Karina & Taylor’s vintage style, music, and zombies wedding

The Offbeat Bride: Karina, Subcontracts Administrator

Her offbeat partner: Taylor, Internal Asset Review

Date and location of wedding: Casa Feliz in WInter Park, FL — October 13, 2013

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: Taylor and I love music. LOVE. We reunited at a Rise Against concert years after meeting in college. He proposed at a Tiger Army concert. We try to incorporate music as much as possible into our lives because it makes our world go 'round, and we thought we should showcase it in the wedding as well.

I purchased a large stack of seven-inch records, and my best friend's husband made us a wedding invitation label that I cut and glued to each record. There were a few casualties, but most made it safely to their destinations.

I also love vintage-style from the 1930s to the early 1960s. So music and vintage became the basis for our wedding, but we also wanted it to be casual (like us). However, zombies are kind of my thing since I was about seven years old. So we found ways to incorporate a bit of zombie love into our wedding as well. I hired an amazing artist in the UK, Philip Hynes, to create a zombie topper of me, my husband, and our kitties. Then we decided to incorporate a bit of music and the movie Shaun of the Dead, so we added a Shaun topper, bought a plain cake, threw some shards of records and blood, and topped it off with a “you've got red on you” sign. I was in love with that cake. And if any of you can afford to buy a statue from Phil, DO IT. He's so talented and really nice!

My favorite moment:
The best moment of the wedding (after saying “I Do”) was being able to hang out with everyone. We had moved to California one year prior and it was amazing to get together with mostly everyone we love in one spot. We made sure our ceremony was short and sweet and then got down to partying.

It was also super special to have my aunt officiate the wedding. We wrote the speech together and made it special. We're not religious, so I wanted something that fit us better. My “offici-aunt” even customized the ending to be “Until Death or Zombies Do You Part.”

We also rented a photo booth, because I have always loved them. Taylor even tried proposing in a photo booth at the concert, but it unfortunately was broken.

Our biggest challenge:
Planning a wedding 2000+ miles away is quite the challenge, but we made it work. We had to trust online research because vendors book quickly; so I had to book every last one before ever meeting them. Luckily, they were all fantastic. They helped me get through planning and made enjoying the evening a breeze.

Once we got into Florida, I did get a call from my planner that apparently our venue lawn had been dug up. In front of Casa Feliz's front door (where we had planned to do the ceremony) is a long, windy sidewalk next to a golf course. The venue doesn't own most of the sidewalk that leads to the property, and the city of Winter Park decided, in the middle of wedding season, that they needed to install sprinklers! They took up everything right before the front of the venue — ugh. After a few deep breaths, we decided to buy some bales of hay and pumpkins to cover up the ugly. It was perfect for October and ended up making it even more festive. Halloween is our favorite holiday anyway!

My funniest moment:
I was so excited to surprise Taylor. I spent months planning a musical tribute to him, which had already been challenging. The first idea was to hire a bagpiper, but at two failed attempts, I had to ditch that idea. About one month before, I hired a string quartet to play “Swing Life Away” by Rise Against, since that was the concert that started our relationship. He had NO CLUE.

So after Taylor and the bridal party did their parade down the aisle to “Swing Life Away,” they switch it up to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” for me. Everyone recognized that song and a few people got very emotional. While walking back from the altar, I exclaimed “So? Did you hear it? Did you love the song?.” The poor guy didn't even realize there was live music, let alone that they were playing a strings version of “Swing Life Away.” And, of course, no one recorded it. Wedding fail!

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

• Photography: The Hons Photography
• Venue: Casa Feliz
• Catering: Arthur's Catering
• DJ: Jay Liquid (he gave us every song we wanted and suggested others to match our style)
• Planning: Sweet Pea Brides (these ladies saved my skin the day of the wedding and let me enjoy all of the festivities with zero worries)
• Cupcakes: Sweet! By Holly
• Cake: Publix (they even put the records and blood on it for me)
• Bride's Dress: Lazaro (you can get good deals online)
• Bridesmaids' Dresses: Lindy Bop
• Necklace: EPJ Creations
• Florist: Lee James Floral
• Hot Air Balloon Centerpieces: Basic Grey
• Record cupcake stand tutorial: Bubby and Bean

Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!

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