Offbeat Weddings — The Knot Community

Sunday afternoon brunch or hors d'oeuvres reception?

goldfish+ — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 21:17:35 +0000

Has anyone had or been to a reception like this? We're doing a super small private ceremony but my FI really wants some sort of reception to include other family and friends. Guest list would be 100 or less.

We're looking to cut costs and I figured a Sunday afternoon brunch or hors d'oeuvres reception would be a good alternative to a "normal" reception.

Thoughts?

Food help PLEASE! need suggestions

xpinkbridex — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:15:59 +0000

I posted this on the reception board but i was hoping maybe someone here might have a better idea of how to accomplish what i need.

I'm trying to have guests select either Steak or Salmon as the main dish then sides. Guests get one or the other and sides. But i also need it to be set up buffet style (price is an issue). So i thought of color coding the escort cards and having guests bring them to the buffet and we're having two people serve the buffet and depending on the color ticket you get salmon or steak.

From the feedback on the reception board this isnt going to work, but no one gave me another suggestion on how to do this properly other than to reduce the option from steak to chicken and allow both options for guests... i would prefer to have steak and salmon.

A thought just came to me, what is Family Style? Could i make that work somehow with 2 servers?

Thanks!!

Coffee house wedding!

andreamickelsen — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 04:07:15 +0000

Hey everyone!

So I'm brand new here, just recently got engaged and just set a date! We are getting married in September '12 and I couldnt be more excited!

So heres the deal - I really really dont want a traditional wedding. I really dont want a hotel wedding or a church wedding or anything like that, so I have been searching for offbeat venues. Ive contacted a few art galleries and edgy rental spaces, and then last night came across a coffee house that rents out the space after hours. You cant really get more Seattle than a coffee house! We went and checked out the space today, it has exposed brick walls super high ceilings with wood planks, exposed air duct thingies, it was really really cool! exactly what i have been looking for

we talked with the owner and he pretty much said we can do whatever we want for food and alcohol, we can self cater or bring in whoever we want. we can supply the booze and their staff will serve it for no extra charge! also we can use all the tables and chairs located in the cafe, so dont have to bring in rentals!

the place is small though.. even though our guest list is only going to be 40-50 people, it isnt a big place. basically one big room with the front and one side all big windows right on a busy street corner. It just seems really small i think cause its one room.. you see everything when you walk in.. if that makes sense? im planning on having my ceremony and reception in the same area - have people sit at their tables and have the ceremony then, then serve food. But im worried there wont be room for a dance floor, and also if it would be weird dancing in a coffee house with the big glass windows. Also, is a coffee house too weird? The place is so exactly my style, but it definately looks like a coffee house.. would have to spruce it up a bit to make it look less like a cafe.

what do you guys think of the dance floor/glass window issue? i may be able to drape fabric over the windows, i havent asked the owner that yet. and what do you think of coffee cafe in general? its great budget wise too (low hourly fee which includes staff). i love the space but im worried about it being public or just plain too strange! thanks!

is this frustrating to anyone else?!

ssherid1 — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 22:17:26 +0000

Ok so I don't want anything too out of the ordinary, however I don't want to get married or have our reception at any old run of the mill KofC hall. It's just not us.

We live in northern Michigan and I'm having the hardest time finding a place that is more unique or that we could make unique to our tastes. It's even more the fact that we are really trying to find something affordable!

We want to stay in the Petosley, Harbor Springs or Charlevoix area (please don't reccommend Castle Farms) where we can bring in our own caterers as my fiances father owns a catering company and will save us a ton!

I guess my big question is and I apologize if you see this post in another forum topic but I don't know where to post it.... Anyway I am just curious as if any of you out there know of any really neat places that allow offsite catering but aren't so expensive we can't afford anything else! Indoors or out. No churches necessary.

Thanks so much!

Sailormoon! Geeky theme - PIP

WildMagelet — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 18:03:25 +0000

So I mentioned in the DIY Totoro post about putting Sailormoon motifs into our wedding, so I thought I'd make a more detailed post about it. I don't want to do an all out cosplay event, but I figure it would be easy enough to incorporate little things from one of my passions into our day.

I've adored Sailormoon since I was a kid, and FI & are both interested in celestial motifs. As of right now we're also planning a sunset wedding, so things just seem to keep falling into place!

Common Motifs found in Sailor Moon: moons, stars (both 5- and 6- point), hearts, pearls, yellow gold, sugarbeads, flowers, petals, wings, feathers, ribbon

I foresee no problems incorporating some or all of those into our wedding with evening reception.

Also, I went through artbooks and found some additional inspiration:

Bridal & BM Bouquets

Bridal Jewelry

Bridesmaid Jewelry

Bouts & Corsages

Card "Box"

I've also considered going through and checking out some of the poses, to see if I want to add any of the character poses in our must haves for pictures.

For those of you interested in uncut versions of pictures, I've included links!
http://mangastyle.net/book5/v5-02.jpg
http://mangastyle.net/book1/1-44.jpg
http://mangastyle.net/book2/2-39.jpg
http://mangastyle.net/book2/2-38.jpg
http://mangastyle.net/book4/4-04.jpg
http://mangastyle.net/book4/4-06-07-poster.jpg

On a related note...FI & I are both into stargate. Maybe I can make a stargate cake stand/plate for the groom's cake :) A "puddle" cake would totally fit into our color scheme.

ETA: I also considered either synthesizing, or having my sister play piano & record some of the music (you can find sheet music on-line) for subtle background dinner music before dancing.

Games on highboys?

Tiff&Kyle — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:10:38 +0000

Have been playing around with the idea of having a few little games on the tables during the cocktail hour. Maybe placing Jenga, Connect Four, or some others to give people something to do.

Thoughts?

It's Been A While...

Gabrielle76 — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 01:30:23 +0000

Hello Offbeat Ladies!

I spent quite a bit of time on this board last summer, but pretty much stopped coming onto the knot for a while, FI and I pushed our date back. Now, two years away from the big day (I know, I know, over-planning, but that's my style). I'm back to spending too much time on the knot, specifically this board because all of your ideas are so fun and creative!

So far, we've selected the venue (pretty historic mansion), the colors (pomegranate, brown, and gold), and the feel (we're trying to go medieval without jumping up and down and screaming 'renaissance wedding' )

I look forward to getting to know all you offbeat brides better!

doctor who wedding video/gift just finished!!!!

soon to be mrs pham — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 00:52:23 +0000

i comissioned a friend to make a doctor who slide show of pictures of us for the reception. it is soooooooooo awesome! thought you all would love a look!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUeFfX6yffU

I'm Back! Links to pro pics and offbeat review/recap

MeatAuditor — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 02:35:05 +0000

First, the offbeat wedding porn is here and here (both "heres" are clickys) . These are only a preview of our pro pics, but they are a-ma-zing!

Alternate clicky in case you can't see the facebook albums: clicky (doesn't have all the pics though).

I have been pondering what kind of reviews/recap to write for this board. I decided to stick to just the "offbeat" elements of the wedding, since that would be most helpful to others here. If you want to know about something I didn't mention, just ask on this thread. I'll check back every now and then.

1. Colored dress - went over quite amazingly well. If anyone didn't like that I didn't wear white, I never heard about it. I definitely encourage others to go this route if they are thinking about it.

2. Vows/ceremony - We had a mostly non-religious one, with a moment of prayer/silence thrown in for our religious friends and families. We did the traditional vows, kept "honor and obey" as a sign of respect, but we both said it rather than just the bride saying it. Then we did a second set of vows that we wrote ourselves, with a little humor thrown in.

3. Pebble/blessing stone ceremony - We had the guests take a stone with them to their seats, hold it throughout the ceremony, and then deposit it into an apothecary jar at the end. We did this to include the guests, rather than doing a unity ceremony for the two of us. We also had the bridal party grab a stone on their way down the aisle. Use google for more info on Irish Pebble/Celtic Blessing Stone ceremony (similar concepts).

4. Homebrew bar - most people are used to drinking Bud, Coors, etc. so our yummy homebrew bar was well received. We had 150 beer bottles, plus 6 bottles of liquor for 65 guests (47 drinkers) and we had plenty extra.

5. The cake topper, which this board helped with, went over very well. Pix in links above. Everyone loved it. I was not sure how a humourous cake topper would look on a pretty cake, but the pastry chef did an amazing job making it all cohesive.

6. DIY reception setup - I know many on TK talk against having friends & family help set up the wedding. I also know the book "Offbeat Bride" is all for it, and I agree with them more. It depends on a lot of factors of course, but if you are not a bridezilla and the amount of setup help needed is reasonable, it can be done. The key is not requiring anyone to help, but graciously accepting sincere offers. It gave our event the community feeling we wanted and allowed us to spend more time with some people. We also only had 65 guests, and I wouldn't have done it for a big wedding.

7. VRBO.com rental for venue - This will require DIY setup (see above). Most places are vacation homes with 3-night minimums. Stick to those where the description mentions they allow weddings/events, and abide by their capacity limits. It's a great way to have a backyard wedding if you don't have a rich uncle with a huge backyard.

8. Etsy finds - I know we all love Etsy! The items you'll see in pics are: Groom's cufflinks, some pieces of the cake topper, the guest "book" poster, and the orange wooden flowers on the aisle runner. [There are also several items from Oriental Trading: B&G chair covers, sunglasses, aisle runner, and mustaches for the photo booth are in the pics.]

9. Hot tubbing: at the end as all the partiers left, we changed into swimsuits and jumped in the hot tub! It was so nice! I was a happy and relaxed bride at the end.

Now, I will conclude with two of my fav wedding photos from our guests:

Black nail polish?

mandctaft — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 23:05:02 +0000

Is anyone else wearing or considering wearing black nail polish or black accents on their nails? My dress is white with black embroidery and 90% of the time, I wear black nail polish anyway. Opinions?

Trash the Dress

toothpastechica — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 21:22:38 +0000

I posted this on my own months board, but though maybe you ladies might have some more insight. Are you going to "trash the dress"? I have seen some stunning photos, but i cant decide between taking care of my dress of getting awesome photos. If any of you are, what are you expecting from it? What are your ideas? Why or why not are you trashing it?

Need skull vest for Groom, any ideas?

lexiepoindexter — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:00:55 +0000

My fiance found a picture of a groom wearing a skull vest and he has his heart set on it. Problem is, there is no info available on where it came from. I have searched all over the net trying to find something similar, anything with skulls or anyone who offers "unusual" attire for grooms, but have had absolutely NO luck. Does anyone know of a website or clothing outlet who offers things like that? ANY ideas would be welcome! (I've even contacted the photographer of the picture and she does not know where it came from either.)

Am I out of line on this?

FutureMrsCarlyle — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:08:03 +0000

So since I was a little girl I have wanted to have a picnic wedding. meaning that instead of chairs people will sit on blankets (other than the elderly and sick i'll give them a chair ). Its going to be at a park and basically have the reception the same way. The grooms men volunteered to grill and the groom's family volunteered to make the sides. Just like a big casual picnic with a few wedding like touches. Alot of brides I have talked to say my wedding is way to casual and i am uncourteous host for having this.

I personally thought this was a genious idea since I have a little girl and I know I can expect tons of kids so i thought this would be nice and everyone could relax and not worrying about their kids getting into stuff like at a venue. We planned on having a candy bar and a fresh squeezed lemonade stand. Does anyone have any ideas how to modify this if I need to?

Need a theme

xpinkbridex — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:24:26 +0000

I need help coming up with a cool theme i can incorporate into the wedding. We're getting married late April 2013 in So Cal in an outdoor wedding and reception in the same location and I want the major color to be RED. but i need some helpwith a second color or a theme i could use to make the whole thing more unique.

Thanks Off Beat Knotties!!

Floating candles

StephanieM22 — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 17:30:25 +0000

I have come up with a few ideas on how to "float" candles like the ones in the great hall at hogwarts but i need you ladies to help me decide which would look the best and be the most do-able.

idea 1- place different sized black blocks on the table with different sized pillar candles with the lights turned low it will look like the candles are floating in mid air.

idea 2- use manzanita brances as centerpeices and hang votives from it

idea 3- use fishing line or similar string and hang battery operated candles from the ceiling but then i still need centerpeice ideas

idea 4- enchant all candles with a levitating spell for the duration of the wedding lol i wish

Engagement shoot dress

NewStepMom2ndBride — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 19:42:15 +0000

So, for the ACTUAL wedding, my FI is wearing a kilt and I am wearing a sari, in similar colors. For a short time during the reception, he will change to a sherwani to dance to a Hindi song then for ANOTHER short time, I will change to some kind of Celtic/scottish dress and dance to a Sccotish song and then we will both change back to our ORIGINAL clothes (kilt and sari) for the rest of the reception.

SO............for the engagement shoot? Do I do salwar kameez - more casual than sari?

Would it be weird to do a bunch of different outfits:

In sari

In salwar kameez

In a couple of different 'American' outifts

and sort of match his colors (shirts, etc) to what I am wearing?

Sorry I've been MIA!

bell2belling — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:20:12 +0000

This weekend I went to the Emergency Room because I had some spotting. They told me I had a bleed and the baby was misshapen and I should basically go home and wait to miscarry. It was the worst feeling ever, I was laying around for 3 days, just waiting to lose the baby.

Yesterday I went to my real OB, when she reviewed all of the same tests and ultrasound she said I was perfectly fine. Since they saw the heartbeat there would only be a 5% chance of miscarriage, and since there is barely any bleeding she's not worried at all about me. Monday I get to go to a real ultrasound (they don't let you see anything on Ultrasound in the ER, even though H saw the heat beat) I'm so excited to see everything! I'm just happy to be off of bed rest and living like normal again without having the constant worry!

Hopefully nothing else goes wrong so I can be a regular on this board again!

Renaissance/Tudor era in theme anyone?

laurelarockefeller — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 16:07:24 +0000

Hello all. My fiance and I are considering integrating Renaissance/Tudor era elements into our ceremony and two receptions (the second will be at Pennsic 42 in July 2013. The Pennsic War is, for those who don't know, the largest of the "war" re-enactments for the Society for Creative Anachronism and held in Slippery Rock, PA). I have been a part of the SCA since I was 18, over 20 years, and it only seems logical for my gown to be a Tudor gown (I usually play 12th century, but just LOVE Tudor gowns). My fiance's era is the turn of the 20th century--he's a steam engine rail fan. So I will wear Tudor and he will wear a Tuxedo ensemble that I think we are targeting towards 1900-1930 era.

However, I NEVER see advice on how to do period themed or period-inclusive weddings. My brother held an American Civil War wedding when he married in 1995 where he specified "1862" on the program--only to have all the women be blatantly period incorrect! As in turn of the 20th century dresses for the bridesmaids--and even a period incorrect gown for my sister in law!

So the only real examples of a history-related wedding I've seen has been my brother's disaster. I look at hair styles here and see NOTHING that relate to me at all.

Is anyone else using history as part of the theme? Medieval/renaissance? I would love to bounce ideas off people so our wedding and receptions will be much more period correct and flow better than my brother's!

For sites, we are looking at outdoor locations in both Cambria and Blair counties, PA (we live in Cambria county, despite the "pittsburgh" label on my profile) for the ceremony and indoor ones in the same general area for the first reception. I am trying to convince my new barony in the SCA to allow us to hold our Pennsic reception in the baronial common area (a big period pavillion used by the entire local group) since neither I nor my fiance camps; we stay in a hotel overnight for Pennsic!

Back from the dead w/something you MUST watch!

lrmain — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:00:07 +0000

If you haven't seen this Mobbed proposal yet, GO WATCH NOW!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJWlavnM6b0&NR=1

Totally made my morning.

How is everyone?! I've missed you all!

Wording double check pretty please!

thevegetariana — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 17:55:23 +0000

Does anyone spot any problems that I may have missed? Thanks!

Together with their parents

Minnie Mouse &
Mickey Mouse

invite you to their wedding
Saturday, the fifth of May
two thousand and twelve
at half after six in the evening

Delicious Vineyards
Anywhere, North Carolina

Reception to follow

My Dress is Finished! PIP

KatieC82 — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 01:32:44 +0000

It's done, I'm so excited!

So great right?

Happy Wedding day RadonOrchid

uneek1323 — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 07:34:58 +0000

Yay! Your wedding day is here!! I can't wait to see pics, especially your little one all dressed up and looking handsome!

Congratulations!

The best part about Thanksgiving is...

uneek1323 — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 20:34:39 +0000

sooooooo sad!

soon to be mrs pham — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:52:00 +0000

Ann McCaffrey died this morning!

May she live on in her books and heaven be as good as her beloved pern.

XP: For the married ladies/gents: how long was your ceremony music?

sanfranciscoeve — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 14:36:25 +0000

Hi there,
I was hoping the married ladies or gents could give me an idea of how long your processional and recessional were...and how many people were involved, about how long your aisle was, etc. I'm a musician so I'm very picky about exactly what people will hear. =)
Thanks for your help!

Ok- call me a teenager, but I've got a...

KatoNorway — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 02:01:39 +0000

celebrity crush.

Besides being hot for Bono (U2's lead singer), I don't think I've ever really had a crush on a celebrity. Seemed always like a waste of time. But lately, I've found myself renting movies with just Jason Bateman in it so I could indulge myself. The movies are horrendous Hollywood crap- but it's worth it just to see him. God, I'm pathetic.

Gothic wedding

cindyt1971 — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 17:51:36 +0000

My husband and I are renewing our wedding vows in June, after our 20th anniversary. My 18 year old daughter and her friend are putting it together, and we have all decided to have a gothic ceremony. They've already picked out a black dress with a corset. I've only seen pictures of one gothic style wedding, so if anyone has any ideas I can pass on to my daughter and her friend on decorations, or outfit ideas for our wedding party, please pass it along. All the help we can get is greatly appreciated! Thank you.

Happy Wedding Day Sessions

uneek1323 — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 14:26:14 +0000

Your day is finally here and I am so so happy for you! Congrats and best wishes on your perfect day!

Much love! Can't wait to see pics!

Anyone...

Lovelyladyxo — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:41:50 +0000

Hello All,

Is anyone having a wedding that goes against the norm like something totally non traditonal and different? I have been to a few weddings that were very different. Share your story I am interested.

One wedding they were wiccan and they had a very different type of ceremony and things leading up tot he wedding day. My mother did not want me to go but I went anyway. The ceremony was something unlike I have ever seen in my life I did not like it very much becuase it left me confusted. The reception part was fun though becuase they had lots of good food and music and dancing. I've heard of satanist weddings but have not attended since most of my friends are christian.
Other than that every wedding I go to is typical.

~always lovely~

Offbeat Thanksgiving?

sanfranciscoeve — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 05:08:53 +0000

Hiya,
Anyone have any interesting Thanksgiving traditions? Or what's your favorite part of Thanksgiving?

I break with my veganism to make a humanely-raised turkey. My favorite thing to eat, though, is stuffing. YUM. I also love that FI and I just have Thanksgiving by ourselves...I love my family, but I see them at other times. I like a nice quiet feast with my man.