The Offbeat Bride: Victoria

Her offbeat partner: Giampaul

Date and location of wedding: Hoosier Grove, Streamwood, IL - November 27, 2015

Our offbeat wedding at a glance:

We had a dark fantasy/ goth wedding with black and blue as the theme colors. The bridesmaids wore purple and black. I made my appearance during an epic song by Dargaard. We had a short ceremony where we exchanged our vows then we held our reception. Our guests were asked to wear goth, steampunk, Victorian, or fantasy-inspired outfits and everyone put a lot of thought and effort in their outfit.

Tell us about the ceremony:

Metal music was played throughout the wedding. We made a playlist featuring our favorite songs by bands such as Insomnium, Draconian, Saturnus, Katatonia, Omnium Gatherum, and many others.

After the cocktail hour, our bridesmaids and groomsmen held their speeches, shared memories of us, and read poems. These included "She Walks in Beauty" by Lord Byron and "The MoonPath" by Archibald Lampman.

Tell us about your reception:

A brief description of the decor: we had black linens, royal blue sashes on chairs, black roses for the centerpieces, and a small silver Victorian frame at each table with the table number. We had a small candelabra at the head table. I made decorated glasses for each guest with black rose petals and glitter and they were a part of the wedding favors, along with a small box with Victorian prints containing dark chocolate truffles. The whole room was lit up by blue Christmas lights.

We had a black wedding cake with a dragon and a faery topper. The song "Black Dragon" by Dissection was played when we cut the cake.

What was your most important lesson learned?

We wanted a wedding unlike any that we've ever been to and a wedding that represents 100% our values, interests, and preferences. We worked hard for a few months organizing, planning, and crafting everything ourselves and everything turned out even better than we expected. My advice to all future couples would be to do everything possible to make your wedding the wedding of your dreams and to not be afraid of being "weird" or "unusual" or "nontraditional." It's your wedding and you should make it represent who you are.

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