Cristin & Frank’s Nightmare Before Christmas wedding

The Offbeat Bride: Cristin, Tattoo Artist (and Tribesmaid)

Her offbeat partner: Frank, Customer Service Representative Supervisor

Date and location of wedding: Mount Olive Church Community Center, Chillicothe, Missouri — October 13, 2013

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: Frank often jokes that my hobby is having hobbies. I love being crafty and making things, and that is exactly what we did for the wedding. I drew the invitation artwork, then made prints and assembled all of our invitations, made all of the jewelry, bouquets, hairpieces, hats, and boutonnieres. My mom stepped in and made all of our decor (framed black and white photos of us, mums, pumpkins, decorated wine bottles, and logs cutout to hold votive candles) as well as our wedding cake and all of the refreshments. We kept it pretty minimal, to save money — but also because Frank and I are both pretty minimal. If we couldn’t make it ourselves, it didn’t happen.

We did not include many traditional aspects of a wedding: no fancy dress requirement, bouquet throwing, cake cutting, or toasts. Instead, we used that time to try to visit and hug everyone who had attended. Most had traveled a long way to be there!

Tell us about the ceremony:
My mom wrote out our entire ceremony from start to finish. I am a huge fan of Elton John, so his music was featured numerous times. Our friend Brandon became ordained online and was our officiant.

Here were our vows:

My dearest friend, if you don’t mind,
I’d like to join you by your side.
For it is plain as anyone can see,
that we’re simply meant to be.
And with these hands
I will lift your sorrows.
Your cup will never empty,
for I will be your wine.
I will light your way in darkness,
I will take you as you are,
And for who you are,
In sickness and in health,
for the remainder of my life.

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Our biggest challenge:
Our biggest challenge was completing all of our DIY projects on time. We ended up making a lot of things assembly-style. I became extremely ambitious. I would be lying if I said I didn’t get extremely overwhelmed at least once (okay, I got overwhelmed a lot — but it was so worth it).

My favorite moment:
It was really meaningful to have so many friends want to be a part of our wedding, whether it be officiating, performing music, serving refreshments, taking photographs, or doing hair. I have a talented group of friends who were all very much willing to help us make our day special and we were very thankful.

My funniest moment:
During the reception, our pug and ring bearer Kevin was able to run free. It’s hard to tell how much human food he digested that day, as he has a keen way of getting it out of people. He stares longingly with his glistening eyes and you cannot possibly resist him. He made for some very funny moments.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

• Photography: Matt Diamond
• Bride’s dress: . They were FANTASTIC! I sent in my measurements and within a couple of days received an email with a sample of what it would be. I was able to respond and change colors, and then they emailed me again with the finished product right before shipping.

Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!