Spring & Alex’s colorful lawn games and giant pillows wedding

We teased this bride's “mullet dress” earlier this week. I'll bet you're totally ready to see what went along with it!

The offbeat bride: Spring, Freelance Make-Up Artist

Her offbeat partner: Alex, Teacher

Date and location of wedding: Snug Harbor Gardens, Staten Island, NY — September 18, 2010

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: We chose to mix wedding tradition with colorful whimsy and fun. The ceremony and reception were both at Snug Harbor Gardens in Staten Island, NY where guests arrived by ferry and chartered party bus. Classic lawn games and giant pillows that could easily seat a family were spread throughout the grounds for guests to relax and play.

We had a large tent with tables and chairs for guests to cool off and eat. Lunch was classic barbecue including chicken, ribs, corn-on-the-cob, mac and cheese, watermelon, and lemonade. To save money we had a “cakeluck”: a potluck of cakes and desserts that were brought by guests. The spread was beautiful! We also had a custom “fake cake” made by a professional baker and friend. She decorated foam and no one knew the difference.

My dress was traditional white with a touch of hot pink from my petticoat peeking out the bottom. The best part of the dress was that it had pockets!

Tell us about the ceremony: Our ceremony was officiated by a very close friend and began with “Can I get a ‘hell yeah?'” After that it was quick and filled with personal references that only Alex, myself, and the officiant would really understand. For example, he weaved in our love of the movie Valley Girl and the song “I Melt With You.” My vows made everyone laugh, because I was obviously not prepared. I kind of forgot to write them and thought I could wing it.

Our biggest challenge: The biggest challenge was transporting guests from all over onto an island that can only be accessed by bridge or ferry. We decided to have a friend organize a small pre-wedding party for guests taking the ferry, and had shuttle vans bring guests to and from throughout the day.

My funniest moment: It was quite funny when our first dance began and the music sped up to super-fast speed! Alex and I improvised by dancing super fast until the song slowed to normal speed.

Was there anything you were sure was going to be a total disaster that unexpectedly turned out great? We held our reception during the day, and my biggest fear was that no one would want to dance. But that was all I wanted to do at my wedding. Luckily, everyone, even our grandparents and parents got out there and worked it!

My advice for Offbeat Brides: Try to get friends involved in the wedding process. Many are happy to help and appreciate being included. Some people don't want to “work” during a wedding and just want to be a guest. I made sure to know the difference and only asked those who were really interested. This avoided resentment and awkward situations after the wedding.

A Month of Mixbooks:
As part of our partnership with Mixbook, this couple has been given a free wedding photo book to show off their wedding photos. We'll be featuring some of these Offbeat Bride Mixbooks in a few weeks!

Have you been married before and if so, what did you do differently? I was married once before to my high school sweetheart, right out of high school. I was super traditional and did everything the way I was “supposed” to do.

This time around, we personalized it and my husband was helpful and totally into the wedding planning process.

What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding? We learned that guests appreciate when they have the freedom to relax and be casual at a party. We didn't interrupt folks throughout the day to cut a cake or throw a bouquet. After the ceremony, folks could go play games, eat, dance, nap on a giant pillow, or sit under the tent and catch up with relatives.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

• Rainbow rose bouquet: Fifty Flowers
• Photography: Shannon Roddy. She is so lovely and takes the most beautiful pictures of people in love.

Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!

About the Author: Offbeat Weditors

@offbeatbride @offbeatwed

Working tirelessly to bring you stimulating content day after day, the Offbeat Wed editors will not sleep until you've gotten your offbeat fix.