A goth history nerd wedding with Cthulhu, Beetlejuice, and a headpiece to die for

The Offbeat Bride: Brittany

Her offbeat partner: Taylor, store manager

Date and location of wedding: Gladstone Hotel, Toronto, Ontario, Canada — November 21, 2015

Our offbeat wedding at a glance:

Taylor is an avid D&D fan and LOVES Cthulhu, whereas I am a huge history nerd. We decided to have a wedding that combined all of our interests in one place and also fit our goth, weirdo vibe and style.

Tell us about the ceremony:

I decided to have my father walk me down the aisle to the intro of Metallica's “Enter Sandman.” We wanted the ceremony to be short and sweet, so it only lasted about 15 minutes and was fairly traditional.

We both decided to write our own vows, and because I'm a feminist, I wanted to spice things up a bit. So we were pronounced “wife and husband,” and when it came time for the first kiss, it was announced as “you may now kiss the groom.” Our wedding party then exited the room to “The Imperial March” from Star Wars.

Tell us about your reception:

Our seating chart was made for us by our fabulous friend Heather, and in the centre was a realistic drawing of Henry VIII's crown. I'm a huge Tudor England nerd, and tried to incorporate this time period wherever I could.

Our guest book was a replica of the Handbook for the Recently Deceased from Beetlejuice, complete with a tentacle pen. We spray painted large skulls in black, dark purple and gold to be our centerpieces, and each guest's name tag had a symbol of one of Henry VIII's wives next to it which matched the symbol on the earl grey shortbread favour we gave everyone.

Instead of doing the traditional clinking of glasses, guests instead had to come up to our table, grab a trivia question we had written, and read it out loud. If they guessed correctly, we kissed.

Instead of throwing the bouquet, we decided to throw a plush cat. It was announced that whoever caught the cat would be the next person to adopt a cat.

We also had what we call “Weddinglesque.” I met the majority of my friends through the Toronto nerdlesque (nerdy burlesque) scene, and so I asked two of my friends to perform our favourite acts that represented our interests. My friend Scarlett LaFlamme performed her Anne Boleyn act, while my friend Betty Quirk performed her Lydia from Beetlejuice act.

We also had a History and Cthulhu combination cake with tentacles lifting up Henry VIII.

What was your most important lesson learned?

Our wedding was not very traditional, so in order to get some of our offbeat details, we relied on friends. All of my artsy friends helped us create every detail in our wedding from our wedding pamphlet, name tags, candy buffet signs, centerpieces, and my gown. Ask your willing friends for help if it's available.

Vendors

• Photographer: Sarah McDougall, Studio Casamento
• Dress: my lovely and talented friend, Hanna Bradley
• Cake: Cakes Cove
• Headpiece: Kopf Traeume
• Venue: Gladstone Hotel

About the Author: Offbeat Weditors

@offbeatbride @offbeatwed

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