The offbeat bride: Bailie, Wax Studio Assistant Manager
Her offbeat partner: Curtis, Tattoo Artist
Date and location of wedding: Our Backyard in Fort Collins, Colorado — June 23, 2012
Our offbeat wedding at a glance: Curtis and I wanted to keep our wedding intimate and true to who we are (fun-loving, silly, and quirky). We knew we wanted to have our ceremony at our home as well. We shared our first kiss in the backyard!
We mixed my love of vintage housewares with Curtis’ love of all things unexpected. I used old scales, cameras, and tablecloths I had collected from my grandmother’s house and thrift stores as well as tons of oversized paper flowers. Curtis painted our wedding invitation which featured a squirrel bride and fox groom. He also made a huge backdrop for the ceremony.
Since I was a little girl, I knew I didn’t want to wear a white dress, so I went with a blue lace dress I got off Ebay for $50. All the bridesmaid’s dresses were made from vintage floral fabrics. Our English Bulldog even had his own blue bow tie. We gave guests noise makers to make a loud roar after the ceremony.
We had a full vegan Mexican buffet, and an assortment of vegan treats from donuts and cupcakes to cookies and pie. We covered the reception tables in brown craft paper and provided guests with crayons to let their inner artists out.
I’m not a big dancer, so we used an iPod with a playlist of our favorite songs and skipped the traditional dances. We had a photo booth with a massive trunk full of props, and a vintage suitcase full of vintage-themed toys for the kids.
Tell us about the ceremony: I walked down the aisle to Rise Against’s “Swing Life Away.” Curtis and I walked back down the aisle to “Then He Kissed Me” by The Crystals, followed by the Loony Toons’ “That’s All Folks!”
Since you can officiate yourself in Colorado, we had our siblings officiate for us. We focused on how a relationship is not only made up of a couple, but also every individual around them. We did a handfasting ceremony instead of exchanging rings. We asked each guest to tie a knot into a piece of ribbon which symbolized their love and support for our marriage.
My favorite moment: We had enlisted so many friends and family to help with all the little details of the wedding and it meant the world to us to have our ceremony represent all of us coming together to celebrate love, family, and friendship.
After our ceremony was over, we took a brief walk around our neighborhood, just the two of us. It was probably the best moment in that we were able to completely focus on one another and the fact that we were married.
Was there anything you were sure was going to be a total disaster that unexpectedly turned out great? There was a pretty large wildfire about 12 miles from our house that had been burning for a few weeks. The smoke in town made it hard to breathe outside, made everything smell like a campfire, and even lowered visibility. We woke up on the morning of our wedding to clear skies and no sight or smell of smoke. It was a beautiful day!
My advice for Offbeat Brides: Accept that you will have moments in which you will think, “Why are we doing this?” Accept that others will have their own opinions and wishes for your big day. Accept that the picture you have in your head may not completely come to life in front of you. At the end of your wedding day, the details will be obsolete.
Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?
- Reception venue: Lincoln Center
- Photographer: One Oak Photography
- Event designer: Inspired Vintage Rentals
- Hair: Kari Rainey
- Dessert: Beet Box
- Flowers: Etsy seller AlternativeBlooms
- Photo booth: Red Eye Photo Booth
- Bride’s dress: Betsey Johnson
- Shoes: Converse
- Bridesmaid Dresses: Etsy seller Sohomode
- Bow ties: Aurora Scineros
- Bridesmaid gifts: Clay Lindo
- Menu board: Etsy seller CustomChalk
- Invitation stamps: Etsy seller VerdeStudio
- Favors: Etsy seller GreenDoxieEvents
- Servingware: Susty Party
