The Offbeat Bride: JC, Web Developer

Her offbeat partner: Allen, Web Developer

Date and location of wedding: Our Lady of the Assumption Parish, Iloilo City, Philippines - March 22, 2014

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: Alice in Wonderland was the first book I've ever read cover-to-cover, and I became obsessed with Doctor Who recently. I really, really wanted to incorporate both into our wedding. Allen, the two kids, and I did all the decorations for the reception and the church, right down to the invitations, the giveaways, our TARDIS card box, garter, and my bouquet.

Our little girl was our "Little Bride" and wore an Um (Alice in Wonderland)-inspired custom-made tea length red gown, our flower girls wore an Alice-inspired blue gown, and my bridesmaids wore blood red long gowns. Our little guy, on the other hand, wore a red pinstriped button-down shirt with a bow tie and jeans and carried our White Hare Ring plushie.

It took us nine whole years to finally plan a church wedding and we wanted to go all-out, but only splurge on the non-negotiables. We were lucky that our friends stepped in and helped us. Our caterer was my best friend and proxy-maid of honor and our awesome photographer was a college buddy.

Tell us about the ceremony:
We went traditional with our ceremony. Allen's family is deeply religious, which is why we opted for a Catholic Church wedding (the fact that the church is a few meters away from our house was a deciding factor as well).

Our biggest challenge:
There was a typhoon that day but it was sunny - not an ounce of rain from sun up to sun down. But my family lives on another island and needs to ride a ferry boat to get to us. This included my sister, who was my maid of honor, my brother and his wife, our Veil Sponsors, two of our flower girls, and my 94-year-old grandfather who decided to make the trip just for me. A typhoon signal was raised on our part of the island and no ferry boat was allowed to travel. My best friend, who was one of the bridesmaids, became my impromptu maid of honor and another bridesmaid had her husband dressed up so that they can be the Veil Sponsors. I was not able to sleep the night before waiting for the typhoon signal to be lifted and ended up really, really tired. Our amazing makeup artist made me sleep while he was doing my makeup which made me a bit refreshed.

My favorite moment:
Even after all the hurdles we had to face before and during the day, everything was as perfect as it could have been. The weather cooperated and it didn't rain despite the typhoon signal. It would've sucked big time if it did because we were having a garden reception. After the reception proper, my stranded family finally arrived and I went through a torrent of emotions when I saw them. Even if they were late, they still arrived and my grandfather was there to see me which made it extra special. We decided to have a photo shoot the next day so that they could see me in my wedding dress and they'd be able to wear their gowns.

My funniest moment:
For our first dance, we decided to have an Xbox dance medley. Allen, the kids, and I practiced for a whole week, and we rocked the dance floor. The guests were pleasantly(?) surprised and did nothing but gape at us. We had the time of our lives dancing our hearts out.

What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding?
It's never a good idea to stress over each and every single detail. Accept what comes your way because there's often a reason for everything. And most importantly, ENJOY!

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

Enough talk - show me the wedding porn!