The Offbeat Bride: Jenna, Travel Agent
Her offbeat partner: Scott, Electrical Engineer
Date and location of wedding: Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston, TX — October 20, 2012
Our offbeat wedding at a glance: When we started planning, we were on a mission to make every detail meaningful to us. After weeks of driving myself crazy trying to pick out meaningful shoes (I told you, crazy!), I figured out that just the big things needed to be important. We picked the date that Scott thought was our anniversary — that way he would be right from now on. We wanted to have the reception at the place where we had our first date. We also wanted to have trivia at our cocktail hour.
It was important to us to have a trivia hour, because our weekly pub trivia was where our relationship really blossomed. A friend of ours is a trivia host and he put together the whole thing including several rounds just about us, weddings, and our favorite things: Disney and Back to the Future.
The winners got fun Hawaiian hats for first place, and leis for second place in honor of our honeymoon destination.
Tell us about the ceremony: Our ceremony was traditional, right up until our pastor mentioned trampoline aerobics (it is way harder than it sounds). We also had two readings, Romans 12:9-17 and 1 John 4:7-12.
Our biggest challenge: It never occurred to me that the quotes for the food and bar did not include tax. It said it right there on the paper, but I just did not factor it in. My defacto wedding planner/catering manager Melissa helped me scale back once I put two and two together. I bought things on sale, made them myself, or asked for things for my birthday when I needed to pinch some pennies.
The guest list was also challenging. When we first spoke to our families about their guest list estimates we came in at 150-180, so that is what we were planning for when we researched venues. When the lists were actually handed in, we were well over 220 and we hadn’t even put our friends on the list. We went back to our families and explained that they could not invite everyone they ever met. If they did not know Scott or me, they had to go. Some family members took it better than others, but once we talked it out, they were very understanding.
My favorite moment: I loved when we walked back down the aisle right after the ceremony, and it was just us. Scott gave me the best face and a big kiss. It was my favorite kiss of the night. My dad’s speech was amazing, too, especially since he is not a big public speaker. But he nailed it!
I had wanted to walk down the aisle to “Somewhere over the Rainbow,” but the church only allowed religious music, so I had to incorporate my inner Dorthy Gale somehow. I picked out some Toms ruby red slippers, which worked perfectly!
My funniest moment: Our flower girl was not happy with the way the petals fell, so she went back and fixed them. This confused our ring bearer as he was on a mission to bring those rings to Scott. He knew he was responsible for a very important job and he had to get it done. We did not have the heart to tell him they were not the real rings.
My advice for Offbeat Brides: You are going to stress and freak and worry, but in all likelihood, it will be fine in the end. Your wedding will be the only one like it because you are the only you. Try to have a sense of humor about the things that go wrong.
Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?
- Dress: Alfred Angelo
- Garter: Sophia Unique Boutique
- Hanger: AntoArts
- Earrings: Lisa Argenton
- Venue: Houston Museum of Natural Science
- Church: First Presbyterian Church
- Decor and catering: Swift Events
- Cakes: Finale by Glenna
- Makeup and hair: Luxe Group
- Photography: Andi Salinas
Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!
