Casey & Troy’s DIY duct tape, Hello Kitty, and LEGO wedding

The Offbeat Bride: Casey, Housewife

Her offbeat partner: Troy, Engineer

Date and location of wedding: The Warren Conference center and Inn, Ashland, MA — March 16, 2013. Photos by Cristina Hajosy

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: Our wedding was a very strange combination of themes, but that is exactly who we are as a couple. Troy has been known for his LEGOs, and I'm known for my Hello Kitty obsession. The wedding was also about the joining of our family, as I already have a daughter. So we wanted the wedding to be very fun and family-oriented.

Troy and I had a lot of DIY projects for the wedding. I made all the flowers for my wedding out of duct tape (about 400 flowers!). I made my garter, the cupcakes, the paper petals for the flower girl, and the bridal party jewelry. Troy made our white LEGO brick cake, the cupcake tower from whoopie pie baking pans, our wedding bands, gift card box, and “love” hanger. Our seating cards were actually mini LEGO figures with Hello Kitty flags.

Tell us about the ceremony: Our ceremony music was “The Story” by Brandi Carlile. It really fits us well. My father walked me halfway down the aisle… then my daughter, Reagan, switched with him and walked me up to Troy.

Our wedding was officiated by Troy's uncle, and our reader was Troy's aunt. I loved that they did that for us, and it was so nice to have someone close to us officiate our wedding, especially since they are two people we really look up to. We wrote our wedding ceremony to fit our personalities, but also had to make it on the shorter side because I have difficulty standing for long due to some back problems.

During the ceremony Reagan was called up for some vows as a family. Troy promised to love and protect her, and put a heart necklace that he had made himself around her neck. It was beautiful. She said “I do” with a big grin on her face.

After the ceremony, Reagan and my niece, Katie, got into a golf cart with me. I looked over at Reagan and she was just smiling and clutching her necklace.

Our biggest challenge: I didn't know what I was getting myself into by making all of those duct tape flowers! I had back surgery a couple of years ago, and it's very hard for me to sit for more than 15 minutes at a time. I could really only make one duct tape flower at a time. It took me forever, but I got it done! The necklaces I made for the bridesmaids were also a pretty tedious process because of my disability.

My funniest moment: Right before the wedding, I showed my niece Katie how to throw the flowers. When I came out to walk down the aisle I noticed there were no petals on the runner. When the ceremony was over, Troy and I exited the building first. It was a while before our bridal party came out. It turns out that Katie decided to do her flower girl duties on her way out of the building. It sounded so cute that I was sad I missed it. But I loved getting to see the pictures of everyone laughing and Katie tossing the flowers.

What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding? You've got to let all the drama with friends and family go, if you can. The months before the wedding are bound to be stressful at times, but in the end it helps to put your faith in those you love that everything will go smoothly. Aim to be as calm as you can be.

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• Photography: Cristina Hajosy

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