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When we feature both weddings with barns, AND tentacle posts, it can only mean it's BARN–ACLE WEEK! Today we've got a video game-loving couple with butt-grabbing vows!
When we feature both weddings with barns, AND tentacle posts, it can only mean it's 
The Offbeat Bride: Megan
Her offbeat partner: Jeremiah
Date and location of wedding: The Farmhouse, Emmaus, PA — April 28, 2012
Our offbeat wedding at a glance: My husband and I met playing Gears of War. In fact, he proposed on the day the third game came out! Clearly, we love how we met and wanted to celebrate it. Our tables were named after comic book characters, we had Zelda and Link cake toppers, and we cut our cake with a replica gun from Gears of War 3. (We also used this in our engagement shoot!) Our ceremony paid homage to our love of science, zombies, and me squeezing Jeremiah's butt in public.
Tell us about the ceremony: Jeremiah and I are both atheists. Despite our disbelief, we understand that our families have different opinions. It was important to stay true to ourselves, but also make our guests feel comfortable, so we made sure to have a ring warming ceremony. This allowed any guests to offer personal prayers or hopes for our marriage. We passed the rings in an amazing Minecraft cube!
Our main ceremony was actually composed of the zombie wedding reading featured here on Offbeat Bride! I'm an avid zombie enthusiast and fell in love with it. Following the zombie reading, my favorite ceremony portion was the “Words to the Couple,” a modified reading by Carl Sagan:
The size and age of the Cosmos are beyond ordinary human understanding. Lost somewhere between immensity and eternity is our tiny planetary home. And yet our species is young and curious and brave and shows much promise. In the last few millennia we have made the most astonishing and unexpected discoveries. They remind us that humans have evolved to wonder, that understanding is a joy, that knowledge is prerequisite to survival. Our little planet floats like a mote of dust in the morning sky. All that you see, all that we can see, exploded out of a star billions of years ago, and the particles slowly arranged themselves into living things, including all of us. We are made of star stuff. We are the mechanism by which the universe can comprehend itself. The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth. We should remain grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides. The sum of all our evolution, our thinking and our accomplishments is love. Megan and Jerimiah, today you marry each other. Marriage gives to two questioning natures a renewed reason for living. It brings a new gladness to the sunshine, and a new fragrance to the flowers, and new beauty to the earth, a new mystery to life. Today, your marriage will make two fractional lives a whole.
Our biggest challenge: I was really shocked at how adversely my family reacted when I told everybody I didn't want kids at the wedding. I heard a lot of “But you're wedding is childish. You're having video games.” I ended up relenting — it wasn't worth the stress. The kids who came had a great time.
I tried to roll with any changes, which became hard when money we thought we were receiving didn't come through. With a little financial maneuvering, Jeremiah and I were able to cover it, with help from my mom and stepdad, as well as my grandparents.
My favorite moment: Our wedding day was also my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary. They helped us light our unity candle, and even danced with us! They had a blast, and I am so thankful I have them as a positive influence in my life. My mom was also SO PUMPED to walk me down the aisle. She really is my biggest fan, and I couldn't have had this beautiful wedding without her help.
My funniest moment: Jeremiah and I wrote our vows together. The morning of the wedding, I was rewriting my vows onto index cards and realized something was missing. I added the line, “I love you because when I grab your butt cheeks in public you pretend to be disgruntled, but I know you're really into it,” startled not only the attendees, but also Jeremiah, who turned a bright shade of red!
My advice for Offbeat Brides: There is no reason to stress yourself out over wedding stuff. Sometimes you just need to roll with the punches and be flexible. Things come up. Sometimes they suck, but it doesn't take away from what you're doing that day.
Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?
- Officiant: Heart Ceremonies. She's very pro-marriage equality and a total sweetie.
- Photographer: Emily McGonigle
- Wedding artwork: Emily Block
- Comic table art: Andres Romero
- Link and Zelda cake topper: My Little Niche
- Cake Bunting: Badger's Hollow
- Venue: The Farmhouse
- Bride's shawl, veil, bouquet, and dinosaur lollipops: bride's mother
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.
Love the placecards and table number signs.
The Carl Sagan montage is great! I may have to steal part of it…
that little comic is the bees knees!!!!
I love your story & I adore the way that you incorporated it into your wedding! I also love your Sagan reading and may borrow it for my own ceremony! I am having trouble coming up with ceremony ideas. My fiance & I are also both Atheist and I want it to be reflective of our views, but not “in your face” about it. We have a big chunk of family that are quite religious and although I don’t want to be offensive in any way, I still want it to be about us.
I love this! Reminds me so much of my man and I! I’m curious as to how well the computer gaming worked out? We’ve set up one of our computers as a retro games console (NES, SNES and N64 emulator) and hoping it goes down as well. Incorporating an atheist reading sounds amazing too! We were going to cut through the ceremony as quick as possible to skim over the fact that there’s zero religion involved. Might have to run this by the man.
Holy crap, I may be stealing this (Mass Effect is our game) I already want the picture playing Xbox (except with PS3 Controllers haha!)
you give my nerdiness something to aspire to! i love all the personal gaming touches
I am desperate to know if your mother can make me one of those shawls! That is exactly what I have been looking for but cannot find!