The Offbeat Bride: Elizabeth, Massage Therapist (and Offbeat Bride member)

Her offbeat partner: James, Systems Technician

Date and location of wedding: The Victoria Inn Bed and Breakfast Hampton, NH - May 25, 2014

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: James and I wanted a simple but fun wedding. Our venue was outdoors so we saved a lot on outdoor decorations for the ceremony. Our reception food was BBQ and we had simple cupcakes and a small cake made by my maid of honor. It was a super economical wedding, but it all worked out since so many people pitched in.

Our ceremony was a handfasting ceremony as I am Pagan, though James is not, so we kept the ceremony non-denominational. We had a first dance but didn't do the mother/son or daughter/father dance since my father is not in my life. We didn't do a bouquet or garter toss either. Also amazing was the work that went into the centerpieces and the cupcake tier. The tier was handmade by James' grandfather and was a pretty lovely part of the wedding.

Tell us about the ceremony:
The ceremony was a non-denominational Pagan handfasting in the Celtic tradition. We used our handfasting cord from the initial ceremony that took place right after our engagement two years ago. So it has two knots in it! It was a simple braided blue, green, and purple satin ribbon cord that my husband and I braided together. My friend, who happens to do this professionally, officiated the wedding.

Our biggest challenge:
I would say the biggest challenge was being financially mindful of everything I was purchasing and prioritizing. I had no issues with friends or family members during this process which I am very thankful for.

My favorite moment:
When the ceremony was happening, everyone was blowing bubbles and they showed up in a lot of the photos. During my vows, everyone was crying, even James. I've never see him cry in public like that. It was extremely emotional as he and I have been together for almost eight years now.

My maid of honor had the most wonderful speech and incorporated The Princess Bride into it - it was perfect and funny.

The most meaningful out of all of these moments was our first dance. We danced to "Fly me to the Moon" by Frank Sinatra. The song does hold special meaning to us as my husband always would sing it to me when I was upset. The dance went smoothly despite us having only one dance lesson.

My funniest moment:
As we are all dancing to"Time Warp" from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, so many guests were really getting into it.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

Enough talk - show me the wedding porn!