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Evansville
Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Peas in an iPod

A few e-mails after meeting my husband, Jason, on the online dating site Plentyoffish.com, I realized we were made for each other. We both loved computers, video games, and technology in general, worked as graphic designers and Web developers, and even had the same picky eating habits. After I met Jason in person for our first date, I instant-messaged my mom: “OMG, he’s the one! :D”

After he proposed, I began to stress. I was never the type of girl who fantasized about her dream wedding, and many of the usual components didn’t appeal to me — the formal ceremony, dramatic dress, and fancy dinner reception. Still, I didn’t want to let everyone down. Eventually, we decided to take the elements of a typical wedding and rework every detail to fit our tastes. Along the way, we were featured on a popular wedding blog, Offbeat Bride (www.offbeatbride.com). Here’s how we pulled it off.

Super Awesome Invites

Designing our own invitations was a no-brainer. We “killed it” (as Offbeat Bride noted in their review) with our colorful, creative invites, which packed as many nods to geek culture as humanly possible. We created an accompanying website just to help our guests decode the thing. We also opted for non-traditional RSVPs, asking everyone to fill out a form on our site or call a Google Voice number.

The Wedding Rocked

We married outdoors at Kingmen’s Event Facility on October 10, 2010 (101010 is binary for 42, the answer to “the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything” according to the sci-fi series The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy). We infused all of the décor with bright colors, primarily pink and orange. I wore a knee-length white dress I purchased for $20 on clearance with fuchsia accessories, and Jason sported dark jeans, shirt, and vest with a bright orange tie and socks.

His best friend got ordained online just for us and served as our officiant. We wrote the entire ceremony ourselves, including references to video games, movies, and Internet memes. Even my iPhone made it to the altar so I could read my vows from it. The victory fanfare from the Final Fantasy video games played as we were declared husband and wife.

Sweet Geeks

I have a major sweet tooth, so the reception featured a candy bar full of our favorite treats. Instead of the usual wedding cake, we constructed a tower of brightly decorated cupcakes that I baked myself. Little Caesars pizza and crazy bread, our favorites, were delivered to the venue. We traded the usual “first dance” for a Guitar Hero battle, then offered up the game for everyone to play. An iPod served as our DJ. There was no bouquet toss, no garter, and no uncomfortable shoes (I wore sparkly fuchsia Chuck Taylors).

For the Win

Were there people who didn’t understand what exactly we were doing, or why? Absolutely, but for Jason and me, it just made sense. Weddings should reflect who you are, and for us, that meant fun and low-key. Although we strayed from the “dream wedding” my mother may have had in mind for her only daughter, it was perfect for us. In the end, everyone was supportive, and the reviews afterward were glowing. Our guests said they appreciated that we celebrated our marriage in a way that was totally true to our personalities.

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