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The Offbeat Bride: Stacy, Martial arts school owner
Her offbeat partner: Kaylyn, Co-owner at the school
Date and location of wedding: KUMA Fitness & Leadership in Saco, Maine — September 20, 2014
Our offbeat wedding at a glance:
We got married in a dojo. Because this was such a non-traditional wedding, we essentially made up all of our own rituals (borrowing from things we've seen). We also had a bear/wolf theme. My personal animal totem is a bear and her's is a wolf.
Here are a few highlights:
- Our procession at the beginning was full of martial arts movements
- Our vows were represented with martial arts movements in the following themes: yield/flow, strength, commitment, spirit/fun/how, trust/support/harmony
- We got married in decorative gis (uniforms) and our sashes (karate belts, but the kung fu equivalent)
- Our reception was fairly typical with speeches, dancing, cupcakes, etc.
Tell us about the ceremony:
Here is a video that features the elements and martial arts movements in our ceremony that we mentioned:
Tell us about your reception:
We had corn hole out on the lawn and a tent with lanterns. We had an epic speech by Kaylyn's father and one from each of our best friends. There was dancing and cake.
What was your most important lesson learned?
We spent a lot of time making our gifts for guests and table settings. The gifts included a pocket i-ching journal and guide. My biggest lesson was that I spent too much time on all of these little things. For us, the most important things to spend money on were the rings, the photos, and the video. Everything else gets forgotten.
Also, luckily Kaylyn's best friend was up for the task of playing wedding planner on the day of. You NEED someone you can trust to help with the flow and getting the little things done (like starting and stopping the ceremony music).
Vendors
- Photography: Tyler Drumm Photo
- Venue: KUMA Fitness & Leadership in Saco, Maine
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The bride with the blue on. I love the look on her father’s face walking her down the aisle. Proud daddy moment. The photo of him dancing. He looks like a fun guy!
This wedding is really cool and different. My husband would love a wedding like this since he loves doing matrial arts (if we do a second wedding!)
That looks so much fun. And I LOVE the bear and wolf cake toppers! They’re so cute and realistic-looking.