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The Offbeat Bride: Danielle, stay-at-home mom
Her offbeat partner: Andrew, supervisor for a cleaning company
Date and location of wedding: Fairmont Empress, Victoria, BC, Canada — December 14, 2013
Our offbeat wedding at a glance: We were planning a more traditional wedding in February until I found out I was pregnant with twins and would be six months pregnant at the wedding. So we were planning on waiting, but we decided in late November to just go for it. Because it was such short notice and I was four months pregnant, all the plans for being traditional went out the window. We both love that old-fashioned '20s Victorian style, and I found my dress that matched the theme.
Tell us about the ceremony:
The ceremony itself was pretty basic, the officiant said a little to honor Andrew's mother, grandmother, and great aunt who had all passed away, and we had a reading from The Velveteen Rabbit:
Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse. ‘It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.'
‘Does it hurt?' asked the Rabbit.
‘Sometimes,' said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. ‘When you are Real you don't mind being hurt.'
‘Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,' he asked, ‘or bit by bit?'
‘It doesn't happen all at once,' said the Skin Horse. ‘You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.
Our biggest challenge:
My biggest challenge for the wedding was that we were planning it as we were driving to Canada from California and on a really short timeline. Finding an officiant and a photographer wasn't that difficult, but we had to find a florist two days before the wedding and a baker for the cake the night before. Thankfully, the event coordinator helped us find all the people we needed and my mother was calling people and arranging things while driving.
What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding?
That not everything happens like you think it would, but just let it happen naturally and it can be so much better.
Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?
- Photography: Curtis Pelletier
- Florist: Fine Floral Designs — she did a fantastic job and even did all the decorations and helped us find everything we needed
- Bride's dress: Nordstrom
- Groom's coat: Shrine
Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!
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Soo sweet, I love it! We were planning on getting married in October 2015, but since we found out we’d be becoming parents for the first time i June and I didn’t want to be breast feeding while getting hitched we’ve recently decided to do it on Valentine’s Day instead. It’s really great to see another couple who has decided to move their wedding with really short notice and pulled it off in such a fabulous way!
Be sure to check this archive for more inspiration: http://offbeatwed.com/tag/short-engagement
Thank you, I was really glad everything got put together in time. I hope your valentines wedding goes well.
Gorgeous beading on the bride’s dress, & the groom’s coat – fuggedabout it! Too cool. Love the bouquets/flowers with the dark feathers!
Love that dress!!