The Offbeat Bride: Diana, Web Designer

Her offbeat partner: Trey, Systems Administrator

Date and location of wedding: The Castle at Rockwall, Rockwall, Texas — October 8, 2016

Our offbeat wedding at a glance:

Trey and I are both avid gamers, but we both agree that the Legend of Zelda was what started it all for us both. Especially after we found the perfect venue: an actual frickin' castle!

We wanted the wedding to be as nerdy as we are, but classy enough to not scare away our parents' friends. We kept the classy wedding staples (suits and dresses, bouquets, formal invitations, etc.) while layering all the decorations with Legend of Zelda flourishes. Enough to earn winks from our friends but only shrugs from our relatives.

Tell us about the ceremony:

We had a standard civil ceremony presided over by an officiant (with a rad, deep radio voice), including a smattering of religious mentions to appease family and a Celtic knot-tying ceremony. Our music tied in our Zelda theme, as I walked down the aisle to an orchestral Great Fairy's Fountain song. The Hyrule Symphony 25th Anniversary playlist was rich fodder to keep things sounding classical while actually being rad and nerdy.

Tell us about your reception:

We had fried chicken and mashed potatoes to represent Trey's Southern home cookin' roots. The groom's cake was his beloved German chocolate, and he made a custom LEGO cake topper of us from a mixture of his robust home LEGO collection. The main cake had a purple ribbon draped down the front with a fondant Hylian Crest atop the whole thing. And we cut the cake with a Master Sword! We built a pedestal for the sword, then when the time was right we had the DJ play the Ocarina of Time sword-pull tune so we could yank it together and hack up that cake.

I was less inclined about the whole "garter strip" tradition, so we compromised with a new gimmick: we tied the garter around a caged bottle of booze and let the single dudes try keys to unlock it. No hiking up the bride's dress, and the winner gets free booze outta the deal!

We also made some custom props for our photo booth so our guests could have a little fun with it. Nothing better than seeing your parents' friends and elderly relatives wearing a Mario hat. Our grand exit had everyone waving purple glow sticks.

What was your most important lesson learned?

Honestly, I was surprised at how much we "got away with" in terms of theme, just because we asked/pushed. There were a few vetoes from parents along the way, but nothing major. Both parent sets even helped create most of the decorations, which ended up being a fun family-bonding project. Otherwise, it taught me a lot about how to communicate between our two families, and what battles to pick.

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