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The offbeat bride: Kaity, Grad Student/Program Technician
Her offbeat partner: Chuck, Warehouse Specialist
Date and location of wedding: Branstrator Farm in Clarksville, OH — September 2, 2012
Our offbeat wedding at a glance: We were working with a very small budget and were so blessed that most of our needs were met by our friends. The ceremony was at a friend's farm, and the reception was held at another friend's hotel/restaurant. Even our photographer was a friend.
We're both very low-maintenance people who usually prefer not to be the center of attention, so we wanted to have a laid-back wedding where our guests wouldn't have to worry about all the traditions and could just enjoy themselves and dance the night away.
Tell us about the ceremony: We knew early on that we wanted to host our ceremony on our friend's farm. It was where we had first discussed marriage, so it was a spot that was very sentimental to us, not to mention beautiful! In planning our ceremony with our Pastor, there were certain things that we absolutely wanted, but if it was a tradition that didn't make sense or just wasn't important to us, we didn't feel pressured to include it.
I chose to have my mom walk me down the aisle. I have a dad and step-dad who I love very much, but when it came down to it, my mom has been there for me throughout my entire life and was the only person I would've wanted to accompany me.
Our ceremony was pretty short and sweet (thank goodness, because it was hot!), but we made sure we participated in communion with one another.
Our biggest challenge: I bought my dress from an Etsy seller in Mexico. After it took two months to get to me, I was a little dismayed to find that the fit was all wrong. The embroidery was beautiful and I had my heart set on it, so my mom worked tirelessly altering it for me. I was so happy she was able to make it even more beautiful.
For the bridesmaids' dresses, I knew I wanted to go with a colorful rainbow theme, but just couldn't find a dress that came in all the colors and/or sizes that I wanted. On a whim, my mom suggested I pick out a fabric I liked and just see if my girls wanted to make their own dresses. I was so worried as to how they would turn out, but my ladies totally came through and the dresses looked amazing. My mom even made Chuck a matching tie out of the same fabric.
My funniest moment: Our ceremony was really hot. I've never seen Chuck sweat as much as he did on that day. So even though his ring was a little big, I still had trouble getting it on his finger. I had to push pretty hard and was nervously laughing when Chuck said, “Sorry, it's a little snug.” Our guests cracked up and I was so glad he made a joke of it because I was so nervous.
Was there anything you were sure was going to be a total disaster that unexpectedly turned out great? I envisioned our beautiful outdoor ceremony at Branstrator Farm. The guests would be seated on hay bales and Chuck and I would exchange our vows on the dock overlooking the pond and peach orchard. Then the week before our big day, Hurricane Isaac showed up.
The day before our wedding we knew there was a very real possibility we'd be rained on. So we spent most of the afternoon calling our guests to let them know the ceremony would now be restricted to the 30 or so family and long-distance friends who could fit in Jon's garage. I woke up the morning of, and I'll admit I shed a few tears over getting married in an old farm garage.
However, while I was freaking out, two of our friends worked tirelessly to clean and decorate the garage. It looked absolutely beautiful. I had wanted a small ceremony because I am super shy and was dreading saying my vows in front of 120+ people. Not only did I have a small ceremony, but the rain held off so that we could take all our pictures outside. It ended up being the biggest blessing in disguise.
My advice for Offbeat Brides: Wedding planning was not easy for me. I was warned of that time and time again, but never understood until I was in the midst of it. It was so easy to get caught up in the insignificant details when I was bombarding myself with beautiful ideas on Pinterest and Etsy.
My biggest saving grace was that I continued to remind myself that no one would remember what our centerpieces looked like and at the end of the day, I wouldn't care what our centerpieces looked like as long as I had the privilege of now being married to Chuck.
Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?
- Photography: Danielle Byrd
- Dress: Aida Coronado
- Venue: Branstrator Farm
Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!
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Very nice wedding!! lots of great photos! I really love your rainbow cupcake tree!! congratulations!!
I love your bridesmaid’s dresses, they look stunning together. Everything about your wedding looks like perfection in my eyes, particularly how happy you both are. Congratulations!
Dude, I get why you would probably be sad about the garage thing BUT IT TOALLY LOOKS SO CUTE! im glad it turned out, also the dress stunning, bridesmaids gorgeous, rainbows UH MAZE ZING.
Your wedding looks amazing. This post completely un-did all the damage my weekend of laying on the couch sick watching wedding tv shows and freakin’ out!!
How did you broach the topic of having your mom walk you down the aisle? It would have the most meaning for me if my mom were to walk me down but I’m afraid it would really upset my step-dad. I feel like I either have to have both of them or walk alone.
You may find some ideas here: http://offbeatwed.com/tag/aisle-walking-drama
Thanks Ariel!!
My dad was obviously a little upset, but he understood and I made sure we got to share a very sentimental Father-Daughter dance. He cried on multiple occassions…haha!
I love your bridesmaids’ dresses! I have considered doing something similar in asking my future bridesmaids to make their own dresses, and most friends I’d consider do sew too, but I’m so afraid that would be asking too much. I’m encouraged to see it worked out so well for you!
I knew my bridesmaids were going to spend a good amount of money on travel/accommodations, so I tried to keep everything else as inexpensive as possible. My mom bought all the fabric, so it wound up being much cheaper than if I had chosen to go a more traditional route with the dresses.
Really good point on the cost! I just hope my future bridesmaids agree AND are willing to spend the time making their dresses.
One thing I love most about such an idea as this is how it allows individual bridesmaids to pick a cut that is personally flattering while all the dresses still hold together visually as a set. Thanks again for helping reinvigorate my plans toward homemade bridesmaid dresses!
I Really Love the Sweet Simplicity of this wedding it was so down to earth and real 🙂
Kaity!! I’m so thrilled to see your beautiful wedding on here. It was such a ray of sunshine, popping up on my Facebook feed, so I’m glad to see that you got a chance to show it off here too! What a beautiful day and congrats!!!
Thanks Maggie!
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t totally inspired to have an “Offbeat” wedding of my own after stalking pictures from Justin and your day 🙂
loving the flowers
I forgot to mention it in my write-up, but all the flowers were from Ten Thousand Villages. Woohoo for fair trade! 🙂