Cristina & Tom’s pop-up roving urban wedding

The Offbeat Bride: Cristina, start-up guru

Her offbeat partner: Tom, finance marksman

Date and location of wedding: Grand Army Plaza and Clover Club, Brooklyn, NY — October 12, 2013

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: We knew we didn't want a traditional wedding, and were blessed with families who didn't mind either, so we decided to incorporate everything we love into our wedding. This included our dogs, great cocktails, amazing food, and the city we love: Brooklyn!

We both initially wanted a courthouse wedding, but realized that we wanted a few more people involved. We didn't want a huge, walk-down-the-aisle kind of affair so we organized a pop-up (read: non-permitted!) ceremony for 30-ish of our closest friends and family members (and our pups!) under the arch at Grand Army Plaza, which is a sentimental spot to us both.

We followed that with a nice walk through Brooklyn and a private lunch. That evening, we threw a giant cocktail party for 100 folks where we re-read our vows, re-exchanged rings and did a quickie version of our already-short eight-minute ceremony. It was standing room-only all around, and we were married by our best friend who is legally ordained and able to marry in the state of New York.

Another friend made all of our flowers from paper: my bouquet, our boutonnieres, and all centerpieces. Tom and I wrote our entire ceremony with our friend, and I designed our wedding flowers off of a real flower bouquet that inspired my Wai-Ching dress.

We had no theme, no colors, no bridal party, no seating chart, no sit-down meal, no first-dance, and no garter toss. But it was perfect for us!

Tell us about the ceremony:
Since our ceremony only included about 30 guests, we included a ring-warming element which I wrote with my friend. We also included the reading “How Falling in Love is Like Owning a Dog” by Taylor Mali, which was read by our mothers as a tribute to our dogs. Also, our friend closed the ceremony with “make it so!” as a Star Trek tribute (she and Tom are big DS9 fans and I'm a TNGer).

Our biggest challenge:
I am an extremely anxious person, and being the center of attention was incredibly uncomfortable for me. However, once I realized that the day was about not only Tom and I, but also all of our friends and family, it helped soothe my nerves.

My favorite moment:
Seeing our friends and family gathered in a really meaningful place for us (the arch) really tugged at the heartstrings. Our friends here in New York City have become our family, and seeing them all together in one place for us was beautiful.

Of course, saying our vows was amazing, but my favorite moments of the day were wandering around and exploring. We were able to decompress and really be silly for a few hours before the reception.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

• NylaGray
• Dress: Wai-Ching (she is AMAZING!)
• Paper flowers and signage: Paper Portrayals
• Groomswear: Greenfield Clothiers
• Venues: James Restaurant and Clover Club

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