Marilee & Lizz aka “Sasquatch and gnome” get hitched in a nature park

The offbeat partner: Marilee, Online Content Writer

The offbeat partner: Lizz, Retail Manager

Date and location of wedding: Hopkins Wilderness Park, Redondo Beach, CA — June 14, 2014

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: The wedding was attended by close friends and family. We rented the auditorium space in our local nature park, Hopkins Wilderness Park, and all of our friends pitched in to help us put the space together. We had spent the last month putting together signs, wood-burning the guest books, and making the boutonnieres.

We are a genderfluid couple — neither of us wore a dress, and we walked ourselves down the two aisles at the same time glancing at each other on the way down without tripping!

Overall, it seemed like everyone had a lot of fun and there were no hiccups during the event. We spent less than $4,000 and had an amazing time.

Our biggest challenge:
Our biggest challenge was planning everything without the help of a wedding planner. To save money, I planned a majority of our wedding between my school and work schedule. My partner had just taken on a managerial position at work and was having trouble getting time away to help with planning. In the end though, our friends and family came through to make this special day happen for us.

My favorite moment:
A majority of our family had never seen us kiss. Both my partner and I have internalized the minimized role of public displays of affection in our LGBT relationship. We have been less affectionate than my sister and her husband, we don't kiss in front of the family and we rarely cuddle in front of them either. So, the day of our wedding was the first time that many of them saw us kiss and being overtly affectionate. This was one of the most meaningful moments of the wedding to me.

Additionally, my partner's mother is a strong woman who rarely shows much emotion. She has been through a lot in life and just kind of rolls with things. She also never showed much emotion over our relationship and didn't really think we needed to get married. But during the first dance she was bawling; that was really affirming for my partner and me.

My funniest moment:
The funniest moment of our wedding was that it was in a public park and the park was busy with Boy Scouts. Our officiant, Myriam Gurba, made a joke after the procession: “Well, all of the Boy Scouts can now get their gay wedding badge.”

What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding?
Some family decided not to attend, but the family and friends that did show up made the event so special. Without their help, the wedding would not have been so amazing. Though some choose not to plan the wedding themselves or have a bunch of friends pitch in to help, it was so much more special because it was a gift from them.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

• Photography: Brandin Photography
• Shoes: Cole Haan
• Shirts: Ralph Lauren
• Vest: Kenneth Cole
• Belts: Trans Action

About the Author: Offbeat Weditors

@offbeatbride @offbeatwed

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