A most “strange and unusual” Beetlejuice wedding (officiated by Miss Argentina!)

Offbeat partner: Jordan

Offbeat partner: Ryan

Date and location of wedding: Bristow Manor, Bristow, Virginia — October 28, 2018

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: We had a Beetlejuice themed wedding! It's a movie we both love and enjoyed growing up (my family used to call me Beetlejuice!) and when we got engaged, we both knew we wanted to do something different since Ryan's a musician and graphic designer, and I love to cosplay and make teeth for a living.

In with the theme of Beetlejuice, we got Ryan a burgundy suit, his groompeople's outfits were inspired by Otho, while my scouts (I am a HUGE Sailor Moon fan) wore black and white dresses with accents of red. I originally had a white dress, but I knew I really wanted something similar to Lydia's red dress from the movie so I had one custom made.

Tell us about the ceremony:
Musically, we chose themes from movies and shows we each loved: Ryan walked out to "The Little Things" by Danny Elfman, my scouts walked out to the Sailor Moon Theme, and our recessional song was "Jump in the Line" (of course!) by Harry Belafonte.

Our officiant was absolutely AMAZING. She dressed up as Miss Argentina from Beetlejuice! The amazing Rev D (an Offbeat Bride partner!) went above and beyond for us — her speech she made for us was funny and heartfelt at the same time, she made us laugh and cry and looked fabulous.

During our vows, when Rev D asked for the rings, Ryan did the bit from the movie and pulled out a fake finger with the ring on it. If you've seen the movie, you know what I'm talking about. It was hilarious and everyone laughed. We did pre-record the words that Lydia says in the movie, but with my voice, but we didn't get the chance to use it.

Tell us about the reception:
The reception was pretty low key. One of the highlights was my dad's speech; he did this whole bit, full of dad jokes, he made everyone laugh and cry as well. He also performed a Blanket Ceremony for Ryan and I, which is something that is part of my culture — I am Native American, and I wanted to share part of that with our guests, since that part of me is very important to me.

Our cake was amazing — it actually spun and was very delicious! Victoria from Cakes by Happy Eatery did an amazing job.

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We had a live band, The Great Heights Band, perform and along with them, as a surprise to our guests, Ryan performed for part of their set! He is a musician after all, and to surprise me, he actually had the band perform a song that he wrote just for me. This was a big surprise since I've only heard the song done acoustically when he performs it live. He also sang "Grow Old With You" from the Wedding Singer (Another one of our faves!).

What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding?
When we told some people about our theme, they thought it was weird, but we didn't care and it turned out just how we'd hoped it would be. We stayed true to our vision, and that was to be different. We had an amazing time.

Vendors

Photographer: Michael Ellis Photography • Dress: Lace Marry • Bridemaid Dress: Pinup Girl Clothing • Makeup/Hair: Best Face Forward • Cake: Cakes by Happy Eatery • Venue: Bristow Manor • Band: The Great Heights Band • Officiant: The Reverend D

Gallery

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