Megan & Jason’s geek chic love fest in the woods

The Offbeat Bride: Megan, barista

Her offbeat partner: Jason, pre-press guru

Date and location of wedding: Mountain Terrace, Woodside, CA — April 1, 2012

Our offbeat wedding at a glance:

We are both geeks, each in our own right, and were super excited to incorporate different aspects of geekdom into the wedding.

I knew I wanted to make 3D Tetris blocks that I'd seen on Offbeat Bride ages ago. Jason also added Tetris blocks into the programs as a border.

Keeping with a running Mario theme in our relationship, we had a Mario and Peach cake topper and they made an appearance on our invitations that Jason designed as well.

I have a bone deformity in my ankles which requires me to wear orthotics, meaning no cute heels. Jason wanted to wear checkered Vans, so I decided we would wear Vans that matched with the groomsmen.

I rocked my tattoos and piercings, and the only flowers in sight were my bouquet, which I resisted as “too traditional” until I decided to honor my great grandmother with hydrangeas, her favorite flower.

Tell us about the ceremony: We chose “If I Had $1,000,000” by Barenaked Ladies as the processional. It really embodies the goofiness and strange little conversations that make up our relationship.

We wanted to keep things short and sweet, and had our friend J lead things along, using a vintage copy of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax to hold readings. My friend Ivy read “A Lovely Love Story” by Edward Monkton.

My coven handfasted us as a group; one held sacred space, one explained the symbolism and meaning behind the ritual, and one did the actual tying of the cord.

Our biggest challenge: Paying for it! There were many times that neither of us had any idea how we were going to come up with the money for this or that, especially the final bill from the venue. Luckily we had a lot of help with things that would have made it impossible to pay for. My cousin made the world's most delicious s'mores cupcakes and had the top cake layer made for us to cut and freeze.

Many people helped us hunt down vases and candle holders for the centerpieces. There are too many things to name, but it all really added up and helped the whole thing feel like a community effort. We are very lucky.

My favorite moment: Saying our own vows. Walking up the aisle past the crowd of people I had barely noticed were even there the whole time. The whirlwind of hugs, congrats, food, drinks, laughs, and trying really really hard to stay in the moment.

My funniest moment: One of the groomsmen, Mart, promised us a fun surprise as a gift. He left the reception and returned wearing what can only be described as The Ostrich Rider. It was really the last thing we expected to see, but that was easily the hardest I'd laughed in a while!

Was there anything you were sure was going to be a total disaster that unexpectedly turned out great? There were heavy rainstorms in the weeks leading up to the wedding, and even up until the night before. Luckily the lawn dried out enough to still hold the ceremony outside, and it was a gorgeous sunny day.

My advice for Offbeat Brides: Don't miss out on things you want to do, or vice versa, just to be “more offbeat” or “more traditional.” If you don't want something, don't do it. If you want it, by all means get it! What will matter in the end is that you get your partner and had fun. Everything else is secondary. Don't get caught up in labels and other people's expectations.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

• Dress: Trudy's Brides
• Suits: Selix
• Megan's rings: Brilliant Earth
• Ceremony musician: Ken Brown

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