2912256541 a33d50e42f alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

2913080896 9ae981d6d0 m alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

The offbeat bride: Grace, Library Clerk

Her offbeat partner: Thomas, Warehouse Material Handler

Location & date of wedding: Inniswood Metropark Westerville Ohio – October 3rd, 2008

What made our wedding offbeat: After plans for a low-key affair with family and friends didn't quite materialize as we had envisioned it, we decided to buck tradition and “elope,” so to speak. We didn't, however, want to sacrifice any of the romance or ritual we loved in wedding ceremonies. So we agreed to get married at an absolutely gorgeous local park.

2913086488 e331e4578e m alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)
In attendance there was just three of us…the groom (Tom) the bride (Grace) and our officiant/photographer, Greg Murphy-Dillow.

I wore a purple corseted dupioni silk wedding gown my mother and I spent months making together, and walked down the aisle barefoot (a detail I'd wanted in my wedding since I was 12 or so). Our wedding ceremony included a fairy tale reading, and we read our handwritten vows while holding a stone to symbolize a point in the story.

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After the wedding, we went to dinner at a local romantic restaurant with patio seating overlooking the Hoover Reservoir. The reaction of our fellow patrons was priceless!

Our biggest challenge: Our biggest challenge was making family and friends still feel like they were part of the day, despite the fact that they wouldn't be there for the actual ceremony.

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Although the wedding was pared down to just a few elements, we got as much family help as possible. His sister made my bouquet, and my mother and I made my dress together. Our photographer was very accommodating with a fast turn around on photos, so that we could share them with family and friends immediately.

My favorite moment: The wedding ceremony was so very special to us. Because there was no audience, we were able to joke and laugh at goofs (Tom couldn't get my ring on), and take our time (the minister interjected how much he loved one portion of our ceremony before reading it) without any worry about how we looked to anyone except each other.

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My offbeat advice: Don't feel obligated by any guidelines. And by this I mean the offbeat guidelines as well as the traditional ones. Before you add an element to your wedding, the proper question to ask should not be “will this be different from most weddings?”, but instead “does this truly represent who we are as a couple?”.

Enough talk — show me the wedding porn: Click the photo below to see lots of intimately beautiful shots from Grace & Thomas' romantic earthy wedding!!

2912256541 a33d50e42f alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

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