A quirky thrift store wedding sealed with a kitsch

Offbeat partners: Elly Buck and Jessee Buck

Date and location: The HideOut, Kirkwood, CA – 08/16/2022

Our thrift store wedding at a glance:

Think thrift store wedding kitsch by way of arts and crafts at Summer Camp with a giant disco ball! We had mismatched plates and cutlery, as well as one hundred and thirty napkins dyed in “Madonna Inn” pink, each one embroidered by my mother with the guest's name.

Every table was numbered with VHS tapes of our favorite movies. Beyond that? I kept the tables simple, with dried pink starflowers in amber wine bottles. To top it off, we peppered the tables with assorted solid brass candle sticks to illuminate the dining area through the night.

Tell us about the ceremony:

I surprised Jessee with our dog Porkchop, and the tears started flowing. I have never felt such an adrenaline rush in my entire life.

For the ceremony, my good friend Gary read a script he'd written for the occasion that had everyone dying:

Gary: Marriage is a funny thing. You spend your entire life wondering what your life will look like down the road, who you will marry, and when you will meet that person. So often we find ourselves trying to create the story we have always envisioned, only for that story to take shape without us even noticing.

Elly and Jessee’s story is one that could not have gotten to this point without the events that I’m about to share with you all.

Elly and Jessee just so happened to share a mutual friend and on one fateful day – July 14th, 2016 to be exact – Sadie invited both Elly and Jessee to meet up at Disneyland. They met in front of California Adventure’s ‘Tower of Terror' and immediately hit it off as though they had been friends their entire lives.

It may have also helped that Jessee is incredibly hot, and Elly just so happens to find incredibly hot men very attractive. It did not take long for the two of them to realize that the Tower of Terror was not the final ride they would want to go on together.

The plan had been for Mötley Crüe's “Kickstart my Heart” to start blasting during the first kiss, with Gary giving a WWE-esque “LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, MR. AND MRS. JESSEE BUCK!”…which happened, but not before a HUGE clap of thunder boomed just as we were pronounced husband and wife. The crowd lost their minds!

Tell us about the thrift store wedding reception:

Our reception revolved around the giant disco ball rigged up on the dance floor (thanks to my rock climbing bridesmaid who proudly knows 50 different knots).

I put together a photo booth with a working lava lamp and garage sale furniture to make it feel like your Grandma's basement.

We had corn hole, giant Jenga, Billiards, and a Hockey Goal game. The HideOut staff lit a bonfire for s'mores and conversation. After The Tone sent us a bright orange rotary phone to have guests leave us voicemails.

Once the dancing wound down, we all jumped into the 30-person granite hot tub to soak and watch a meteor shower.

What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding?

The biggest challenge was learning to stay calm and grounded when things were out of my hands. Last year the Sierra Nevada area experienced devastating forest fires. This year, loggers worked hard to cut damaged trees down which caused traffic delays, and my beauty team to be late.

With no cell service in the mountains to check everyone's ETA, I had to do breathing exercises to relax and get mentally prepared for the upcoming chaos.

Looking back, I am so happy I was unapologetically myself. Our wedding reflects our personalities and love, and I hope everyone felt it.

Thrift store wedding vendors

• Photographer: Eighty8 Studios
• Dress: Starstruck by Natalie Wynn Design (secondhand)
• Venue: The HideOut At Kirkwood
• Flowers: Idlewide Floral
• Hair: Paige Hall
• Makeup: Marissa M Artistry
• Coordinator: Married Poppins

Thrift store wedding gallery