Sheena & Leo’s romantic garden wedding in a castle with dragons

The Offbeat Bride: Sheena, office manager

Her offbeat partner: Leo, electronic technician

Date and location of wedding: Boffins Club Gardens & Delta Bes in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan — August 18, 2012

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: We had a non-religious wedding that was fairly traditional minus my red dress and the music we played. My bridesmaids walked to Ozzy's “Here For You,” our flower girl to Motley Crue's “Too Young To Fall In Love,” and I walked to a wicked guitar solo with a piano melody in the background. Our ceremony was simple and short but very sweet. We ended coming back down to our guests with the song “The Jesters Dance” by In Flames.

We really made it our own by having our reception in a castle with dragons on the invites, cake and cake accessories.

We gave each of our guests a shot glass because we wanted something they would hold on to and maybe display in their homes. We added to the feel by taking away all the white and darkening things with a deep red and black. We used feathers in the centerpieces instead of flowers.

Tell us about the ceremony:

“…We do not create this marriage, because we cannot. We can and do, however, celebrate with Bride and Groom. Through this collaboration, we give ourselves, our lives and love. Into the hands of the one we love. We do so trustingly and generously. And so, each of us receives a gift: the life and love of the other. We receive this gift, not only from the one we love, but also from the parents who brought us into the world, and from our friends and families as well. And so as Groom and Bride's friends and family, we are here to share with them this joy and hope, and to see them off on the path they will walk together. May it be a path bright with prosperity; a path of ever deepening, ever broadening love that they will travel, arm in arm, throughout eternity.”

Our biggest challenge: Overall our biggest challenge was money and time. We had a rough year after booking all our venues with money and quickly ran out of time to come up with the final amounts. We had to ask our families for financial help — not easy, since we had first planned to pay for 90% of the wedding ourselves. Time was a very big factor and meetings with people became an issue because I was very busy at work. Leo had to really take charge and do a big part of the planning. We really did everything together and stayed on the same page throughout the journey. We made sure to no matter how stressed we got over the money or lack of time that we would always make a great team and get the job done.

My favorite moment: To me the most meaningful moment was when Leo first saw me come off the elevator, his eyes brightened up and he gave me the sweet smile I fell in love with years ago. We both of course found our first kiss as a married couple very meaningful but truly enjoyed being with our dear family and friends and hearing their sweet words at the reception. An added moment because of a recent death in my family is that my Uncle Luc made it to the wedding and put on a smile and posed for photos even though he was in extreme pain.

My funniest moment: I would have to say it was at the ceremony when the marriage commissioner had asked us to both repeat after him and somewhere in the middle I just stopped repeating and got lost in the moment. I then realized the groomsmen and Leo were giving me an odd look so I burst out laughing while joining back in repeating the words with Leo thus, making everyone laugh. It was funny, I think I was so relieved that I didn't mispronounce “solemnly,” I just forgot to do anything else.

My advice for Offbeat Brides: Do not rush into things and make a choice based on lack of time. Try to give yourself the benefit of time to make the choice you and your partner really want.

What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding? I learned that regardless of all the details and time you put into this one day that when it comes down to the wee hours and your makeup has melted off it was the biggest party you put on for the people you love. It was about the love, the fun with your family and friends.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

• My Dress came from Alfred Angelo (Ruby Dress has been discontinued but the dress was ordered in Saskatoon from Debra Dee's)
• All my reception decor was done by Tracy at Simple Sentiments in Saskatoon. She was lovely and gave me a few upgrades last minute over the phone. I fully trusted her with everything and she did amazing!
• Shoes came from Iron Fist from Fixation Shoes in Saskatoon
• All my invites and stationary was done locally by Kara at The Green Coconut
• Last but not least my wonderful Photographer at Celestial Photography

Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!

About the Author: Offbeat Weditors

@offbeatbride @offbeatwed

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