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Story by
bigalittlea
Published on May 28, 2009 in Spotlight |
Photo by |
Our courtship was a string of midnight coffee and donuts, drunken bike rides, and sweaty punk shows. So when Paul and I decided we wanted to have a wedding, we had the daunting task of organizing a DIY vegan punk atheist wedding that wouldn't alienate our parents and extended families.
In order to balance out all the traditional elements missing from our wedding (like mentions of God or "man and wife," rings, or a marriage license), we incorporated as much of our families' heirlooms and tokens of past generations as possible. We decided to use vintage California as our overall theme, and tried to have as classy a wedding as two scruffy punks can manage.
The invitations were letterpress printed by the sweet friends of Paul at Portland's Stumptown Printers. I wanted them to look fancier than the hand-addressed alternative, but didn't have the money for a calligrapher. So I picked up an old 1960s cursive typewriter for cheap and hand-typed them all myself. I thought I was going to lose the use of my fingers after all that typing, but I love how they turned out! 
Paul's mom Merry, a.k.a. obi1, also gave us her beautiful collection of vintage California postcards and photochromes to use as response cards. It was Paul's idea to use vintage stamps too. We found some wonderful sheets of old stamps at the local hobby store that cost face value.
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My dress was an homage to old Hollywood in a warm off-white, and lucky for us, it was a floor sample that happened to fit like a glove, so we saved a lot. My goodwill wedding dress score that mysteriously disappeared when my mother offered to have it "cleaned" was even cheaper ($5), but, admittedly, not the stunner this one was. My pretty retro birdcage veil was made by somethingboldveils, and I wore my mother's pearls with Merry's pearl earrings.
We had the ceremony up in Tilden Park in the Berkeley Hills in front of a big willow tree. We wrote our own vows, and had our very stately friend Nate act as officiant. (Holding his notes in a Ramones book to look more official, no doubt!) The vows were all about our love for each other, the joining of families and our desire to declare our commitment in front of our community. It was heartfelt and sweet — almost everybody cried.
The reception was held at the Hillside Club, which is a Tudor style hall built in 1906, destroyed in a fire and rebuilt in 1923. It really helped to have two spaces so inherently pretty that we didn't have to worry about decorating much.
Our very favorite vegan chef Antonio serves up all organic, vegan and locally grown fare at his stand, Flaco's, in the farmer's market. We had him whip up some faux chicken tamales, mole drenched soft tacos, pineapple jicama salad, mushroom ceviche, and big glass jars of strawberry agua fresca and horchata! All of the carnivores and veggies alike raved over the food!
To go with the food and theme, we got glass bottles of coca cola made in Mexico and big batches of sangria that my bridesmaid Kristina and I made the morning of the wedding. We took a case of red wine and cut up pounds of oranges, strawberries, nectarines, and berries, and threw them in a bucket to steep. We filled rented pitchers halfway with lemon lime soda with ice and topped it with the fruit infused wine. The result: very pretty and tasty centerpieces!
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We got the infamous DJ Lebowitz to play at our reception, doing piano adaptations of a slew of punk songs, from bands like The Ramones, The Clash, Dead Kennedys, and Black Flag. Our families enjoyed it just as much as our friends who were calling out song titles and singing along to their favorites. We danced our first dance to the Ramones version of "Baby, I Love You." That moment summed up everything about our wedding day for me, and I started crying: I was surrounded by my family and friends smiling and having a wonderful time, in the arms of the man I love, and it felt absolutely perfect.
Photos by Andrew Kercher, a great photographer, and mellow dude.
Further Resources:
Simple and easy vegan Mexican recipes.
Starter sangria recipes.
See more photos of this wedding in Ariel's flickr set.
104 comments Login to add your own!
OhFaro
myzoetrope
steinschmuckdesign
StudioCherie
Great article. Thank you so much for sharing. What a special time you created for yourself and your loved ones.
thestapeliacompany
I love this whole wedding. The vegan aspect, the use of used materials, the classy presentation and I love the bride's dress with her tattoos! Wonderful.
thingsbuilt
monkeyandsquirrel
crazy! my hubby and i just got married 2 months ago and had a vegan wedding... we had a day of the dead cake topper too! feel free to check out some of our pics!
mosquitohead
hey!! My parents are going to marry this july after being 20 years together and bringing up 3 children (my two little sisters and me)... and its' going to be a rockers wedding.. I've got some excellent ideas with your report so thank you very much! :D
I absolutelly love your punk vegan wedding guys :D!! Absolutelly amazing!
BlueBettyShop
LaveMeSoapCo
dogties
bobnstitch
adoreneko
ArtbyMAR
What a great fun wedding. Love the cake toppers and the brides tatoos!
TreeHuggerStudio
weirdwolf
MademoiselleG
recycledwares
the story brought a tear to my eye when she mentioned dancing to the ramones version of baby i love you and being in the arms of the man she loves.
TwistedCrystals
its always fantastic to see people take these events in their life and really make them their own. :)
PenelopeAndAnastasia
MrsTattooedGeek
babook
wedding it always make me smile and feeling nice : )
http://www.babook.etsy.com
PipocaHandmade
zeropumpkin
siennaorlando
Beautiful and downright Creative!
I had never heard of a cursive typewriter 'til now!
BargainHeadbands
What a beautiful story! I loved it ;) Congratulations. I can tell everything was perfect.
palmcoastart
Awesome! How very creative of you to keep the families happy without sacrificing your own lifestyle. Have a wonderful life together!
Vanessa
I'm so inspired by these handmade weddings. I just started a flickr group for brides' and grooms' wedding photos. Please contribute photos of your handmade and vintage details!
http://www.flickr.com/groups/etsyhand...
somsstudiosupplies
ExQuisiteInVitation
bylynnkrestel
what a fun fab wedding!
i love that you can find it all here - on etsy!!
kunklebaby
What a fabulous wedding. Sounds like it was so much fun and perfect for you two!
odiliafuart
calloohcallay
Wonderful pictures--and I love the setting! Thanks, bigalittlea, for featuring my postcard!
Fancy0Frances
It really did look gorgeous and perfect, but I guess I don't understand the point of a wedding if you don't even get a marriage liscense or want to call each other husband and wife...
CollectionObsession
beautifulbridget
TheCottageCheese
What a fantasticly personal wedding! Great inspiration for planning my own upcoming non-traditional wedding.
worksofwhimsy
Thank you for sharing your story. Your wedding looked spectacular! I grew up in the East Bay and spent a lot of time in Tilden Park--how fun to see you were married there!
jurgitahandmade
Divanni
What I love the most was that your wedding reflected your lifestyles and style. Amazing job!
PAINTINGSBYSAM
OrganicElements
I love love love the postcards, vintage stamps and the cursive typewriter. I didn't even know they made typewriters like that!
tamra
i love it when people have the chutzpah to buck tradition and have a truly special, personal wedding! congratulations! looks like it was truly a day to remember!
soap
fantastic wedding story and pics! ah, married in tilden park too :) congrats and best wishes!
dirtylovesclean
magpiefelts
EJPcreations
AnomalousBits
Morado
laralewis
i started getting a bit teary-eyed reading this...i love it! i'm feeling so inspired now to plan my own wedding. thank you!
TipsyTimeMachine
Very Inspiring! I've been to so many cookie cutter weddings, it was great to read about a wedding that was styled to your personal tastes and history.
ScottieinaCanoe
I SO LOVE this wedding! A gorgeous bride and handsome groom :)
Wunderkind
What an awesome wedding....God, I love tattoos and wedding dresses together. Beautiful...every bit of it! Congrats!
gumbygirl
Thank you for sharing - you really were creative and out of the box!! Loved it!
strawberrypeople
How awesome! I live by Tilden Park... what a lovely place to get married!
1AEON
thehotcookie
poppyswickedgarden
lalala08
one of my favorites to date, love the idea of doing vintage post cards for replies...i was just going to make my own!
smarmyclothes
mtcoffinz
Congratulations! What a wonderful ceremony you had! Thanks for adding my Skirt to this amazing treasury.
BlueSkyStudios
What great ideas! Awesome job of making the wedding reflect you.
artbyally511
I'm getting married in two months, I love to see that a DIY wedding is possible! :)
CutieDynamite
StarrlightJewelry
younghairlove
That has to be the weirdest wedding oooops did I just say wedding? sorry.
rakubuttons
This month I went to such a wedding! The bride wore a beautiful black corseted lace gown with hot pink accents in her hair and it was totally vegan.
Best wedding I have ever been to actually (including 3 or my own)!
extremeflamingo
littlepinkpebble
SugarMohawk
lauraprentice
Radness
RockerByeBaby
Congrats! Were working on a DIY punk rock wedding right now too!!
www.Zrustwedding.blogspot.com
AmericanGirl51
Great Wedding, I love to do handmade weddings. My sister and I have been working on just such a business, thanks for your sharing and love your tats
BGBJewelry
I love this story, just beautiful. I want that typewriter! All the personal touches that made it their wedding not the 'by the book' style. thank you for sharing
truLuxe
Note to self: Offer to have my daughter's garments "cleaned" when required.
LHogan
I love handmade weddings! Well done! Thanking you for the inspiration!
obi1
One year anniversary on Sunday!
Happy... Happy... Joy... Joy...
Thank you both for a most memorable day!
TianaCHE
Awesome article! I totally love to create many things for wedding and have a wedding section at my shop!
noahcooper
As a vegan, I cannot support Etsy until it bans the sale of fur https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy...
electrolicious
What an inspiring wedding! So inspiring, that I featured you on Offbeat Bride. :)
StrungAlong
pandawithcookie
Mattamorphis
loveexpressions
I really enjoyed the article. I'm a Christian, my daughter is a punk who does not believe in God. I have oftern wondered what her wedding could be like. Now I have some insight...and I am truly excited. I loved the cake toppers and I know my daughter would. Thanks again and have a wonderful life!
ArtDecoDame
Dongedyframe
choconaut
AkumuInk
EviesToolEmporium
bytheway
What a wonderful wedding! It is so cool when you can make it your own. Thanks for the peek at your special day :)
pjlacasse
My first wedding many years ago! I went with all the parents wishes...Many years later My second wedding I made it my own. And it is definitely the way to go! Just make it your own.
Enuwbe
MaryBethsArt
I would like to renew my vows and re-do it all again- so much to choose from!!!
TranquilNook
stilettogirl
My lovely hubby and I eloped, and these stories are exactly the inspirational stories we are love reading for ideas on how to do another non-traditional ceremony to renew our vows that no one will forget! Thanks so much for including my vintage typewriter here in the product picks as well!
indigoflameworks
vantiani
PaperBling
patriciasaabdesigns
Delightful, personal and creative! Have a wonderful life together!!
LaBellaAmour
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