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Photos by Di ZhangThe offbeat bride: Leanna, Librarian
Her offbeat partner: Matt, Book seller
Location & date of wedding: Belvedere Castle, Central Park, New York, NY — July 9, 2010
Our offbeat wedding at a glance: We chose the middle of the summer to have the wedding. We wanted all of the guests to know us personally, so we invited 20 of our closest friends and family to come to New York with us and celebrate! Having so few people there, we could really make the best use of our money.
We gave each of our guests gift bags when they arrived in New York containing Dungeons & Dragons soaps, coffins with candy in them, devil ducks, and Lil' Edgar Allan Poes! There was no dancing, bridesmaids, groomsmen, or throwing of the bouquet.
Tell us about the ceremony: We were overlooking Central Park and the city. Our ceremony was very casual and we had a great guy do it. He wrote and customized our vows to include the things we love to do most like geocaching. There were no religious vows, no giving away of the bride, and no changing of my name.
Our biggest challenge: Our biggest challenge was making sure that people knew where to go and when. Being from out-of-state, no one made it on time for anything. Some of our closest friends missed the whole ceremony and came walking up just after we kissed!
My funniest moment: The funniest moment of our wedding was what we did after we ate. Because we don't dance, we all went out in our Sunday best to Times Square to go to a comic book store! It was great to just hang out with all of our friends who made the trip doing the things we like to do.
My advice for Offbeat Brides: Make sure that you have a vision of what your day should be like and try to follow through on those goals. We really worked on this wedding as a couple. There was nothing that the both of us didn't sign off on. Also, try not to go into too much debt. It is possible to have a fantastic wedding on a budget.
See all the photos here!
Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?
- Photographer: Di Zhang
- Dress: Jessica McClintock
- Hair: Pin Me Up Hair
- Makeup and Skulls: Glitterbug
- Crinoline: Etsy seller PorshesPlace
- Shoes: Iron Fist
- Flowers: Etsy seller JILLIANNS
- Officiant: Keith Gugliuzza
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.
This is my wedding and to let you all know that Di Zhang can be hired through Dreamlife Photos & Video in NYC. They are wonderful!
So pretty! Question: did you have any issues with the ceremony being in such a public spot? The fiance and I are thinking about doing our ceremony in Central Park but are a bit scared off by the potential for rude people or random crazies.
No problems what-so-ever! Some of the best parts of that day were because of strangers! People singing to us and paying for me to pose with Elmo! LOL You should have no problems, just make sure you get a permit from the Central Park Conservancy!
I love the Upper Peninsula shirt!! 🙂