Sharon & Martin’s geeky family wedding extravaganza with fireworks

The offbeat bride: Sharon, Customer Service (and OBT Member)

Her offbeat partner: Martin, IT/Desktop Support

Location & date of wedding: Joe T Garcia's Fort Worth, Texas — July 4th, 2010

What made our wedding offbeat: When Martin and I sat down and discussed our wedding we agreed that we wanted “a party with a wedding inside.” We also knew it would be important to include my ten year old son from a previous marriage, so he would feel connected with us and his new step-father.

We had the wedding at our favorite tex-mex restaurant, Joe T Garcia's. It's a beautiful place with a huge walled-in garden, complete with fountains and pathways wandering through it. We had our wedding in a building that looked like an old Spanish Mission so it was unique, but also warm and rustic.

We wrote our own ceremony, which was non-religious and a close friend of ours who got ordained online for us did the whole thing. He tucked the ceremony into an old book and did the whole thing wearing his cowboy hat. At the end, we had a sand ceremony with our son, where we each poured a different color of sand into a keepsake jar. Even at ten years old, he was so proud and excited to do that.

After the wedding we invited the entire party of fifty-five people back to my parents' house for drinking and fireworks. Every single one came. Martin and his uncles, who drove from Boston to Texas, spent hours setting off fireworks into the wee hours. In all, it was probably the best party I've ever been to, or will ever see.

Tell us about the ceremony: We cobbled together our ceremony out of things we really liked. We mostly wanted to keep it short, since we weren't technically supposed to have an actual wedding at this restaurant. We did, however, make it a priority to include a sand ceremony with our son. One thing that everyone commented on was the toast we ended the ceremony with.

“We end the ceremony and begin the celebration with an old English toast:
Here is a toast to lying, cheating, stealing, and drinking:
If you lie, lie in each other's arms;
If you cheat, cheat death;
If you steal, steal each other's kisses;
If you drink, drink deeply of the joy of your new life together.”

Our biggest challenge: The biggest challenge was Martin's father not being able to make it to the wedding. His father needed to have back surgery and was practically bed ridden the week before the wedding. He couldn't manage the flight from Boston to Texas. Martin was, understandably, really upset about this. His mother managed to make it, however, and we did video tape as much as possible. We also made sure to call his father at several points during the day.

My favorite moment: Our ceremony was done by a close friend, so he kept smiling and making little side comments that would make Martin and I laugh. Sharing that moment was awesome.

Also, coming back after the wedding and changing into our “after party” clothes was just a fun, private moment to share together. We had a second to wind down, have a drink and discuss everything that had gone on that day.

Probably the moment that blew me away the most, though, was when my son ran up to Martin and me and said, “Dad and I just set off a roman candle!” It was the first time he'd called him “Dad.”

My funniest moment: The margaritas were free flowing, so everyone was feeling just fine. Somehow Martin's hat ended up on just about every person at the reception, including my mother who was dancing around like Isadora Duncan with a scarf trailing behind her.

My advice for offbeat brides: Try not to get all bound up with last minute stuff. I wish I'd followed that advice. The day of I was running around, losing my cool while trying to get ready and I wish I had just planned things a little bit better for the actual day. Made a timeline or something so I wouldn't be trying to cram everything in at once. I had no space for the little catastrophes that pop up. Once I was at the venue, though, it was all zen.

Have you been married before and if so, what did you do differently? I was married before about fifteen years ago. That wedding was almost 100% traditional and my mother made most of the decisions. She chose the colors, the dresses, the venue and the menu. My ex-husband wasn't involved in the process at all and didn't want to be. This time Martin and I sat down and decided how we wanted everything together, and then we made sure we got it done.

What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding? Not so much a lesson as a confirmation. As long as our friends and family were there, we were guaranteed to have a wonderful time.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

• Photography: our friend, Richard
• Dress: Classic Tailors on Etsy
• Everything else was friends and family DIY/stuff we already owned.

Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!

About the Author: Offbeat Weditors

@offbeatbride @offbeatwed

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