When books meet RPGs: a book nerds wedding to tickle your dice

The Offbeat Bride: Christy, Optician

Her offbeat partner: Zack, Analyst

Date and location of wedding: Elm Creek Park Chalet in Maple Grove, MN — May 14, 2016

Budget: $10,000

Our offbeat wedding at a glance:

My husband and I are both bibliophiles and shameless nerds. As soon as we got engaged and started wedding planning, we immediately began to think of ways to subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) let our passions shine in our wedding. We saw the day as an opportunity to share everything we love with everyone we love.

As soon as we started researching bookish wedding ideas, we saw a book arch and knew we HAD to have one. The bookish theme just sort of snowballed from there. We put out a call for unwanted books on Facebook and had tons of people more than willing to donate books. We used them for the book arch, table decor, planters, making bunting, a ring book in lieu of a ring pillow, and I handcrafted 100+ book page roses for my bouquet and the bouquets of my bridesmaids. We used bookplate stickers instead of place cards so people could take them home and use them when they were done with the wedding, and we made table numbers out of pictures of our favorite book covers.

We chose a green venue because sustainability is important to us, decided on brunch for dinner because is the best meal of all (if you disagree, I will fight you…), and a huge beautiful pile of delicious donuts for dessert from our favorite local neighborhood donut shop. We also had a Polaroid photo booth guestbook, which meant each guest received two photos, one as a keepsake and one to turn into a custom Magic: The Gathering card to add to our guestbook wall.

Tell us about the ceremony:

The processional songs were from the soundtracks of some our favorite movies. Zack walked his parents to their seats to the opening theme from Miller's Crossing and our wedding party walked in to “Let Them Up” from Mad Max Fury Road. I fulfilled a dream I've had since I was eight years old and walked down the aisle to the “Throne Room March” from the end of Star Wars Episode IV.

Traditional ceremony scripts seemed dated and weird and not at all us, so we went with writing our own ceremony. In the end, we cobbled together bits and pieces of things we loved. Our declaration of intent was part the US Supreme Court's ruling on marriage and part Shakespeare.

Aside from books, our other big passion is tabletop role-playing games. Our officiant read his ceremony script from inside the Dungeon Master's Guide and, ever the Dungeon Master himself, Zack surprised me by making me roll for Initiative to see who got to recite their vows first.

We had some great nerdy readings, leafed together the pages of two books as a unity ceremony, and after our first kiss, walked out together to “Christmas Island” (otherwise known as the song that plays at the end of Adventure Time).

Tell us about your reception:

Our reception was just a bunch of nerdy fun. Everyone dug into their little favor bags and was soon bedecked in nerdy stickers and Adventure Time snap bracelets. In true RPG nerd fashion, our guests also received custom-printed D6s with our names and wedding dates on them and D20s in one of our wedding colors.

Zack and I both HATE the glass clinking that goes on at wedding receptions, so he devised a “Powered by the Apocalypse”-style dice rolling game to keep people entertained and still give them the chance to make us kiss. We bought some huge inflatable dice off the internet and posted the rules so everyone knew how to play.

Here's how it works: Want to see the bride and groom kiss? Grab a pal you wouldn’t mind giving a smooch, and come on up to the head table to try your luck. Grab two of the big inflatable six-sided dice, give ‘em a roll, and then add them up.

10+ = Congrats! The bride and groom will kiss, without you needing to smooch (unless you really want to, of course!)
7-9 = The bride and groom will kiss, but you’ll have to give the sweetie you brought up with you a smooch, too!
1-6 = Tough Luck, give your partner a smack on the lips or cheek, chance has given the bride and groom a break!

People LOVED it! It was super fun seeing folks of all ages embrace the game with gusto and the smooches provided some great photos of people having a blast at the reception doing something other than eating or dancing.

What was your most important lesson learned?

OMG honeymoon registries! This is a revelation. As folks who were living together seven years before we tied the knot, my future husband and I were already pretty set on housewares and whatnot. We decided that we would set up a Honeyfund for our Icelandic honeymoon and people could gift us experiences rather than things.

We were a bit apprehensive at first, but everyone seemed to love it. People liked the idea of giving us a whale watch or a trip to a thermal spa instead of housewares and other things off a traditional registry. It was also super fun to share pictures of our honeymoon on Facebook so people could see us having a blast enjoying their gifts. If you are at all on the fence about whether or not to try a honeymoon registry in lieu of a traditional one, DO IT.

Vendors

• Photography: Rachel Lahlum Photography
• Dress: Trashy Diva
• Groomsmen's Ties: Cyberoptix
• Bridesmaid's Dresses: Unique Vintage
• Bridal & Bridesmaids Jewelry: Art & Accessories by Soren
• Bride's Gloves: Dark Pony Designs
• Bride's Headpiece: Oh Peacock Feathers
• Catering: Common Roots Catering
• Donuts: Glam Doll Donuts
• Registry: Honeyfund