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The offbeat bride: Kristen, Media Coordinator
Her offbeat partner: Mike
Location & date of wedding: 200-year-old church Akron, OH — October 9, 2010
What made our wedding offbeat: We had an Alice in Wonderland-inspired wedding and reception with a play on the funky black and white patterns. Some people were scared (especially my mom!), until people received the invitations. They really set the bar high for me for the rest of the wedding details.
I am known for wearing and buying all things black and white and my husband and I have a punk style that fit the theme. I have always loved Alice in Wonderland and knew I would one day inject it into my wedding day. Almost everything was handmade, too.
Tell us about the ceremony: The ceremony was in the cul-de-sac of a historical 200-year-old church. I knew since I was little I would one day get married there. The flower girls wore Alice dresses and the ring bearers wore Mad Hatter-inspired suits with top hats. It was a traditional ceremony with a little of our style. The entire wedding party wore Chuck Taylors, including the flower girls.
Our biggest challenge: All the handmade items were tough. I had 300 guests, meaning 300 “Eat Me” tags for the favors and cupcakes, all the food identification cards, hand-painted centerpiece pots, and the list goes on and on! I enlisted the help of my friends and threw “crafting parties.” I lured them over with tasty snacks and wine and they all took the bait! Ha!
My favorite moment: I typically have always dressed a little off-the-wall. When I entered the church and my dad saw me in my traditional dress for the first time, he started crying. It was very touching.
I carried a handkerchief around my bouquet which was my grandmother's who is no longer with us. It has been passed down through generations and was my “something old” and “something blue.” My aunts presented it to me at my bridal shower.
Lastly, I was so caught up in the little details for so long that seeing it all come together was worth all of the (literal) blood, sweat, and tears.
My funniest moment: Watching the little kids rock out to Prince's “Let's Go Crazy” while being introduced at the reception!
Was there anything you were sure was going to be a total disaster that unexpectedly turned out great? Ummm… everything! Being in Ohio, I was concerned about the weather, but we reached a high temperature that day and it was 80 degrees and sunny. I was even a little toasty in my dress.
My advice for offbeat brides: Scour the internet and use it as your greatest resource. I can't tell you how inspirational sifting through a simple “Alice in Wonderland wedding” Google search was when I had lost some steam!
Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?
- Photographer: Aaron Van Dike. I went to school with Aaron and he is amazing.
- Etsy.com was my saving grace!
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.
word! That invitation suite is AWESOME. such a fun theme!
I’m from NE Ohio as well!!! What’s the name of the church? It looks so familiar!
It’s the Tallmadge Historical Church in Tallmadge, Ohio! 🙂
Thank you so much! I’ve been looking for vintage-y churches…love it!
No prob! Only drawback was the carpet on the floor (boo!) but other than that, it was pretty awesome!
Congratulations!
I’m from the Midwest so I can’t/ can believe it was 80F!
The details are delightful the little men look so delightful in top hats!
I know! When we originally picked the date, we said it could be really hot, or could snow! Good ole’ Midwest, you never know what you’re gonna get!
i was in the wedding and one of the friends who was lured over to craft with wine and snacks. kristen is probably the most creative person i know – this wedding was a total blast and gorgeous and fun to boot. i loved being involved in helping her to make her vision a reality. kudos to the stellars!!
Precious! I wish i could have made your dress, I love Alice in Wonderland! The bridal party looks fabulous 😉
MMMKAY! I pretty much love everything about this wedding. Especially all the topiary love.
This is SUCH a cool theme! And they executed it so wonderfully! I love that it’s still so unique and elegant but has those funky Alice in Wonderland touches.
I love the veil/flower. where’d that come from?
Hey! The veil was from tigerlily.com. It was the “Esther Veil”: http://www.tigerlillyjewelry.com/birdcage.html
The flower was from a local salon, Carol Martin’s. I did see similar ones on etsy though! 🙂
I NEED TO SEE THE SHOES!
That pic of them upside down looks awesome and I am desperate to see them from the top and sides. Pretty please with a cherry on top can you pop up a link to where you bought them so I can check them out?!?!
(PS. I love your wedding!)
The shoes are Pour La Victoire, here’s a link to the exact ones: http://www.6pm.com/pour-la-victoire-bridal-and-evening-sonya-ivory-satin
I also LOVE these ones: http://www.6pm.com/pour-la-victoire-bridal-and-evening-giada-ivory-satin
🙂
OH. EM. GEE!!! I love everything about this wedding!! I’m living in Michigan right now and had no idea a Midwestern wedding could be so fantabulous! I adore the invites! Did you do them yourself??
Thank you so much! I work at an advertising agency and the graphic designer and I worked on them! He did all the sketching by hand!
Hi, I’m marrying a couple next month with an Alice Wonderland tea party theme. Did you write your ceremony and was there any reference to your theme, quotes etc. in the ceremony?
Hi! Our ceremony was more traditional with a few personal details. If you include it in the couple you’re marrying’s ceremony, you could talk about the wonder of marriage, or the curiosity of love. I always thought of me & Mike as I am living in Wonderland with my mind up in the clouds and he grounds me, so maybe something about that would work for them as well? Hope this helps! 🙂
I can’t even begin to describe just how inspiring this was for me. Seeing your amazing day, seriously almost brought tears to my eyes. Everything was absolutely beautiful!! We’re going with the tea party-Alice theme so to speak as well, and it’s so nice seeing how you pulled everything together.
Thank you so much! That is an incredible compliment! So cool to meet other Alice in Wonderland-loving brides!!! 🙂
When I saw your invitation sitting in my cousin, Kim’s, mail last year I fell in love. So glad I finally got to see more from your amazing wedding.
Thank you!!! Kim sent me a text last night saying you saw it on here! Such a small world! 🙂
Who did your invitations and where can i order the same or similar???? This is EXACTLY what I’ve been wanting for all cards!
Hi! I work at an Advertising Agency and the graphic designer here created them. He hand drew the whole thing, so I’m not sure where similar ones could be ordered. I bet you could find some cool ones on etsy.com, plus you could work with the seller to customize them to your exact tastes 🙂 Let me know what you end up doing! I’d love to see your finished invites!
I have never seen a Alice in Wonderland themed wedding. Loved the little girls dresses, they were adorable!!
Wow the invites are exactly what we are looking for….are you able to send over the template?