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The Offbeat Bride: Karly, Writer
Her offbeat partner: Edward, Music Teacher
Date and location of wedding: The Oak Canyon Nature Center in Anaheim, CA — November 16, 2014
Our offbeat wedding at a glance:
Our wedding was inspired by some of our favorite fantasy series, our faith, our mixed heritages, and our interests in music and books. Most of the aesthetic was inspired by the Legend of Zelda video game series, including the deep purple and green color scheme.
Tell us about the ceremony:
We had a harpist perform the processional and recession: a rendition of “Zelda's Lullaby” from the Legend of Zelda video games. In the ceremony, we also incorporated Christian wedding traditions such as communion, blessings, and prayers with some Celtic rituals such as handfasting.
My brother and cousin performed a banjo and guitar duet of the Irish ballad, “Scarborough Faire,” and the maid of honor gave a recitation of Shakespeare's “Sonnet 116.” We read our own vows we had written.
The ceremony was officiated by my uncle, Reverend Zachary Brooks, who was assisted by my other uncle, Reverend Don Markham, with the handfasting and communion. My young nieces (ages five and four) were angelic during the ceremony, and took their jobs as flower girls very seriously.
Tell us about your reception:
The reception took place at a family friend's backyard. We transformed her gazebo into a dance floor, and the place was alive with gorgeous roses and twinkling fairy lights to complete the fantasy world look. Each table was named after different fantasy world or location, such as “Cair Paravel” (from the Chronicles of Narnia), “Rivendell” (from Lord of the Rings), and “Wonderland.”
The food was catered by a local restaurant, Fantastic Café, which is owned by a family acquaintance, and the cake (each layer a different flavor) was made by a friend, complete with wooden cake toppers created by my sister-in-law that featured my husband and I as Link and Princess Zelda. Our first dance was performed to the song “Dear True Love” by Sleeping at Last.
We drove off in my husband's beloved vintage VW Bus, which had been appropriately decked out for the occasion.
What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding? Any other advice for Offbeat Bride readers?
I cannot stress enough that you should learn to not sweat the small stuff. If it was not for the photographs, I never would have noticed many of the details, such as the flowers, that I labored over so much in the planning stages, because once you're in the thick of it, you just don't have the time! Learning to delegate would have helped me tremendously.
We also were lucky to have many friends and family who helped us out with everything from the dress to the flowers to the food to the decor to the cake, and often cut us huge deals. I recommend asking around before going with the most expensive vendors.
Vendors
- Photographer: Neverwhere Photography
- Dress: Bridal Elegance Salon
- Flowers: Moments in Color
- Venue: The Oak Canyon Nature Center
- Food: Fantastic Café
About the Author: Offbeat Weditors
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Daaaaang those are some well-dressed men! (And women too, that gown is lovely! But I was really impressed by the dudes’ suits.)
The whole thing looks beautiful! I also love the flowers in the hems of the flower girls’ dresses.
Thanks! I certainly thought so. 🙂
We got the suits in downtown LA- they got their entire ensembles- suit, tie, belt, shirt, and vest for only $100 a pop, too.
You husband’s ring looks like a style by FH may be interested in (which is a challenge!). Would you mind sharing the vendor you purchased it from? Thank you!
Hey there, I totally forgot to include the ring vendors!
His ring was by RobandLean. It’s titanium with a band of mokume gane. https://www.etsy.com/listing/47470857/rough-titanium-and-mokume-gane-inlay?ref=hp_mod_rf
I’ll also mention that my engagement ring was a family heirloom, but if you (or any other readers) liked my wedding band, it was a deco design by Lord of Gem Rings. https://www.etsy.com/listing/195872563/retro-vintage-art-deco-antique-style?ref=shop_home_active_18
Hi there! I totally forgot to include the ring vendors! His ring was handcrafted by RobandLean, who have a shop on etsy.
They have tons of wonderful more masculine rings (for men and women) and they are all beautiful and unique.
Gorgeous! So many lovely details.
The grooms hair and the VW bus = *happiness* I have been waiting to see more examples of hair like that!!!!
Oh, what a fantastic wedding! And I *love* the photo scavenger hunt idea – totally brilliant!
Well, it’s not as grand as the wedding production that I have pictured in my mind since the title has “Fantasy” term on it. It was nice to have a simple wedding decoration but don’t you think it’s too simple? I mean, the altar should have adorned with lots io flowers on the side, may be pink or white roses? I love the wedding cake. Did you fly sky lanterns? They could make the ambiance more cozy and livelier at the same time. I’ve seen one in http:// [URLREDACTED] .com.hk – a luxury wedding planner.
I actually wanted to keep it somewhat simple because I felt that the natural beauty of the oak forest spoke for itself. I was inspired by the aesthetic of certain fantasy books, films, and video games; I had images of, for example, The Shire from the Lord of the Rings films in the back of my mind, and I decided to keep the decor simple in keeping with that look, which also was kind to our very small budget. Sometimes understated works best, but it is of course, a personal choice. I did have many beautiful, more elaborate flower arrangements that my aunt (who was also our wedding planner) created at the reception, but there aren’t any pictures of those featured here. Those arrangements featured deep pink roses, purple lisianthus, curly willow, and green coffee beans.
I loved the wedding cake too, and the way it tasted was even better. I would attribute the baker, but she is a home baker and does not have any professional contact information, sadly.
We did consider flying paper lanterns, but they are actually illegal in southern California due to the high fire risk, so that was a no-go. We also considered sparklers, but ultimately decided to slip out of the reception quietly, with no fuss.
Thanks for your comments!
Karly, you’re as gracious and lovely as your wedding was. It’s amazing that a spammer would attempt to advertise in the comments by insulting a wedding on OffBeatBride of all places!
Yes, I thought that was rather ridiculous (who on this website is looking for a luxury wedding planner?), but I’m happy to share actual information about our wedding all of the same.
Thank you very much, Bianca!
HA! Totally ridiculous spammer… sorry we didn’t catch that sooner, but your response is so great that I’m going to leave the thread up, with the spammer’s spamming redacted. 😛