The Offbeat Bride: Laura, Makeup Artist (and Tribesmaid)

Her offbeat partner: Garrett, Waste Water Tech

Date and location of wedding: The Ole French Restaurant, Glasgow, KY - October 20, 2013

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: Garrett and I have been together for eight years. We own a house together and we have a three-year-old son. In our minds, we're already married. This was just the celebration and legalization of it all. My budget was pretty minuscule for the number of people I knew we'd have. My parents paid for the entire thing, since we were not in a financial position to do so. This included a wonderful photographer and an awesome second shooter, a hearty buffet of finger foods, the venue and all the fixins, the rehearsal dinner, attire, decorations, and our honeymoon night. Everything came in under $5,000 for 150 people!

Since we have a child ourselves, it was important to us that the wedding be kid-friendly. At our venue, there were animals that you can walk right up to, like camels, zebras, buffalo, and long horn cattle, just hanging out waiting for you to feed them grass. The owners of the venue love animals and they're treated fabulously. To my knowledge, nobody got spit on by a camel.

I'm also an admitted rainbow-holic, and so I knew I wanted my bridesmaids to be all in different colors. I LOVE the way that turned out.

Small details, like the favors (made by me), the invitations (printed by a local printmaker), the pies (homemade by our friends/family), the flowers (cut from my aunt's hydrangea bushes the day before) were all really important to me, even if others probably won't remember them.

Tell us about the ceremony:
I wrote our vows and based them off the five senses:

These are the hands that will hold you tight, through times of hardship or sorrow. These are the hands that will give you a high five in times of joy and victory. My eyes will see you for who you are. I will watch with you as our family grows and changes. I promise to listen to you and respect what you have to say, even when we disagree. I promise to stop and smell the roses with you. Together, we will cherish the little things and the big moments. Though life can sometimes be bitter, I know that spending the rest of my days beside you will make it all the more sweet.

Our biggest challenge:
I am a Type A control freak, but I went into this engagement and wedding planning making a promise to myself: that I would NOT be a bridethulhu, that I would ask for and let people help me, and that I would relax about details.

Problem is, where I had assumed that Garrett would be excited about helping me plan (and I was looking forward to his input), it turns out he just... wasn't. He was happy that the day was happening, but had basically no opinions on how everything went. It was hard to remain relaxed while still pretty much making all decisions myself, but in the end it worked out just fine, and we both loved the day.

My favorite moment:
For me, the most meaningful moment was without a doubt my first dance with my dad. Though there were many special and emotional moments throughout the day, this one was by far the most emotional. I have known for around 15 years the song that I would dance with my daddy to on my wedding day,"I Still Believe in You" by Vince Gill. It was "our song" when it was released.

In the two months prior to my wedding, my dad underwent two major heart surgeries. I wasn't sure that I would even get to dance with him several times in the past years, so when he heard the song start playing (he had no idea what song I'd picked), we both pretty much lost it. It was a special moment that I'll never forget.

My funniest moment:
This picture:

And my reaction:

On rehearsal day, our son refused to walk down the aisle, much less stand up there with all the guys (he was one of Garrett's best men!), so I had zero expectations for how he would do on wedding day. Well, let me tell you, people with kids: suckers can be amazing. Branham not only walked down the aisle, but stood perfectly still and quiet for the entire ceremony... all because he had a sucker to lick. I had no idea that's what he was doing since he was standing behind Garrett, but we both cracked up when they announced us and we turned to see him there.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

Enough talk - show me the wedding porn!