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The Offbeat Bride: Nicole, tow truck dispatcher
Her offbeat partner: Eli, mechanic
Date and location of wedding: North Carolina State Fair, Raleigh, NC — October 22, 2016
Our offbeat wedding at a glance:
we had a state fair wedding! When we approached the ceremony site, our small group of friends (10 including the officiant) sang the bridal march in “buhm buhm bah-dumms.” We were married by the flower gardens and spent the rest of the night riding rides, including the zipper.
Our cake exchange was with funnel cake, and we played games like the squirt gun race and lifting glass bottles upright. We ate pizza and steak on a stick. Everything smelled like fried food, and there was a record attendance of over 150,000 people at the fair that day.
Tell us about the ceremony:
Our silliest, most big-hearted friend, June, officiated. When we have to describe her, we just say "June farts rainbows." The personalized ceremony was animated and full of sound effects and laughter.
Our "kid" (not biologically either of ours, but in our care) was the Ring Bear, wore ears and a tail. We wrote our own vows and made references to man-smells and oil checks. At the end we jumped triumphantly off the small decking area where our ceremony was held. It was very short and incredibly sweet.
Tell us about your reception:
We wandered around the fair as a group, riding rides and eating fair food. Our drunkest guest was handed my handmade paper flower and button bouquet to hold up as a beacon, leading our guests. While waiting in long ride lines, our friends socialized and stepped away to grab food on sticks.
We played games and the only person who won anything was the one drunk friend, and wore his prize — a poop emoji light-up hat — for the remainder of the night. Fair goers stopped us to congratulate us throughout the crowd.
What was your most important lesson learned?
Not throwing a big wedding was the best decision for us. We had attended my best friend's wedding a little more than a month prior, and although it was absolutely beautiful, my friend was stressed out the whole time and didn't even get to enjoy many of the features of his wedding. By piggy backing on another event, we got food, entertainment, lighting, and endless photo ops, without having to do all the work.
Vendors
* Photography: Erin L. Taylor Photography — Erin L. Taylor was AMAZING. She was a total trooper, became part of the group instantly, and was just super helpful the entire time.
* Alterations: Mary's Magic in Asheville, NC — They are not only skilled in their craft, but downright delightful people to work with.
Gallery
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This is one of the most brilliant ideas I’ve ever seen and the photos are stunning!
This wedding gives me life. It looks like it was SUCH an awesome day!
Oh man, that dress! I audibly gasped.
That dress is beautiful! Wish I knew where she got it.
Thanks so much! I absolutely loved playing at the fair in that dress. I got it on sale at Wildflower Bridal in Asheville, NC. It was actually perfectly floor-length when I bought it (but I’m 4′ 11″ so it wasn’t intended to be) and my seamstress took it up to a more fun length. The belt was probably my favorite part. It was made from a vintage belt that I’d had for years, and the leather artists over Mesa Dreams (on Etsy) used the shape and hardware to make this one-of-a-kind hand-tooled, dyed leather belt.
That dress is so amazing! Who was the designer?
Unfortunately I have no idea. It was on the sale rack, and the only tag on it was the boutique’s handwritten price tag. It was in the under $1,000 range.
Wow! Great find. So beautiful!
@Nicole,
Thanks so much for sharing your wedding! Out of curiosity, did you essentially “crash” the Fair (even though you probably planned it so that people could show up), or did you reserve space at the Fair too? Did you have to pay anything to the fair management, and if so, for what and how much if I may ask? We’re thinking of doing something similar, but up here up in NY, the fairs don’t have small event slots (at least the one I looked at) for small parties, so just wondered! Thank you so much for any input you may have!
We didn’t pay anything extra to the fair, but I did email them ahead of time to inform them of our intentions. They were incredibly helpful and enthusiastic. In fact, the director of the flower gardens offered lots of helpful input and informed the gardeners that we’d be there. We didn’t ask for any special treatment and paid full price for our admission and tickets. I wouldn’t necessarily say we “crashed” the fair, as I did ask ahead of time if there was anything we needed to do/pay, but we weren’t renting any space, nor did we take up any more than any other fairgoer. My advice would be to come up with a general game plan, and pitch it to the people at your fair. They’ll be able to guide you, and ensure you won’t hit any roadblocks on the big day.
Oh wow! That dress!!!! I loooooove it. I got a bit of dress envy for a moment. The length is A++ I’d wear that so many times! Glad to see a fellow tiny bride! (We’re the same height 🙂 )
I love everything about this!!!! Where is your Fur Shawl from? I’m having a snow wedding and the colour is perfection!