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The offbeat bride: Alegria, dance teacher
Her offbeat partner: Jack, classical guitarist
Date and location of wedding: Kress Terrace, Greensboro, NC — October 14, 2011
Our offbeat wedding at a glance: Our top concern was that people should have fun. We tried to have fun with the details with luchador masks, flags, and papel picado. We made our bridesmaids' dresses, centerpieces, chair sashes, save-the-dates, photo booth, and guest book. About halfway through planning we found out about a serious illness in the family and our perspectives changed. The guest list was no longer an argument ready to happen, it was a list of people loving and supporting us. All the DIYing took on new meaning, and I feel that our wedding became a giant love letter to all the friends and family who were there for us along the way. It was of course, also a love letter to each other.
Tell us about the ceremony: Our ceremony was short and sweet. We asked our respective parents to choose a reading about love/marriage that they thought was meaningful. Jack's father read the lyrics to “Sail on White Moon” by Boz Scaggs. My parents chose a section of Antoine St. Exupery's “The Little Prince.” My mom knew she would be too emotional to read, so my Aunt Beth did the honors. After these words of wisdom, we said our vows and we were married.
Our biggest challenge: On an administrative level, keeping the head count at 150 people was pretty tough. On an emotional level, planning a happy joyous event like a wedding at the same time you are dealing with the uncertainty and sadness of a loved one being sick is also pretty tough. We overcame these challenges by reminding ourselves that in the end we would be married! The tiny details still seemed important, but not sob-worthy.
My favorite moment: Alegria: My all time top moment would be our first dance and the brother/sister dance.
Jack: Our parents' readings, Skype conversations with loved ones who could not attend, the toasts made at the reception.
My funniest moment: Jack had no idea that my dress converted. In the middle of our first dance the maid of honor ran up to us and Jack seriously thought she was going to cut in! Instead she surprised us all by ripping my skirt off.
Was there anything you were sure was going to be a total disaster that unexpectedly turned out great? The weekend of our wedding coincided with a huge homecoming celebration for NC A&T. We were super worried about parking and hotel availability. I got even more worried when I showed up two hours before the ceremony and the parking deck attached to our venue said “full no admittance.” I jumped out of the car in my dress and convinced the attendant to let us in. Luckily an hour before the ceremony the deck re-opened. We forgot to work out transportation to our hotel that night and ended up on the street with all the homecoming partiers waiting for a taxi. Having random people on the street congratulate us was the perfect way to end the night.
My advice for offbeat brides: Weddings should be about love. Not just the love between you and your partner, but also you and your community. Let people help you and be nice to those who challenge your idea of a perfect wedding. You can't please everyone, but you have to please yourself. Trust your instincts. AND DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF!
Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?
- Venue: Kress Terrace
- Caterer: Painted Plate
- Ceremony/posed photos: Jackie Whitaker
- Reception photos: a family friend, Ivan Lasso
- DJ: Complete Music
- Cake: Maxie B
- Dress: Calla Bridal
- Tissue paper decor: Mexican Sugar Skull
- Flowers: DIY from Fresh Market
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.
I was so excited to see a Greensboro wedding and then on top of that you had it during A&T’s homecoming? I dont even know how you pulled that off and I’m an A&T alum LOL. Beautiful wedding, I loved the colors!
What a beautiful wedding! The colors and love are incredible! Just the Monday morning pick me up I needed! I may or may not have such an inspiration hard on right now.
“The guest list was no longer an argument ready to happen, it was a list of people loving and supporting us. All the DIYing took on new meaning, and I feel that our wedding became a giant love letter to all the friends and family who were there for us along the way.”
THIS a thousand times!
What a wonderful post to go along with a fantastic wedding!
Colors, colors, colors!! Love it! I keep getting asked what my “wedding colors” are going to be, and I have to reply, “Umm…all of them?” I love these all-colors-inclusive weddings. They’re so fun!
Woohoo Greensboro!! My hometown and where I am getting married next June! We are JUST starting the planning process so the vendor list at the bottom is very helpful. If you have any other tips for a Gboro wedding, I would love to hear it, especially with the flowers DIY from fresh market. They looked completely professional!
Thanks! Hooray for GSO! I would highly recommend all of our vendors ,especially Maxie Bs for the cake. The flowers were a really fun activity to keep my girls and I occupied the morning of. We used floral wire that you can find at any craft store. The trick is to start with a big flower and re-wrap with wire each time you add a bloom. At the end we wrapped ribbon around the stems to hide the wire. Good luck!
There is nothing I don’t like about your wedding. 🙂 However, if I had to choose just one thing, I would say that I really love your shoes.
Ok first THAT CAKE. THOSE COLORS.
Looks like such a beautiful wedding, but the colors are just amazing. Like, wow. The bridesmaids dresses are great. 🙂
I live in Winston, very nice to see a local wedding! I love all the colors! Absolutely beautiful!! Congrats!
LOVE the convertible dress, been planning on one for myself! I love seeing it pulled off so beautifully here, it gives me hope. You had such a sweet wedding, you can see all the love radiating off of it.
I was just wondering where you got those colored flags from?
we got the flags from mexicansugarskull.com
where did you find your bridesmaids dresses?!
They were actually our biggest DIY. I sewed the dresses from the pattern I linked below, and found the fabric on mood.com
http://www.simplicity.com/p-5008-misses-dresses-cynthia-rowley-collection.aspx
She made them!
Alegria, your wedding was so beautiful! I LOVE the colors, your dress (!), and every time I see the picture of you dancing with your brother it makes me tear up a little.
Gorgeous and touching.
I cried reading this!!!! What a beautiful wedding, and what true sentiments are expressed in the article. I wish you two a lifetime of happiness.
This is the perfect example of why you don’t have to just pick two main colors for a wedding. How about the entire color spectrum? The bright colors scream fiesta and fun fun fun!!
What a beautiful wedding! I’m about to get married too and I hope my husband and I can have as much fun as you two had! Felicidades!