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The Offbeat Bride: Katrina, court bailiff
Her offbeat partner: Joshua, engineering student
Date and location of wedding: Granite Creek Vineyards in Chino Valley, Arizona – — October 25, 2014
Our offbeat wedding at a glance: Perhaps the most special and one of my favorite parts of the wedding was my dress. It is a vintage dress from 1952 worn by both my mother and grandmother at their weddings! I included pictures of both my mom and nana wearing the dress at our guest book table. It was in wonderful shape for its age and the only alternations needed were hemming up the bottom. But, due its delicate state, I did change into a more party-appropriate dress from ModCloth for the reception.
Our big money saver was the flowers. All the bouquets and table pieces were DIY by myself and three bridesmaids. The morning of our wedding, Joshua and I went to Trader Joe's and bought $88 worth of flowers, we had also purchased about $20 worth of floral supplies from a craft store. None of us had any experience building bouquets or working with floral arrangements but after a few YouTube videos and a practice session a few weeks prior, I think they turned out to be lovely. I highly recommend this route for brides who aren't too picky about perfectly coiffed flowers or centerpieces.
Neither of us are too keen on diamonds so we needed something offbeat for our rings. My ring is made with fossilized dinosaur bone inlays made by a local artist here in Arizona, and Josh made his ring out of a piece of wood we found while hiking on vacation.
Tell us about the ceremony:
Neither of us are religious so we went for a non-traditional, science-y ceremony. We had our officiant discuss the random astronomical possibilities and events that had to occur on the scale of the cosmos for us to meet. We then did a reading of Carl Sagan's “Pale Blue Dot” to remind us that although our space and time together is brief on the scale of the cosmos, that we are the most important thing in one another's universe and that we must cherish each moment. We ended it with Sagan's quote, “for small creatures such as we, the vastness is bearable only through love.”
We also included a wine box ceremony, which seemed fitting since we got married at a vineyard. Josh made the wine box himself out of a rare Brazilian wood. In the box, we included love letters and speeches from our bridal party, locked the box shut, and will open the box in 10 years to reminisce on our wedding day while drinking the bottle of wine.
My favorite moment:
Seeing how much fun our friends and family were having. That is exactly what we wanted. We got married at a vineyard that has been one of our favorite date spots for YEARS and we wanted to share that beautiful, special place with everyone we love. All we wanted was a laid-back party, in one of our favorite places in the world, while enjoying some great wine and company.
My funniest moment:
During dinner, both my best friend and Josh's best friend had given their planned speeches… and then Josh's brother announced he had something else he wanted to say. My heart stopped. Not only was this a surprise speech, but it was coming from a man who is not known for his filter. He then proceeded to talk about how once aliens take over Earth, they should dissect Josh and I to understand what love is. Everyone was cracking up! It was the most hilarious speech and extremely sweet in his own way. Some of my favorite photos are of us reacting to his speech.
Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?
- Photography: Jennifer Rice Photography
- Venue: Granite Creek Vineyards
- Hair/Makeup: O'Neill Makeup & Hair
- Reception Dress: ModCloth
- Bridesmaids' Dresses: Soho Mode
- Bride's Ring: Hileman's Silver Jewelry
Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!
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Ermygerd! It’s so awesome to see a wedding that was held on the day that my fiance and I got engaged! <3
That location really couldn’t have been any more perfect! And the groom’s brother is probably right, the conquering aliens would dissect those two love birds…..! 😉
Oh my goodness this wedding is so adorable!!!! Love the bride’s name too! 😉
What a beautiful couple and romantic kiss!
The venue looks awesome! A perfect fit for Katrina and Joshua. Congratulations to the happy couple!!