Nicole & Kyle’s punk rock and skulls wedding

The Offbeat Bride: Nicole, bartender/waitress (and Tribesmaid)

Her offbeat partner: Kyle, history teacher and guitar player in a punk rock band

Date and location of wedding: Ethan Allen Inn, Danbury, CT — May 25, 2013

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: We wanted our wedding to reflect who we are as a couple, so that everyone could see why we truly love one another. So we took a traditional venue and made it our own. Instead of floral centerpieces, we had glitter skulls in four different colors (black, hot pink, blue, and lilac custom-made by Kate Parker) and black and pink candles. I wore an ombre pink dress, the groom and groomsmen wore custom-made vests that used to be punk rock tees and Converse. The bridesmaids carried knuckle duster skull clutches instead of bouquets!

We had two bands: Union Rail’s bluegrass sounds for the cocktail hour, and a punk band called Lost In Society for the reception. Our first dance was to the Bouncing Souls’ cover of The Misfits “Hybrid Moments.” We love that song, so our rings are black bands with the first line of it engraved on them. Kyle’s says, “If you want to scream then scream with me,” and mine says “Moments like this never last.”

Food, booze, and music were our main priorities. We had a cupcakes and a candy bar for desserts and favors (multi-functional when you’re paying for your own wedding is a must!).

Tell us about the ceremony: Neither of us are very religious, so we wanted to create our own ceremony and had one of our good friends, Johnny, ordained online to officiate. Kyle’s family is Catholic, so I wanted to accommodate them somehow, too. We ended up with a basic ceremony and exchanging of the rings, and then moved on to a four-string handfasting ceremony. Instead of each saying “I Do,” we said in unison, “We will.”

We also had one of our friends play some songs on his guitar during the ceremony: the bridal party came into “Astrozombies,” I walked in to “Saturday Night,” and then we exited as a couple to “Hybrid Moments,” of course.

Our biggest challenge: We had some trouble convincing our family that a punk rock wedding could be a classy affair. Everyone seemed to expect something much more wild than we were planning. It was hard talking about it to people who don’t know us. But we really tailored it towards our aesthetics and it went well.

My favorite moment: We had a first look before the ceremony, which took so much pressure off. Plus, it meant we got to chat and enjoy the cocktail hour with our immediate family and our wedding party (our other family).

The best man was Kyle’s twin brother, and the maid of honor was one of my best friends since high school. Their speeches were some of my favorite moments, too. They even used props!

My funniest moment: The lead singer of one of the bands, Lost In Society, kept intentionally calling us by different names like “Kevin and Natalie,” “Lyle and Natasha,” etc. (which was one of my ceremony fears!). They came out for the last set of the night as an ’80s hair metal band called “Booger Sugar,” too. It was phenomenal!

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

• Photography: Picture This
• Bride’s dress: . I found them on Offbeat Bride, and they were so accommodating when I asked for some tweaks.
• Shoes: Vivienne Westwood
• Knuckle duster skull clutches: Amazon