Angela & Nick’s candy-filled, colorsplosion wedding

The offbeat bride: Angela

Her offbeat partner: Nick

Location & date of wedding: Behind the Sandy Pond Sportsman's Association, Sandy Creek, NY — July 5th, 2008

What made our wedding offbeat: Our day was very us. Neither of us wanted something super traditional – we wanted a really fun, memorable day that everyone could enjoy. Thanks to our friend Sara we chose our color scheme from an invitation she found online. I LOVE bright colors and neither of us were feeling the traditional pastels. So we raided dollar, craft, party stores and the internet for bright purple, fuchsia, lime, turquoise and orange colors. We stayed away from anything “wedding” which saved us A LOT of money.

We just thought about things that make us happy and define us, and we brought that into the planning. My husband being the amazing boy he is designed and built a fully-functioning photo booth to have for the day. It was a total hit. Before the wedding everyone was in line to use it and they actually had to drag people away because the ceremony was starting soon! It had a line the whole day, it was amazing seeing everyone of all ages feeling like a kid and having a genuinely good time. We also chose to do a candy bar with candies in bright colors which proved very nostalgic for our guests. I think our day symbolized not only our love for each other but our passion for keeping the kid inside all of us alive and unabashedly loving what we love. It was a great feeling sharing that with the people we love. Oh, and we had an EPIC cake smash :).

Tell us about your ceremony: I wanted to have a reading during the ceremony, and when I came across this reading from Plato's Symposium, I knew it was perfect. It is one of the most beautiful things I have ever read. Not only did it seem so perfect for us but it acknowledges love being also for a man and a man, and a woman and a woman. We both feel strongly that gay couples should be able to celebrate their love through marriage and we felt we could share a part of our day to those who are not able to marry who they love. You can read the excerpt in the link above, it is half way down the page under “From Plato's Symposium.” It is definitely worth the read.

Our biggest challenge: I am a super control freak. I had a billion and one ideas and things I wanted to do. I felt like I needed to do it all, or as much of it myself as possible. I was too afraid to ask for help because I didn't want to inconvenience anyone. By trying to do so much myself I became a nuisance because I would get so stressed and then ask for help late in the game. Thank goodness my friends and family were so patient with me because I was a serious basket case.

But when I finally did ask for help, I found that people were actually really excited to help, and we got to spend some quality time together while getting things done. Making hundreds of candy flowers was probably not the most enjoyable task any of us ever did but we talked, ate pizza (and slipped some of the candy too) and it reminded me why these people are so special to me.

The week leading up the wedding I was on an emotional roller coaster, freaking out that there was still so much to be done. But the morning of the wedding, I hit snooze a few times, casually got ready and was surprisingly calm. I think I had just realized there was no sense in worrying about anything now, what happens happens and as long as I am married to the love of my life at the end of the day nothing else matters.

My funniest moment: Definitely feeding each other cake! We both play pranks/pick on one another so it was inevitable. We talked about it before saying “oh I promise I'll be nice and won't smash cake in your face” whilst giggling knowing we were both full of it. When we first met our way of flirting was doing things like putting bits of paper down the other's shirt, smearing deodorant all over the other's face, etc. Being mean to each other, oddly as it sounds, is a very important part of our history, that is our bizarre way of saying I love you. So when it came time to cut the cake we were clearly mistrusting of each other. It took a while because we kept jumping back from each other with nervous giggles. Finally we went for it and Nick got me GOOD! I unfortunately did not get as messy a piece for him, it was mostly fondant but his was pretty perfect for cake smashing. My face was covered in frosting and chocolate. I literally couldn't breathe out of my nose because I had plugs of cake up each nostril. I tried my best to make a mess of him but the fondant just kind of rolled around, so I rubbed it in his hair :-P. Our guests reactions were pretty funny, I'm sure they all expected it knowing us but I don't think they knew quite how messy it was going to get. Totally one of the best cake-smashings ever!

My advice for offbeat brides: We worried that people wouldn't get our wedding, but we didn't want to be pressured into a wedding that we wouldn't enjoy either. We went with it and everybody loved it. Your guests may surprise you and love that you did something different. And after all these are the people who love you, if you are truly happy that will be contagious and they will be happy to.

Again, when finding your decor and supplies I suggest looking everywhere but wedding vendors and wedding supplies at first. It will save you a fortune and you can make something amazing if you get a little creative. Chances are you have friends or family with a variety of talents. Run over the feel that you are going for with them and they can help you create something amazing. I know our day would not have turned out quite as perfect without the amazing people in my life and the things they all brought to the table. It was so exhilarating just doing it our own way, being ourselves and not being ashamed. Celebrate who you are, don't put on a costume of someone you aren't on the most important day of your lives.

What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding? Stop worrying about trivial things. As long as you have each other everything will always be okay. And don't be afraid to ask for help!

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

• Dress: David's Bridal. I bought my dress about a month and a half before the wedding. I was very lucky they had my size! (Do not procrastinate on the dress!!!) I had planned on making it as I had gone to college for fashion design but time flew by and I ran out of time.
• Bridesmaids Dresses: I designed and constructed the dresses with some help from my amazing friends and family, some of whom got a crash course of sewing the week of the wedding.
• Laterns: Asian Ideas and Shoji Decor – We bought about 200 paper lanterns which we got super cheap on a couple of websites and I definately recommend them
• Candy: We got most of our candy in bulk at Sam's Club. IF you are doing a Candy Bar, or need candy for favors, Sam's Club is amazing!

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