Adam and Cathy’s wedding took place in November and had a Dia de Los Muertos theme as a nod to the bride’s Mexican heritage. She wanted a way to incorporate lost loved ones.
“To many people our wedding looked really different, but to us it seemed perfectly normal!” said the bride. “We had some women in the groom’s party, and some gender fluid friends as well. We did try to steer away from the Americanised version of Dia de Los Muertos, which is the red/ black macabre design. The holiday is a joyful celebration full of love and colour and happiness, and we wanted to be true to that. Also, we had karaoke at our reception!”
“Our ceremony was very personal”, she continued. “We wrote our own vows, played one of my most favourite songs, Make Me a Channel of Your Peace, and had a reading from the book The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman. Our officiant also wore a sparkly jacket. It was magical!”
The couple did so many DIY projects and homemade all the décor. “We made all of the paper flowers that were used throughout and we made the table centrepieces. Luckily I have some very crafty friends!”
The bride’s wedding highlight was the food, which actually turned out to be the thing they saved the most money on. “We had no idea how expensive a wedding catering company could be, especially since we just wanted simple Mexican food”, she said. “With so many places charging $50 a person and up, we didn’t want to devote that much of our budget to food that people might not even like! So we picked a casual place we loved, and looked into their catering. It ended up being about $18 a person total, and it was amazing!! Everyone was so excited to get their favourite burrito!”
The best part of wedding planning for this pair was that they did it together. “I think it made Adam and I closer. We planned everything together, and he helped with all of the DIY stuff. It was a labour of love for us both! The hardest part was the guest list. I have a HUGE family, and figuring out where to cut off the list was so painful. But we couldn’t afford to do a 320-person wedding, so I had to be ruthless. Luckily, Adam has a small family, and we share all of our friends!”
“My advice for other couples planning their weddings right now to be to have a plan for what happens right after the ceremony! We walked out and just sort of hung around, so we got bombarded by people! It was awesome, but we didn’t get a moment alone together. Be comfortable and cute and enjoy every minute of your party. Eat, drink, be merry, and celebrate your love!!”
