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The Offbeat Bride: Stacie, Video Editor/Cat Lover
Her offbeat partner: Kevin, Solution Consultant/Dance Machine
Date and location of wedding: Cedar Springs Pavilion, Dayton, OH — July 27, 2013
Our offbeat wedding at a glance: Kevin and I are both big nerds and wanted to have a wedding that captured the goofy way we look at life. It was a casual affair where guests could wear shorts and throw away the tie because we wanted to make sure they were comfortable and ready for a good time.
I wore a white dress that was handmade by my friend Blayne. It had a sprinkle of rhinestones and a hint of purple that matched not only my shoes, but also my dad, who also rocked the purple. Kevin was working it in a seersucker blue suit that paired well with his polka-dotted, bow tie/suspender wearing groomsmen.
The beer and wine flowed all night, aiding in the soul dance and karaoke party that lasted right up until we had leave and head to the after party that consisted of cheap pizza and the rest of the keg beer.
Tell us about the ceremony:
The wedding party walked down in teal and navy to the Jurassic Park theme and my uncle Rick married us in bright orange shorts. We had a reading by J.R.R. Tolkien where two Ents, an Ent and his Ent wife, talked about how they would stick together through it all:
Ent: When spring unfolds the beechen-leaf and sap is in the bough,
When light is on the wild-wood stream, and wind is on the brow,
When stride is long, and breath is deep, and keen the mountain air,
Come back to me! Come back to me, and say my land is fair!Entwife: When Spring is come to garth and field, and corn is in the blade,
When blossom like a shining snow is on the orchard laid,
When sun and shower upon the earth with fragrance fill the air,
I'll linger here, and will not come, because my land is fair!Ent: When Summer lies upon the world, and in a noon of gold
Beneath the roof of sleeping leaves the dreams of trees unfold,
When woodland halls are green and cool, and wind is in the West,
Come back to me! Come back to me, and say my land is best!Entwife: When Summer warms the hanging fruit and burns the berry brown;
When straw is gold, and ear is white, and harvest comes to town;
When honey spills, and apple swells, though wind be in the West,
I'll linger here beneath the Sun, because my land is best!Ent: When Winter comes, the winter wild that hill and wood shall slay;
When trees shall fall and starless night devour the sunless day;
When wind is in the deadly East, then in the bitter rain
I'll look for thee, and call to thee; I'll come to thee again!Entwife: When Winter comes, and singing ends; when darkness falls at last;
When broken is the barren bough, and light and labour past;
I'll look for thee, and wait for thee, until we meet again:
Together we will take the road beneath the bitter rain!Both: Together we will take the road that leads into the West,
And far away will find a land where both our hearts may rest.
We also wrote our own vows where we promised to share our wine and tolerate our obsessions with R. Kelly and Keanu Reeves.
Our biggest challenge:
One of the biggest challenges we faced was the weather. We left it up to the wedding gods and just hoped that we would have a miracle. Then the morning of the wedding, I woke up to a torrential downpour! As I went over to my sister's to get ready with all the other bridespeople, they rose to the occasion by playing songs about rain, like “Blame It On the Rain,” “Singin' In the Rain,” and of course “Ironic.” On the way to the venue, I saw the sky finally clearing up. The best part about the rain was that it cooled down to a nice pleasant temperature.
What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding?
I learned to just have fun and to make it about both of us and our commitment to being partners.
Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?
- Rings: Esqueleto
- Photography: Mike Stempler
- Dress: Blayne Goldwasser
Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!
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Adorable! You my dear, have one of the cutest, sweetest smiles EVER! Congratulations on a lovely, fun wedding!
This wedding is positively joyful and fun to look at. The bouquet? Really? It’s incredible and I adore your dress.
beautiful! where’s his suit from?
Kevin got the suit from bonobos men’s clothing site
http://www.bonobos.com/
This is exactly what I want to look around and see — fun! You look like you both are having the times of your lives, which is what you want for your wedding day and for those around you. What a joy this wedding was to view! (Also a cat lover here, yay!)