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The offbeat bride: Nadine, wedding photographer
Her offbeat partner: Andy, improv comedy teacher
Location & date of wedding: Hummingbird house in Austin, TX — 4/10/2010
What made our wedding offbeat: My husband was very firm on the “wanting to have fun” at the wedding part. He didn't want to do anything just because “that's the way it's been done.”
I definitely used Etsy a lot in the process and felt like I was funding that website. 🙂 We got a lot of decorations from Etsy sellers, as well as created a bunch of our own. It was quite a production!
Some of our more offbeat choices:
- Fingerprint wedding rings from Fabuluster.
- I'm Indonesian and he's white, so we kinda just did a strangely cultural mix.
- Andy made a Tardis wedding card box.
- I got my ceremony dress by Jenny Packham from Ebay UK!
- I switched to a red dress by Vivian of Halloway during the reception.
- Cake ball cake.
- We had a fingerprint guest book tree.
- Since the venue had a large TV, we posted pictures of us and our friends on a slideshow.
- We got poms poms from Etsy as decorations.
- We hand made name tags for all our guests, with three things about them.
- I took a thrown-away motherboard and put our names on it.
- Boardgames as centerpieces.
- Even though neither of us is Jewish, we had a Kleizmer band play (because they were awesome), did the chair dance and the hora, with blessing from several of our Jewish bridal party members.
- Our processional, the Beatles' “Love, Love, Love,” was played on a trumpet, and our recessional was “When I'm 64.”
- We stepped on eggs and cleaned each other's feet as our unity ritual. I found it by googling Indonesian wedding rituals.
- We left hula hoops for people to hoop.
- We had personalized beer which our friend brewed for us: Andy's Ale and Nadine's Nector (which was jasmine with ginger beer. Delicious!).
- Food from a gazillion favorite vendors.
Tell us about the ceremony: We included an Indonesian tradition, since that's where I was born. It involves the groom stepping on an egg, which symbolizes fertility, and the bride kneels and washes his feet off. But I knew that my feminist friends would throw a fit seeing me do that, so we made it gender-equal — I also got to step on an egg and Andy washed it off my feet too.
Our officiant was Austin improvisor Roy (of Kaci & Roy's vintage Victorian junkyard wedding bash fame). It was the first wedding he officiated, so he was nervous.
Our biggest challenge: Well, Andy had the bright idea that the food theme was “favorite foods of Andy and Nadine,” and he refused to have any catering done. That was his part in the wedding so he left the rest to me but was adamant about organizing the food. 
So we got food from our favorite Austin places:
- Chips and Queso from Torchy's Tacos
- A baby roast pig from Din Ho
- Samosas from Ken's Donuts
- Indonesian food from an Indonesian couple who cooked some traditional Indonesian wedding cuisine for us
- Saag Paneer from Teji's
- Breakfast Tacos from El Borrego del Oro
- Frito pies with chili from Texas Chili Parlor, and vegetarian chili from Andy's mom
- Cake balls from Austin Cake Balls
- Cupcakes (since we couldn't afford enough cake balls) from Central Market
Many of the members of the Wedding Plans Livejournal community were telling us it was a bad idea, and that I needed to talk sense into him. They worried that the food wouldn't be warm, or it'd go bad, and people would have food poisoning. Andy's mom thankfully offered to hire a few servers, and we borrowed hot plates from our friends, and somehow it all worked out and people loved our food!
My favorite moment: I think being surrounded by our friends and family who were radiating so much love and happiness for us were the best parts. And of course, marrying someone who loves me, as crazy as I am.
I just asked Andy what his answer was: “It was all meaningful.” Dork.
My advice for offbeat brides: The guestbook tree was a giant hit. We put it up in our living room and it's become a great centerpiece and people love it!
I wished we got videography. There's a trend now of short wedding movies, like eight minutes long, like a little trailer, and I would've loved that.
What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding? That my friends love me, and it's possible to have your family consist of your friends.
Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?
- Guestbook tree: bleu de toi
- Custom wooden tree house: Star House
- Rhinestone beaded headband: Untamed Petals
- Colorful pom poms: PomLove
- Andy heart Nadine scrabble tiles: In My Blue Room
- Fingerprint wedding rings were from Fabuluster
- Reception dress: Vivien of Holloway
- Wedding ceremony dress: Jenny Packham from Ebay!
- Austin Cake Balls
- Humming Bird House
- Cassie Rose Photography
Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!
Offbeat Wed Vendor
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About the Author: Megan Finley Horowitz
When Megan's not writing, traveling, and sleeping, she's eating like the fate of the world depends on it. (You're welcome, world!) You can snoop into her personal life over on her website The Dash and Dine!
Oo, so cute and fun! (From one Nadine to another!)
Hahah, it’s another Nadine! 🙂
Thank you!
Love your wedding, you both did such an amazing job!
I love this! So original. My sister-in-law is Indonesian as well, and I know they had a lot of fun bringing that into their wedding. BTW your dress is gorgeous!
I love the fingerprint guest book! Did you draw the initial tree or did you order that through someone?
That cake is outstanding. 🙂
Lovely, awesome!
And thanks for pointing me towards that Etsy shop. I’ve looked at a gadzillion fingerprint tree designs, including, I think, ones from them. But I had not seen the fingerprint BALLOON idea, which. Yes. That is what we will be doing, end of story. WOOOT!
Happy marriage to you both.
We really love our tree from that store!!!
Happy to be of help! And congrats on your upcoming wedding too!
This is the kind of wedding I would have loved to attend and clearly the kind of people I’d love to hang out with. In conclusion: Yay!
Um… I love you guys.
I may have to see if anyone I know can make me a TARDIS card box… LOVE!
Beautiful wedding, congrats!
Your wedding was so cute, love it but OMFG a TARDIS card box! Lets hear it for broken chameleon circuits. Would you mind if I borrowed that? Do you have plans for it maybe?
We have no plans, I think it took him several nights to finish it. We actually asked an Etsy seller to do it for us, custom-made. But that fell through. So Andy had to do it about 2 or 3 weeks before the wedding, and he did a great job!
It’s actually not too bad, just blue cardboard boxes, and blue felt over it, layers and layers of blue felt, vellum for the windows. I made the little light on top 😛 Which is why it’s a bit crooked. My husband is more into the precise lines part.
Do it!! 🙂
Awesome thank you so much 😀
YAY! This is our venue and your wedding looks amazingly gorgeous and full of delicious food!
Girl, you are going to love the hummingbird house!
the guestbook idea is genuine genius. i love it!
also, that first photo is so very beautiful!
congratulations!
OMG, Tardis card box!!! I’m so jealous, seriously. I may have to see if I can do that, too. Any chance your hubby would share a tutorial?? I would be much obliged!
You know, I think I will hassle him to see if he wouldn’t mind doing it!
3meows? Is that you?
This is great!! I love that your husband wanted to get food from all your fave places – we are wanting to do that too! Rock on 😀 and I am from Texas & went to college in Austin so that makes you guys even more rad. Awesome wedding!