it. Then we incorporated the horror movie monster into the whole wedding. The monster was a “Flesh-Eating Martian Owlopus” to honor Nathan's night owl tendencies and my octopus-like desire to hug a lot.

2013 EJ and Nathan Wedding Invite

Nathan and EJ's 1950s B Grade Horror movie Beach BBQ wedding DIY

Nathan and EJ's 1950s B Grade Horror movie Beach BBQ wedding DIY

Nathan and EJ's 1950s B Grade Horror movie Beach BBQ wedding DIY

We wanted to keep things as true to us as possible, so we decided not to go with a big white dress and a tux, but rather, a 1950s-style pineapple print dress and a Hawaiian shirt and chinos!

Nathan and EJ's 1950s B Grade Horror movie Beach BBQ wedding DIY

Nathan and EJ

My mum and dad did all the catering, which included a burger bar and a pie buffet.

Nathan and EJ's 1950s B Grade Horror movie Beach BBQ wedding DIY

Tell us about the ceremony:
Our aisle was made of tentacles that flapped in the breeze, and our officiant included zombie references and a reference to our favorite movie, Love Actually, in our vows. To avoid having conflict over who gets to be in the wedding party, we decided not to have a wedding party. But as witnesses were required for the certificate signing, we had a lottery to see who would do it!

Nathan and EJ

Nathan and EJ

Our biggest challenge:
We had to spend a ton of money on my immigration from Canada to the US, and all of our savings were eaten up. As a result, we only had $3,000 for our budget. So I got out my hot glue gun, did some DIY, and became a frequent visitor to my local thrift store.

Another challenge was Nathan's preference for seeing me without makeup. I was planning to gussy myself up, so we had a talk about it beforehand. He was able to express to me, in a way that I could appreciate, why he would prefer to marry the me he loves the most, and that girl is bare-faced and natural, just how I was the day we met, the day he said I love you, and the day he proposed. I was more than willing to oblige. And given how much I cried on the day, this ended up being a really good choice.

Nathan and EJ

EJ and Nathans Stupidly Awesome Wedding !!

My favorite moment:
Incorporating Nathan's daughter into my vows was wonderful. I wanted her to know that I was making a family with both of them and not just her dad. And we only had 30 guests, so this meant we were able to spend time with every single person.

Nathan and EJ's 1950s B Grade Horror movie Beach BBQ wedding DIY

My funniest moment:
We joked about falling off some rocks during our photo shoot, and I did actually fall off the rocks and scraped my bum!

Nathan and EJ's 1950s B Grade Horror movie Beach BBQ wedding DIY

What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding?
The most important lesson was one that I tried to share with my stepdaughter. Leading up to our wedding day, I did not diet, I did not have a makeover, and I didn't conform to the expectations of others. Through this, I hoped she understood that you can be curvy and still love yourself (I do), that you can feel beautiful without the social trappings expected of you (big dress, big hair, traditional bridesque), and that when you love someone, you love them with all their parts. And you love the family that comes with them, including their stunning pre-teen daughters.

EJ and Nathans Stupidly Awesome Wedding !!

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