Nancy & Chris’ electric ethereal fiery wedding

The offbeat bride: Nancy, International Program Associate and Energy Healer

Her offbeat partner: Chris, Chemist and DJ

Date and location of wedding: All Souls Interfaith Gathering, Shelburne, VT — September 24, 2011

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: Our wedding reflected two important aspects of our lives: our love for Burning Man and our spirituality. We were married at a magical place in Vermont called All Souls Interfaith Gathering. Our ceremony included readings from friends of mine, who are also energy healers, in a beautiful chapel overlooking Lake Champlain and the mountains in New York.

Since I married a DJ, music was a huge part of our day. We had four DJs and two sound systems. The reception highlight was four fire dancers who are all friends of ours. Our colors were fuchsia, dark blue, and purple. A leafy pattern was incorporated throughout, including on the invites, a projection on the ceiling, the cake, and the bridesmaids' necklaces.

I used three different styles of floral arrangements. We wanted multiple places for people to chill: by the firepit where marshmallows and sticks were at the ready, by the fireplace inside on pillows, or in the tent.

Tell us about the ceremony: Having a spiritual wedding (but not a Christian ceremony) was very important to me. We wrote our ceremony at a spa the day after Hurricane Irene when we needed to go somewhere with power and internet. I chose two readings that were important to me in my training that two close healer friends read. During the ceremony, there was a brief meditation where people said blessings for us, and then after the ceremony they got to write them on a beautiful screen print of a sequoia tree (since Chris' DJ name is Sequoia).

I knew immediately that there was one song to which I would walk down the aisle — “Latika's Theme” from Slumdog Millionaire. Our recessional was “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. “Home is whenever I'm with you!”

Our biggest challenge: Since I manage things all day at work, I knew my biggest challenge would be not managing the wedding. I knew this would be a trigger, and enlisted a family friend to help coordinate on the day. Still, when the event got off schedule by 45 minutes and we had to lose a DJ slot, I did get stressed. But it all sorted itself out and people truly don't notice these snafus.

My funniest moment: As I knew I would, I totally lost my sh*t walking down the aisle. I pulled it together by cracking a joke halfway down the aisle. Our whole ceremony had a feeling of lightness. Also, by the end of the reception, the organza was on everyone as bandannas, belts, cravats, you name it.

Was there anything you were sure was going to be a total disaster that unexpectedly turned out great? We had electro-house music at our wedding, which was a total risk. But I think everyone found it refreshing not to have the typical wedding DJ playlist.

My advice for offbeat brides: I do recommend having someone who is not your caterer watch the clock on the day. In a day filled with emotions and three-minute conversations, you want things to flow without having to thinking about it. I also highly recommend doing as many formal photos BEFORE the ceremony as you can do.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

• Photography: Adam Frehm of Love Buzz Photo
• Dress: Lovely Bride in NYC
• Bridesmaids' dresses: Priscilla of Boston
• Flowers: Just Weddings
• Hand-cut table numbers on luminaries: Etsy seller papercutdiecut
• Paper flower crown: Etsy seller WhichGoose
• Cake: Cupps
• Food: Bevo
• Venue: All Souls Interfaith Gathering
• Lighting: Parlato Productions
• Tent and rentals: Vermont Tent

Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!

About the Author: Offbeat Weditors

@offbeatbride @offbeatwed

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