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The Offbeat Bride: Teri, retail
Her offbeat partner: Bill, retail
Date and location of wedding: The Hill House Museum and The Children's Museum, Portsmouth, VA — October 18, 2012
Our offbeat wedding at a glance: Our wedding was a strange mix-up of tradition (some a little modified), and things that made my mom raise her eyebrows in that “if you say so” kind of way. I've never been a huge fan of flowers (they are beautiful in the wild, but I if I surround myself with them I will have an asthma attack), so we had candy centerpieces and pinwheel bouquets, corsages, and boutonnieres. The pinwheels also served as table numbers and place markers, and we gave everyone a little box to take candy from the centerpieces home. By the end of the night, people were taking entire centerpieces!
Tell us about the ceremony: Our ceremony was pretty short and simple. One of my good friends is a minister and agreed to do the ceremony for us. During the ring exchange, I was so nervous I messed up the words (which made everyone laugh).
Our biggest challenge: The wonderful man who helped raise me passed away in 2009. I had a lot of trouble trying to figure out a way to honor him at my wedding, and I also had to figure out who was going to walk me down the aisle. In order to not upset my biological father (who I love dearly) or my mother, I had my brother do it. It was one of the best choices I made in the whole process. He made me giggle and relax, and at the end, we high-fived! It was perfect.
It was also super tough finding a venue, since I was wheelchair-bound during most of our search. I had a partial open nephrectomy the month before I started the serious wedding planning. Even trying on dresses was tough because any binding/zippers or laces were extremely painful.
My favorite moment: Bill and I first met when he bought a Star Wars shirt from me, so we had a few Star Wars references, including our handmade cake toppers. My friend Jack made a Princess Leia version of me and an R2D2 version of Bill.
This was also the first time I had seen most of my friends after having had surgery. Some of them flew from California, Georgia, and even England. It was amazing to feel so incredibly loved.
What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding? Relax, relax, RELAX. No one is going to know what got messed up and what didn't because you are the only one who knew the original plan. I also learned that planning a wedding, even a small one, is not at all easy, but is a little better if you can get all the people helping you on board with your crazy ideas. Be nice to vendors, and remember: it's a celebration, no matter which tiny details might get screwed up.
Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?
- Photography: Lynn Cox
- Catering: East Beach Catering. These ladies were awesome, and I would recommend them to anyone!
- Cake: Incredible Edible Desserts. This bakery made a cake that many other bakers had decided was impossible to make.
- Pinwheels: Rule42
Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!
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There is some fantastic tattoo action going on at this wedding! The pinwheel bouquet is pretty awesome, too!
Thank you so much! The bouquet actually served a dual purpose. It was my something blue AND a nod to my late stepfathers service in the Air Force (blue is their color).
Teri, I am looking at the centerpiece at table five in the taller vase. That looks so fantastic! What candies did you use and how did you do these? I am looking for “elegantly fun” or “funly (new word!) elegant centerpieces for my upcoming wedding and this might fit the bill for us! Could you share some info, please?
My friend Cyndi actually made them for me, but she used blue sixlets in the vase and lindt chocolates pinned to a foam ball. We got the candy from http://www.candy.com and they have everything organized by color so you can pick out some sixlets (or other candy) in your wedding colors.
If you have any other questions let me know- I will be glad to help however I can.
Happy planning!
I just may take you up on that offer!
Such fun! Beautiful! And I love the rune tattoos! 🙂
Thank you!
I love the cake! I’ve never seen a geometric design like that. The whole day looks like a ton of fun!
Thank you very much- the cake was a tough one, we didn’t want any fondant and almost every baker we went to said the design was impossible without. Incredible Edibles (our baker) said that they would do everything they could to make it happen and they did. The cake was beautiful and all of the layers (orange creamsicle, hummingbird, white chocolate raspberry and red velvet nutella) tasted like heaven. They even made us vegan chocolate cupcakes for our vegan guests! If you are in the Virginia Beach area I highly recommend them!
Beautiful job making a great wedding without bankrupting yourself. Everyone there seems like they are having a great time!
We tried to keep it low budget and the money that we DID spend either went to small local businesses or non-profits, so I wouldn’t feel so guilty about frivolous spending. At the end of the day it was super fun and we helped out our community. I’m glad you enjoyed the pictures!
I LOVE that the wedding was in a children’s museum! I’m glad I’m not the only one crazy enough to do this!! It looks wonderful and so much fun!! The cake and cake topper is great! This is one of my favorites on the site..and I stalk this site…like a crazy ex-girlfriend stalk!!! Great job!
Thank you! We tried to make the occasion as fun for everyone as possible and the Children’s Museum was great for this (it was also a non-profit so I felt good about giving them my money!)
Don’t worry- I “girlfriend stalk” offbeat bride too. I was way excited when they chose to post my wedding.
Can I just say that I absolutely love the fact that y’all kept with the glasses, piercings, and tattoos? You look so happy and at ease! The whole things is beautiful, and as a Southern Asatru girl, I am so diggin those runes! 😉
This is so awesome! I love it! It’s great to see other couples in the area! I’m posting mine soon, we’re in Virginia Beach!! Gorgeous couple!