Kevin & Mark’s rainbow psychedelic three-day wedding

The Offbeat Groom: Kevin, owner at DirtyPillowz.net

His offbeat partner: Mark, Director of Exhibitions at Museum of Sex

Date and location of wedding: Calico, a friend’s home in Cottekill, NY and Moresca Clothing Factory, Ulster Park, NY — August 31, 2013

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: What started as a DIY affair snowballed into a full-production, three-day event. We have lots of friends and a huge family, so people came from all over the world for the ceremony. It seemed right to create a weekend of festivities in two of the most magical places we’ve known: Calico, the home of Katwise and Moresca, a Renaissance fair clothing factory surrounded by lush wild gardens that includes a medieval banquet hall.

In the weeks before the wedding, we sculpted Kat’s land to create a beach around the pond, a parking meadow, a backwoods party clearing, an outdoor bathroom with hot and cold running water, a swan boat, and even a waterfall covered in My Little Ponies. It was a ridiculous amount of work by a dedicated crew of amazing friends.

Friday night arrivals were welcomed at Calico with a “Backwoods Bridesmaid Discoteque” with bonfire, lasers, and mandatory bridesmaid dresses for everyone.

The Saturday festivities at Moresca included a stilt-walking parking director, six flower girls, a turtle ring bearer, and a post-ceremony talent show that knocked everyone’s socks off! On Sunday morning, Calico hosted a lovely farewell brunch before everyone packed into Kat’s schoolbus and headed to the swimmin’ hole.

Tell us about the ceremony:
The ceremony was officiated by our dear friend Fennel Skellyman who charged the air with pure magic and made sure there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. The flower girl dresses were custom-made by the amazing Machine Dazzle, who Skyped with each of our nieces to help them create their “dream dresses.” He also dressed Fennel and himself before escorting Princess Bucket (our pet turtle and ring bearer) down the aisle.

We walked down the aisle to Spiritualized’s “Ladies and Gentlemen we are Floating in Space.” Fennel opened the ceremony by asking everyone to be present, and to avoid looking through devices or camera lenses. Everyone joined hands, took three deep breaths, called out the names of the ancestors we wished could be present, and the magic started.

Our three best friends gave readings and told stories including “The Invitation” by Oriah Mountain Dreamer, a reading by Adrienne Rich.

Our favorite band played a heartbreakingly beautiful song, Daniel Johnston’s “True Love Will Find You in the End.”

The rings were a team effort: a neuroscientist friend measured our brainwaves with a portable EEG machine while we listened to each others heartbeats. The brainwaves were then etched onto a palladium band by our friends at Silver Bonsai Gallery.

My favorite moment:
The wedding brought together all our different worlds. Everyone helped and actively participated by serving food, building stages, making bouquets, performing, decorating, and cleaning up. We loved that everyone was an integral part of pulling off the most ridiculously colorful lovefest spectacle we could have planned.

We also loved our friends in Not Waving but Drowning singing during the ceremony, and then backing up Kevin during his first (and only) time singing in front of an audience!

My funniest moment:
During Mark’s vows a very long, very loud freight train passed by. The crowd exploded into hoots and hollers for several minutes… then Mark calmly finished his vows.

Watching every silly costume we’ve ever made get worn by our friends and family in the photo booth.

What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding?
The word “impossible” should be removed from the dictionary.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

• Photography: Tod Seelie and Sean Carroll
• Catering: Hickory Restaurant and New World Home Cooking
• Rings: Kat and Ben Stewart
• Music: Not Waving But Drowning
• Venues: Kat O’Sullivan and Moresca
• Officiant: Fennel Skellyman

Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinlmuth/sets/72157642597820363/show/