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The Offbeat Bride: Nicole, bartender/waitress (and Tribesmaid)
Her offbeat partner: Kyle, history teacher and guitar player in a punk rock band
Date and location of wedding: Ethan Allen Inn, Danbury, CT — May 25, 2013
Our offbeat wedding at a glance: We wanted our wedding to reflect who we are as a couple, so that everyone could see why we truly love one another. So we took a traditional venue and made it our own. Instead of floral centerpieces, we had glitter skulls in four different colors (black, hot pink, blue, and lilac custom-made by Kate Parker) and black and pink candles. I wore an ombre pink dress, the groom and groomsmen wore custom-made vests that used to be punk rock tees and Converse. The bridesmaids carried knuckle duster skull clutches instead of bouquets!
We had two bands: Union Rail's bluegrass sounds for the cocktail hour, and a punk band called Lost In Society for the reception. Our first dance was to the Bouncing Souls' cover of The Misfits “Hybrid Moments.” We love that song, so our rings are black bands with the first line of it engraved on them. Kyle's says, “If you want to scream then scream with me,” and mine says “Moments like this never last.”
Food, booze, and music were our main priorities. We had a cupcakes and a candy bar for desserts and favors (multi-functional when you're paying for your own wedding is a must!).
Tell us about the ceremony: Neither of us are very religious, so we wanted to create our own ceremony and had one of our good friends, Johnny, ordained online to officiate. Kyle's family is Catholic, so I wanted to accommodate them somehow, too. We ended up with a basic ceremony and exchanging of the rings, and then moved on to a four-string handfasting ceremony. Instead of each saying “I Do,” we said in unison, “We will.”
We also had one of our friends play some songs on his guitar during the ceremony: the bridal party came into “Astrozombies,” I walked in to “Saturday Night,” and then we exited as a couple to “Hybrid Moments,” of course.
Our biggest challenge: We had some trouble convincing our family that a punk rock wedding could be a classy affair. Everyone seemed to expect something much more wild than we were planning. It was hard talking about it to people who don't know us. But we really tailored it towards our aesthetics and it went well.
My favorite moment: We had a first look before the ceremony, which took so much pressure off. Plus, it meant we got to chat and enjoy the cocktail hour with our immediate family and our wedding party (our other family).
The best man was Kyle's twin brother, and the maid of honor was one of my best friends since high school. Their speeches were some of my favorite moments, too. They even used props!
My funniest moment: The lead singer of one of the bands, Lost In Society, kept intentionally calling us by different names like “Kevin and Natalie,” “Lyle and Natasha,” etc. (which was one of my ceremony fears!). They came out for the last set of the night as an '80s hair metal band called “Booger Sugar,” too. It was phenomenal!
Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?
- Photography: Picture This
- Bride's dress: Wedding Dress Fantasy. I found them on Offbeat Bride, and they were so accommodating when I asked for some tweaks.
- Shoes: Vivienne Westwood
- Knuckle duster skull clutches: Amazon
dresses: Wedding Dress Fantasy
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Oh man, that dress is so amazing!
Whoaaa, that dress! It’s like a giant cupcake, in the best way.
I was going to say the exact same thing! I love it so much!
That dress! I don’t know if the similarity was intentional, but it bears a strong resemblance to Kaylee’s ‘Shindig’ dress (from Firefly) http://bright-copper-penny.blogspot.com/2012/03/kaylees-shindig-dress.html
That dress is gorgeous! Reminds me of Scarlett O’Hara’s white ruffle dress in the opening scene from Gone with the Wind.
Awwwww…I love Kaylee!! That was one of my favorite episodes and I love how she’s this smart and tough girl but she just wanted a pretty dress and to feel like a princess.
I want to be friends with everybody at that wedding. How absolutely fantastic, fun, & FUCKING AWESOME!
amazing!!! I love everything! and the last picture is so very epic
1. I’m jealous of the awesome purple bridesmaid dress.
2. I love the band-calling-you-the-wrong-names thing.
3. ZOMG KAYLEE DRESS! I have no clue if that’s intentional, but if not, it’s the most awesome coincidence ever!
I love everything about this!
Also: Bouncing Souls + Misfits = SPLOOSH.
Her gown is the best!!
My head pretty much exploded when I saw that dress. Then came the glitter skulls *faints*
This must be Pink Wedding Dress Week on OBB. Pink ombre + ruffles + poof = Suh-weet!
Oh man, we should have made it a full-fledged theme week!
Five pages of pink dress love over here:
http://offbeatwed.com/tag/pink-dress
This dress is everything. I want to give it a hug.
Thank you everyone for your comments, can’t tell you how happy I am to be spending the rest of my life with the beautiful women in that amazing dress!
Definitely a punk wedding for a very awesome punk couple! I got a real kick out of the punk rock band-themed vests!
So. Who made those ahhhhh mazing vests???
The maid of honors mother made all the vest for the guys. It was kyles vision though. The punk rock tuxedo
Love love love love! Also, we’re wedding date twins — J and I got married on 5/25 as well 🙂
THAT DRESS!!!!!! new favorite dress ever.
Now that is refreshing. Day of the dead skulls and big hair bands. Congratulations!
Omg. This wedding speaks to my inner bad-ass. Love it! Especially your SHOES!
What a special wedding, I love her wedding dress and their handbags.So pretty.
WOW Amazing!! Love everything your whole outfit from head to toe!!!
This is basically everything that I want my wedding to be. Skulllllls.
What a cool wedding, I love it