Sofia & Zet’s colorful, vintage-themed wedding and relaxed island party

A few weeks ago, I gave you a preview of Sofia & Zet's uber colorful boat wedding in Sweden. If you were drooling, like myself, and couldn't wait for more, then you're in luck. Here is the scoop on Sofia & Zet's vintage-themed boat wedding! -Coco

The offbeat bride: Sofia, Art student (and OBT member and Europe Group Mod)

Her offbeat partner: Zet, Music producer and student

Location & date of wedding: Ceremony: on a boat in the harbor / Reception: a small island, in the Stockholm Archipelago, Sweden — August 20, 2010

What made our wedding offbeat: We did a lot ourselves. A lot of the small things were not traditional, like I wore a pink wedding dress, we had a non religous ceremony and we only had two speeches. Oh, and he took my last name.

We DIY'ed everything we could, including the food. So our budget ended up under $4000! We went for color all over. My dress was pink, the bridesmaids all had different, brightly colored dresses and the decor was also bright and colorful. We made a lot of mustaches and everyone loved them. We had an overall vintage-theme. Our guests seemed to love it because they all really stepped up and dressed the part.

We had a very personal ceremony on a boat, followed by a fabulous, fun filled party, on a nearby island. Yes, that's right, we got married on a boat, in the harbor. It was really important to us that we get married on the water. The ocean is very significant to both of our families, and it's one of the few things they have in common. So we thought it would be special for everyone.

In Sweden, instead of the father or mother escorting the bride down the aisle as the groom waits, it is traditional for the bride and groom to walk down the aisle together. So, we walked onto the boat (down the “aisle”) together!

Then, we had the party afterwards. Getting our two families together was offbeat enough. My family is a group of used-to-be punk-rockers from Italy and Spain, and Zet's family are doctors in organic chemistry and they are super Swedish! Then add in our friends of hip-hoppers, designer types and the like. Well, it was an unusual mix of people to say the least. We weren't sure how everyone was going to get along, but I was very impressed by how it all turned out!

Our biggest challenge: Without a question, our biggest challenge, was us. In the beginning we were very indecisive. In the early stages I remember asking Zet, “So, what should we eat for the wedding?” And him saying, “We can eat what ever we want.” He had a thousand crazy ideas. We wanted to do everything. Until I finally flipped. I took it way too seriously. I finally realized that I needed to calm down and have fun. Oh man, there were so many little things that I worried about that all worked out fine.

When we finally settled on our ideas and got into the real planning, my biggest challenge was not to take every comment so personally. If someone doesn't like my idea, it does not mean that they don't like me or won't like my wedding. It was hard. For some reason, weddings are so emotional. But, we got through it by simply talking to each other. It sounds silly but talking is really what got us through it all.

My favorite moment: Getting to see Zet for the first time all day. My heart skipped a beat, he was so beautiful.

When everyone threw the rice. It sounds silly, but I was so nervous and that was the first moment when I had a real “wedding feeling.”

Also, right after I got off the boat, my grandfather came up to me, gave me a big hug and held me so close. I felt him sob a bit, then he finally took a step back and threw a big handful of rice over me. This made me realize how much our wedding really touched people. They didn't just think that our ceremony was weird, but they actually got it.

My funniest moment: We laughed all day. But, without a doubt, the fact that my grandfather stole a whole plate of food from the drunkest of our friends. It was also pretty funny when I couldn't get the ring on his finger. The way the dance floor took off. And all the praise I got for the food and the desserts I made. 🙂

Was there anything you were sure was going to be a total disaster that unexpectedly turned out great? We were so worried because a little before hand the band let us know that they were going to be late. We thought that we were going to have to walk down the “aisle” (onto the boat) without music. However, I ended up running even later, so the band was able to get to the boat, set-up and play right on time!

My advice for offbeat brides: If you want to DIY the whole thing, make sure you have a few people there to help you out. There is no end to how much stuff you'll have to look at/sort out/decide those last days. So having other people help out is priceless!

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

• Bride's Dress: Sweeties
• A few decorations: IKEA
• Photos: Vanja Markkusdotter
• Pro photos (not in the Flickr set): Alex Hinchcliff
• Cake: Zet's sister
• Band: San Diegos Musorkester

Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!

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