Posted byGet your candy out because it's Halloween Week! We've got zombies, ghosts, and gore in our weddings. Today we have a three-part celebration with Halloween flair (and a zombie dog!).
The Offbeat Bride: Kelly
Her offbeat partner: Adam
Date and location of wedding: White Mountain Hotel and Resort in North Conway, NH, Chandlers in Schaumburg, IL, and The Puritan Backroom in Manchester, NH — October 1, 2011
Our offbeat wedding at a glance: I am from Illinois and Adam is from New Hampshire, so when we got engaged we decided that we didn't want to leave anyone out of our celebration because they couldn't afford to fly or drive long distance. We decided that instead of one ceremony and reception, we'd have a small ceremony with just our parents, grandparents, and two close friends, and then we'd had a wedding reception party in New Hampshire and Illinois for the rest of our family and friends.
In Illinois, our reception had more of a vintage flare. We drove over to the party in my uncle's beautiful black 1940 Chevy. Even though we had gale force winds, the outside pictures ended up being some of my favorites. The DJ played Frank Sinatra, Etta James, and Dean Martin to honor our love for that era of music. We all overdosed on the chocolate fondue desert table. Even though we never did formal introductions, a bouquet toss, or even a wedding party, we were able to incorporate what meant most to us: family.
We had our New Hampshire reception at The Puritan because that is where we went on our first official date. This was the aspect of our wedding into which I put the most work. Since it was on October 29, we wanted it to be more of a Halloween-themed reception. We both love horror movies and have a tradition of watching a scary movie every day of October with a full day Halloween marathon on the 31st.
I really wanted to splurge on the cakes. I drew each cake design and Jacques Pastries copied each design perfectly. We made all the decorations and ended up spending around $100 for the decor. I made the pumpkins, the centerpieces, place cards, card box, and all the favors.
We also had a zombie family portrait done of us with our dog Otis. I also made my flowers from silk so that I could bring the same bouquet with me to each celebration. We had my mother-in-law's ukulele teacher play during dinner, the singer from my husbands band played us some songs, friends gave speeches, and then we danced to a playlist that included everything from Bruce Springsteen to Lady Gaga. Since there was a huge snow storm, the power eventually went out. Instead of everyone leaving, we danced by emergency light and headlamps until the end. I was really lucky to have three cakes, three parties, and three times to wear my dress.
Tell us about the ceremony: We were supposed to be married outside at the base of this huge cliff, but because of rain, they wanted us to have the ceremony in the resort lobby by the fireplace. We had our hearts set on being married outside, so we talked the hotel into blocking off their drop off main entrance so we could still be married outside without getting wet.
We had a little cocktail party beforehand and then headed outside to take the plunge with the people we love the most. My dress had pockets in it, so I put the most useful thing I could think of in my dress: my flask! Right before we took our vows, I took it out and handed it to Adam and we took shots right there. The Justice of the Peace was not too impressed, but it got a lot of laughs.
Our biggest challenge: The biggest challenge was planning a three-part wedding in two different states. My mother totally make our Illinois celebration come together. Traveling with my dress was stressful, and some other elements were challenging, but when it was happening I stayed calm by saying to myself, “there's nothing you can do about it and the weather won't change what's happening today.”
My favorite moment: My grandfather was in the Navy and had these amazing Navy ship cufflinks and a tie clip. I had the tie clip on my bouquet and my husband wore the cuff links. I loved that we could bring him into the celebration that way.
My advice for Offbeat Brides: Prioritize a good photographer so you can have awesome pictures to remember the day. And most importantly: try to make the planning process fun!
Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?
- Photography: Kris Dobbins and David Ziegenhorn
- Cakes: Jacques Pastries
- Zombie portrait: Zombie Caricatures
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.
Dress. Pockets. Photos. Flask. B&W. Smoke. LOVE.
Your hair and makeup are badass!
That car is dope.
We used those bride and groom skulls as our cake toppers! Yay for Michael’s!
Also, ~love~ the pockets in the dress.
Hey, I think we have the same dress! (Though mine has a green sash.) The pockets were a big selling point for me too. 🙂
THANK YOU for linking Kris Dobbins! I’ve been looking (well, for a few days) for a NH-based photog and every link I click seems to be in the $5000 price range, and, well, I can’t, and these are GORGEOUS. Bookmarking him!