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The Offbeat Bride: Emma, writer/editor
Her offbeat partner: Richard, software developer
Date and location of wedding: Alley Theatre, Houston, Texas — November 30, 2013
Our offbeat wedding at a glance: Richard likes to call himself a song and dance man, and I like to write, so we wanted a wedding that merged both those themes but didn't break the bank. He has tons of talented friends and connections, so we involved friends and family as much as we could. We held it at the Alley Theatre, the local Houston theatre downtown.
At the time of the wedding our son, Oliver, was nine months old, so we decided to involve him in the theme. Our save-the-date was a bookmark fashioned to look like a theatre ticket, and we went with the overall theme, “Mommy and Daddy Are Getting Married.” I found a pacifier with those words on it, and we took a great photo of Oliver with it in his mouth, which served as the design direction.
Our invitations were formatted like a Playbill. One of Richard's good actor buddies runs events at the Alley, so we got to work with someone close to us through the whole process. He put our flowers together, I arranged my own playlist in Spotify for music, and we chose a daytime wedding so the time would be good for kids.
For food, we ordered fruit, salad, breakfast tacos, and empanadas from Tacos A Go Go, a favorite casual eatery downtown. For the cake, we went with a small round cake we could cut into, and two large sheet cakes, one vegan and one not, that were decorated with a tux and a wedding dress. Our artist friend and bridesmaid, Stephanie Lienhard, made cake toppers for us that we turned into ornaments. For wedding favors, we took photos of Oliver and made ornaments out of them.
We let the bridesmaids pick their own dresses but stuck to a color, and found a matching tie for $25 for the men. I got each of the bridesmaids a book personalized to them and a journal. For the guys, we got them books and a monogrammed yo-yo. And the whole wedding party got shirts with their name on the front that I designed.
Tell us about the ceremony:
Richard's brother and sister-in-law, who I'd become really close to over the past few years, officiated and made it so incredibly us. I couldn't have asked for a better ceremony.
I wrote a story about the way we met, and two of Richard's talented actor friends acted it out. Richard's brother and sister-in-law also wrote a lighthearted, funny reading that was full of inside jokes and started with a mockery of the whole marriage bit from The Princess Bride. I laughed out loud.
At one point, Eric dangled Oliver's pacifier in front of my eyes and pretended to hypnotize me. Then we read our vows, which were very short and sweet and also had some unexpected humor.
My favorite moment:
The skit was definitely one of my favorite moments. Though we didn't get to see it happen because we were waiting in the wings, we heard lots of great reactions.
The vows were amazing, too. We both cried. It was such a culmination of desire and hope and love and faith. And our son, Oliver, was such a big part of it all.
Have you been married before and if so, what did you do differently?
Oh, everything. We shared every decision this time. Last time I went to Switzerland because that's where my husband wanted to go. No one could afford it except for his friends, so no one I know was present. It felt not me and very isolating. This time we were in front of everyone we love, in my hometown, with someone that felt so right.
Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?
- Venue: Alley Theatre
- Photography: George Hixson
- Catering: Tacos A Go Go
- Cake stand: A Princess Practically
- Place card lanyards: Itcoa
- Playbill program: Itcoa
- Guestbook: Double-Sided Tape
- Headpiece: Rock Roll Refresh
Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!
About the Author: Offbeat Weditors
Working tirelessly to bring you stimulating content day after day, the Offbeat Wed editors will not sleep until you've gotten your offbeat fix.
Congratulations! What a cute little guy. I really love your bridal party… your collection of ladies in gold is so chic!
That dress is stunning. Just perfect.
There is just happiness radiating from every aspect of this wedding!
By the way, the dress is a Badgley Mischka Zenyatta and I can’t tell you how many compliments I got on it–from both men and women. I bought it at a sample sale on Father’s Day, of all days. My shoes were Kate Spade Clarice in royal blue, and my something borrowed were beautiful pearl earrings and bracelet from a friend (her wedding anniversary gift set).