Rebekah & Justin’s Hillbilly Chic Wedding

The Offbeat Bride: Rebekah Borucki, Studio Manager, Justin Borucki Photography (and OBT member “Rebekah“)

Her Offbeat Partner: Justin Borucki, Photographer

Location & date of wedding: Woodloch Pines Resort, Pocono Mountains, Hawley, Pennsylvania — January 23, 2009

What made our wedding offbeat: Our wedding could not have been more perfectly “us.” Justin is a Brooklyn boy with country tastes and I'm a Jersey girl and mom of three, and there was not one part of the wedding from the decor to the music that didn't echo those descriptions. We decided from the very beginning that this wedding would be for our guests with an emphasis on fun.

For the ceremony and cocktail hour we hired a ridiculously cool bluegrass band from Doylestown, PA called “The Pluckin' Grassholes” (my FMIL was NOT pleased that their “offensive” name appeared on the program). We found our reverend and DJ online, too… both had a cool vibe and responded well to our ideas. We wrote our vows ourselves and incorporated a hand blessing and multi-ethnic prayers in our ceremony.

My children had to be a big part of the ceremony, so my 10-year-old daughter, Winona, was my MOH, and my sons, Calvin-8 and Jack-5 walked me down the aisle and gave me away. They were my only attendants. My husband, Justin, had his best friend, Parrish, stand up for him as his best man.

After the ceremony, the wedding was 100% party. We danced one traditional dance (the first dance) to “Baby, It's Cold Outside” and then we let the party begin… very few formal portraits, one speech, and lots and lots of crazy dancing. One of my best friends, Jay, performed “First Day of My Life,” by Bright Eyes, for us all at the reception and my sons breakdanced for the crowd.

Justin is a music/celebrity photographer and a lot of our friends are photographers, too, so the cameras were flashing like crazy. We set up a “faux-to” booth outside with a crazy forest scene. Because Woodloch is a mountain resort, there were plenty of “props” around for our friends to hi-jack for photos and later get yelled at to put back. Oh well.

Almost every element of the decor was either DIY or purchased on Etsy. My mother made the centerpieces from silk flowers and feathers, Justin and I did the stationary, and most of the jewelry and hairpieces were purchased on Etsy. Instead of flowers, my daughter and I carried Victorian bags filled with feathers.

I guess the one thing that was most uniquely ours was the Smurf theme running throughout the wedding. Justin and I regularly go on “Smurf-hunting” missions and for a game at the reception, we asked our guests find hidden Smurf figurines and bring them to us to make us kiss. We were introduced to the Smurf theme song and we had a half-Smurf half-bird (a “Smird”) cake topper.

Our biggest challenge: The problems in planning were minimal. We are lucky to have a lot of professional resources on hand like photo printers and software to be able to do the stationary and save money. Our family and friend pool is filled with talented artists, crafters, and musicians, so we were able to call on them to help out.

As far as objections to some of our choices, we shut them down because frankly, we were paying for everything. We did most of our planning together as just the two of us and online, so we were the only critics we had to deal with most of the time.

My favorite moment: Our ceremony was at the same time the most precious and most romantic moment of my life. From my boys walking me down the aisle to the bluegrass band to hearing my husband's surprise vows (that had everyone crying), it was perfection. I remember turning around at the end and seeing everyone clapping and crying, and I had just realized that there were actually people there.

My advice for other offbeat brides: My advice to other brides is to be yourself and be open. Sometimes traditional may seem too corny or your personal ideas may seem too strange, but you don't want pigeon-hole yourself into not having a day you'll love. Be open to the ideas of your family and friends… they love you and they just want to be part of your joy.

Be open to each other… it's your day. Plan together! Some of the most cherished memories of my wedding are crafting with my husband at two in the morning, tipsy on wine and covered in spray glue and tassels.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?:

• Dress: BCBG
• Bride's Hairpiece
• MOH's Hairpiece
• Flower Bags
• Ring Pillow
• Garter
• Black Reception Dress: Vivienne Tam
• Antlers for Engagement Family Photos
• Backdrop for Photo Studio
• Invitation Printing
• Calligraphy
• Cake topper
• Ties for Boys
• Shoes for Boys: Iron Maiden slip-on Vans
• Bluegrass Band
• Photographer
• Reverend Phil [who is a great dancer, btw, and loves to rap!]

Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!:

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