Satanic wedding in Hell on Devils Night – with vows!

Offbeat partners: Lizzi & Andy

Date and location of wedding: Hell, MI — 10/30/2020

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: We did most of our photos beforehand at the Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit, which is Detroit’s first certified arboretum. We wanted a whole “Wed Til' We're Dead” mood, and the location definitely helped.

We had to go from 100 people, to 50, to just the 8 of us thanks to Covid, but it was perfect. We wanted to have a fun, special day and that was exactly what we got. I was thankful my brother was our officiant, and his fiancee was kind enough to help out behind the scenes and manage all the music with just a phone and a bluetooth speaker.

I bought my dress almost a year before we were even engaged because Viper Apparel was THE BEST and knew EXACTLY what I needed, and I knew EXACTLY what my plans were with Andy.

Tell us about the Satanic wedding ceremony:
Andy wrote his own Satanic wedding vows, but forgot to print them and bring them to the ceremony. He managed to remember it all from memory and after the ceremony he realized it was on his phone the whole time, so we were able to have a giggle.

My brother, our officiant, wrote a special Satanic wedding ceremony for us, and we gave him the green light to come as a Plague Doctor, as it seemed fitting with the whole thing, as well as safety reasons with Covid.

And here are my Satanic wedding vows:

This ring, my ring, is a very real representation of our relationship together. I know this ring came from your Grandma Shirley. Grandma Shirley was one of the first incredibly special women in your life. She filled every Sunday morning for you growing up with love, good food and motown music. She was easily one of your favorite people, and that love you had for her resonates today through everything you do. I'm grateful always that she left you this part of her.

I'm grateful for Sunday mornings we have together, with music and magic. Those Sunday mornings are a great foundation for everything in our life.

You decided to share with me this small, amazing beautiful part of her and in reality, it was a good representation of you yourself. Just like you, the ring came to me well used, slightly broken, and in need of some love and repair. But I love it. I admire and care for it. We got it fixed up when it was broken. I've shown it off and been really proud of it, and so far it's done nothing but bring me joy (That really goes for both you and the ring).

Anything worth keeping forever is worth taking care of. It's worth whatever time and patience you can muster to put into maintenance. You buy a home or a car knowing you're going to have to fix things eventually. Often people forget relationships work the same way. But you've proven time and time again that the upkeep and maintenance of things are important to you, too.

Whether it's just taking time to recharge or recuperate when needed, to little but important things like daily talks and making sure we're on the same page. All of your efforts don't go unnoticed and it is my wish to every day make sure you know and feel how much I appreciate you, and that you feel I'm equally dedicated to the maintenance required of the life we're building.

Sometimes my favorite thing is doing nothing with you. But knowing I could do anything with you is the best feeling. Handling everything from big issues like standing up to adversity and punching Nazis, to handling a pandemic, to picking up the right ingredients for dinner, you've come through as a great sense of stability and support every single time. I know that as long as I don't ask you to make chicken spaghetti, you've got my back.

Tell us about the reception:
Covid largely ruined the prospects of a reception. What we did do is go to the bar and grill next door and order food. We all sat in our cars and ate and tried to keep warm (it snowed and rained on and off all day), and yelled at each other from the car windows to try and get some more time together. I do not recommend trying to stay clean while eating a big greasy burger in a wedding gown.

What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding?
Be flexible. Also know that when things go wrong on your wedding day, no one else will likely notice. The more willing you are to have fun and go with the flow, the better your whole day will be. Also, make sure you have a gameplan for how you'll pee in your gown!

Vendors

• Dress from Viper Apparel
• Makeup by Sarah X Artistry
• Bouquet by Beheld Bouquets

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