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The Offbeat Bride: Fran, Costumier, Photography Student, Blogger, and Vintage stylist
Her offbeat partner: Tony. Marine Engineer
Date and location of wedding: Motu Moana Scout Camp, Auckland, New Zealand — February 7, 2015
Our offbeat wedding at a glance:
After we decided to get married, we made a list of the things we had in common, and rolled with it! We met in scouts, and we bonded over our shared love of pop culture: comics, Doctor Who, LEGO, cinema, and video games. We wanted to incorporate as many of those things as possible into the theme.
We got married at our local scout camp over Waitangi Weekend (a public holiday in NZ) so that all of our friends and family wouldn't have to take time off to travel, or pay for accommodation, so we basically had three whole days of wedding-fest.
Tony's family put on a big barbecue dinner for everyone on the Friday night, and my family did a big breakfast for all the guests on the Sunday morning. This gave us plenty of time to catch up with everyone properly, and meant we didn't miss out on spending time with all the people who travelled to see us.
Tell us about the ceremony:
I had always envisioned myself walking down the aisle alone, but I don't walk well so knew I'd need some support to make it to the altar. Tony suggested we walk in together, as we were coming into the marriage on equal footing, which fit nicely with our shared philosophies, and made both of us feel way less nervous.
We walked in to “Song of Freedom,” from Doctor Who (which we were lucky enough to see performed live by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra the following week!), and left the ceremony to “White Wedding” by Billy Idol.
As a child of divorce, it was important to me that our vows were realistic. I couldn't commit to being the same person for all of eternity, so the idea of promising to love someone for all of time seemed impossible. If I made a vow to be with someone forever, knowing full well that I couldn't guarantee that, what would that mean for the integrity of the rest of my vows? After some discussion (and help from Offbeat Bride!) we came up with our own vows, which were a bit comical and reasonably lighthearted, but still showed how much we mean to each other.
Because we met in scouts, jokes about tying knots are ever abundant, so we also decided to do a knot-tying ceremony. We used a figure-eight knot, mostly for the symbolism: the tighter you pull it, the stronger it gets — but also because I have one tattooed on my arm. It's also the knot we both have on our rings!
Tell us about your reception:
We had grand plans to have our ceremony in a big clearing overlooking the beach, but it was crazy windy that weekend (our marquee blew over!) so we moved everything into one of the halls at the venue.
We had a self-catered build-your-own-meal station, with tacos and mashed potatoes, so that our friends could easily put together something tasty. I'm vegetarian, and my sisters are vegan, but we also had a lot of gluten-free and celiac guests, as well as guests with no dietary restrictions at all, so we made sure there was plenty of food for everyone. For dessert, we had a soft-serve machine, and a whole load of different candies and cookies, as well as mini-cheesecakes and colourful meringues that our families made.
We mixed up about 12 different cocktails and mocktails in huge dispensers, and also brewed a whole lot of really strong cider by accident, so there were a few sore heads in the morning. We were lucky enough to have help from my Venturer Scouts on the day, who came and helped with all the cooking and food prep, as well as making the cake.
What was your most important lesson learned?
We were incredibly lucky to have such an amazing support network. We had friends who took the whole week off work to help us with set-up and pack-down at the camp, as well as members of the wider scouting community who went above and beyond to help out.
I had grand plans to make a supremely elegant wedding dress, with all this bling and beading, and I did get most of the way through making it but I just couldn't find the motivation to finish it. It wasn’t until just before the big day that I realised I hadn’t been able to finish it because it just didn’t feel like me, you know? So I stayed up until 1:00 am the night before the wedding and made something fun, quirky, and colourful, and I couldn’t have been happier with it.
Vendors
- Photographers: Megan Lupton, Shenaye Campbell, Pippa Young, Gavin Morris (First Year Photography Students at Unitec Mt Albert) and Dimitri Antonopolous, bride's stepdad
- Dresses, Bowties: Fran Robertson
- Venue: Motu Moana Scout Camp
- Celebrant: Craig Bleakly
Gallery
About the Author: Offbeat Weditors
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What a beautiful wedding! Everyone looks so happy! The details on your dress are gorgeous!
I like that you did not crop out your cane. Too many people tend to desexualize those with handicaps. I use either a can or wheelchair depending on the situation and day. People seem genuinely surprised when they learn that I am getting married.
Thanks so much!
People kept asking if I wanted them to hold my stick so it ‘wouldn’t be in the photo’, but that seemed daft since it’s in my life every single day! It’s really important to me that people don’t try to pretend it’s not there – my disability is something that affects so many different parts of my life, and I don’t want people to try and gloss over something that makes up a huge part of who I am!
What a beautiful wedding. The colours and theme are so bright and fantastic! The bride is super talented, making a dress the night before?? Wow!!
This is the same place my fiance and I are getting married! If it’s good enough for Miss Pinup New Zealand…
Oh shush, you! Haha It’s an amazing spot, and I love to spend time there so it’s the coolest thing in the world that we got to get married there 🙂
If you have any questions at all about the venue though, do let me know! I help out as a warden there during weekends, so I know the place like the back of my hand!
We picked it because we met there at a live-action role play event (in fact we also got engaged there at the same convention a few years later)- we’ve both been to a lot of games there so it holds special memories for us both.
And yay, thanks for the offer! I may well take you up on it, especially in terms of good places for photographs.
This is wonderful! I just love these photos and – if I may be so shallow – your dimples are to die for! I love, love, LOVE your dress, and all the little touches like the cookies, sweets, self-serve meal. Wenalso had a variety of dietary requirements at our wedding, and people really appreciated that we tried our best to cater for everyone. It makes such a difference!
Beautiful pics, and I adore your tattoos!
This blog is so amazing. The images you have shared have a feeling of freshness. Most people today forget that weddings should be all about spending time with people who have travelled all the way to bless you. Thanks for sharing this post and ideas to do the same in a sober way.