Blue hair and baseball caps? All perfect for this Victorian with a twist wedding

[/caption]

Offbeat partner: Mallorie, Insurance services

Offbeat partner: Mark, Driver

Date and location of wedding: Yale University and The Country House Restaurant, East Haven CT — March 26, 2016

Our offbeat wedding at a glance:

Our wedding was our own style for sure. I have always loved vintage and Victorian styles. But to give it a twist, I have blue hair! Mark also goes nowhere without his baseball cap. So I said wear it! He did and I felt it was perfect for us. Being on a very tight budget, we had lots of DIY from seating charts, favors, and table numbers.

Tell us about the ceremony:

Our ceremony was short and sweet. Our main focus was spending as much time with our friends and family as possible. I walked down the aisle to Etta James' “At Last.” As I approached, I noticed my brother standing up with the Justice of the Peace. I was confused. It turns out that he was asked to read a beautiful opening about our souls now becoming one. This special moment meant so much to me.

Tell us about your reception:

Most of my wedding reception decorations and favors were all DIY. I love to craft! Keeping to out vintage theme, I searched high and low at flea markets for old dirty door knobs and plates. With the help of an old dirty pallet, I was able to have very fun table numbers.

For our seating chart, I found a few old window shutters, gave them a makeover, and hinged them together to create “the key to your seat” chart. My other LARGE DIY project was my succulent favors. I decided to purchase 100 un-potted plants months before the wedding. I planted them in adorable little pails. Everything seemed great until I realized I had to keep them alive. The struggle was real!

As for the biggest surprise of the reception, well… my father would not tell me what he was planning on wearing prior to the day. As he arrived, I see this sharp dressed man matching the color of my hair with every detail possible! I will say the smile this brought me was like nothing else.

What was your most important lesson learned?

The biggest wedding planning challenge for me was my own internal battle with anxiety and being a plus size bride. Having that sort of fear when planning a wedding is something that cannot be described. I used my yoga practice and breathing exercises to try to keep me as calm as possible. My advice to any other bride battling anxiety is just to BREATHE. Surround yourself with amazing, positive, and loving people as much as possible and everything will fall into place.

Also, stay true to yourselves. I was told my so many people to change my hair and go natural again. My husband was told do not wear his hat. This all stressed me out trying to make everyone happy. In the end, we stayed true to who we are and I do not think it could have been anymore perfect for us.