Erin & Jad’s skateboarding and beer trucks camp-out wedding

This week we're celebrating the tea-length, the mini, and the cocktail — that's right, it's short dress week! We're showcasing brides who dare to bare their gams in shorter dresses.

The Offbeat Bride: Erin, Professional Problem Solver

Her offbeat partner: Jad, Maintenance/Mr. Fix It

Date and location of wedding: Camp Denison, Georgetown, MA — August 16, 2014

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: Our wedding was as DIY as possible because we were on a tight budget, and I am a crafting fanatic. I am obsessed with all things retro and Jad is an avid skateboarder. We are also both into craft beer, good BBQ, and our cat Moxie. These were all things we made sure to incorporate into our wedding weekend.

We knew that we wanted to find a place where all of our friends and family could relax and enjoy an entire weekend with us, so renting out a summer camp was a perfect solution. Everyone came to the camp on Friday to help set up for the wedding, and pitched tents for the night. We made s'mores and hung out around a campfire. Some went for hikes or canoeing Saturday morning before the wedding. Our reception included a beer truck, awesome BBQ with compostable catering, a shuffle board, lawn games, skateboarding, and a wild dance party.

Tell us about the ceremony:
It was important to us to have a ceremony that was non-religious, relaxed, and our own. We set up benches outside the lodge building, next to the beer truck.

One of Jad's best friends married us and told the story of our second date, which took place in an emergency room after Jad came down with terrible food poisoning.

Early on in our relationship, we traveled to Ireland. Our friend Sarah sang “A Rainy Night in Soho” by the Pogues, which we listened to on repeat during the trip, as it was the only tape we had on us in the rental car the whole week.

A couple who are very good friends read “A Lovely Love Story” by Edward Monkton, complete with blown-up illustrations for our guests to see. They even altered some of the illustrations to personalize the dinosaurs to us. The male dinosaur had a skateboard, and the female dinosaur loved art.

Our biggest challenge:
My father passed away a few years back, and not having him to walk me down the aisle was hard. My sweet friend Eileen made a locket with my favorite photo of him inside of it. While I was getting ready, my mother and sister wrapped the locket around my bouquet so that he was able to walk down the aisle with me. That was a really special moment for me.

My funniest moment:
One of the funniest moments of our wedding was during the ceremony. Jad and I were very nervous during the ring exchange. When Jad went to put the ring on my finger, he blurted out “IS IT ON THERE?!” I immediately started cracking up, as did every one of our guests.

My favorite moment:
We have been together for several years, and many of our friends were so excited to hear we were finally getting hitched. Knowing that the financial burden had made us question having a wedding, so many of our talented friends contributed creatively, emotionally, and physically to help us pull it off.

My friend Linnette created a cake that looked just like the lace on my dress. Our friend Mike made letterpress invitations. The amazingly talented Kristen and Kerrin did my retro makeup and hair. A friend's mother created my bouquet. Our friend DJed the greatest dance party ever. Several of friends helped set up everything from the tables and chairs, to the s'mores and trail mix bar. Many stuck around in the morning to help clean up and break down everything.

We really have no way to thank our friends enough for all their help, and feel very blessed to have them in our lives. It probably sounds cliche, but our friends are our family, and it was amazing to feel all of their love and support throughout the weekend.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

• Photography: Oh, Karina Photography
• Dress: Jenny Yoo, purchased at Flair Bridal Boutique
• Veil: Rainbow Club
• Hair: the amazing Kristen Ball at Dellaria, Kenmore Square Boston
• Makeup: the talented Kerrin
• Groom's Boutonniere: Sketch Inc.
• Cake Topper Supplies: Goose Grease
• Wallace the TapMobile: Mercury Brewing Company
• Table and Ceremony Flowers: Fifty Flowers
• Custom Table Thank-You Notes: Little Miss Mrs

Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!

photography: Oh, Karina Photography