The Offbeat Bride: Rachel

Her offbeat partner: Jake, Lead Pharmacy Technician

Date and location of wedding: Arizona State Fair, Phoenix, AZ - October 31, 2013

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: Our wedding theme was based on my favorite book, , and had a 1930s circus feel. I purchased a custom paper bouquet and boutonniere made out of a Water for Elephants book and circus-y cardstock! It was so neat reading the excerpts of the book in the flowers.

You could say our wedding was similar to an elopement. We had been planning a wedding at a venue, but the whole thing started to lose its allure as the stress and anxiety began to grow. We wanted something fun, so we scrapped the venue wedding and took a major risk. We remembered the Arizona State Fair is always in town in October. So on opening day, October 11th (20 days before our desired date), we ran down to the State Fair to talk to the carousel supervisor. He directed us to the fair supervisor and we asked if it was possible to have a short ceremony on the carousel. They said they would be glad to accommodate us and even contacted the local news about it!

The guests sat on carousel horses, we walked down the aisle of the carousel to "Circus Fantasy" from the Water for Elephants film soundtrack, the flower girl tossed popcorn, and the bridesmaids carried cotton candy bouquets. The cotton candy proved too hard to resist and were later replaced with candy apples. We rode rides, the groomsmen played games, and we even used a deep-fried Twinkie as our wedding cake. It was like something out of my wildest dreams!

Tell us about the ceremony:
We wanted to be married by someone who would play the part of ringmaster. My dad asked his friend with the biggest personality to fill the position. He wrote our ceremony which was carnival-themed as well:

Dearly beloved, children of all ages, and carnies, too: we are gathered here today, on probably the safest ride at the Arizona State Fair, to award Rachel and Jake lifetime passes on possibly the scariest ride of all, the bonds of holy matrimony, a roller coaster ride with many highs and lows, twists, and turns. It's not recommended for the faint of heart, or those under 42" tall, but still a ride worth trying. If there is anyone here with just reason why these two should not be joined together, might I direct you to the concession stands. At this time, Rachel and Jake wish to exchange vows that they prepared while searching for a decent parking spot. [At the end:] I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may claim your prize!

Our biggest challenge:
Our biggest challenge was definitely having our pictures taken. Jake and I had maybe a total of five from our whole relationship. We would run and hide whenever a camera came out. So naturally, we were worried about all the picture taking and the news crews. I was so self-conscious that I didn't even want to look at our wedding photos or watch the news after.

I say "was" because the closer we got to the wedding, the more I realized Jake loves me for all that I am. That it was silly to cry over thinking about what others will think of me on my wedding day. The only opinions that mattered were ours. So when that camera came out, we didn't even notice it.

My favorite moment:
The most meaningful moments of our wedding were the many times I was reminded why I married the man beside me. For some reason we assumed we could just show up, without rehearsing, and everything would be perfect. HA! So many things went wrong, and being the over-thinker I am, I started to dwell on it. But every time I would start to lose myself in my thoughts, Jake would hold my hand and tell me that everything was fine and that he wouldn't change a thing about our wedding because he was finally my husband. I am so thankful to have such an amazing man forever by my side on this merry-go-round of life.

My funniest moment:
I have to say the funniest moment was directly after our vows, as we were pronounced husband and wife without our wedding rings. Being in our own world, of course, we kissed! There was a bit of a lull and we didn't understand why. We looked over at the best man, who was holding out the pumpkin with our rings still on it with an expression like, "Uh, guys?" We started to laugh and Jake ran over and retrieved the rings. We were so shaky and nervous, we fumbled to put them on. I was handing Jake my rings and I dropped my wedding band into a hole directly under our carousel horse! Luckily, our officiant had a Leatherman knife, otherwise I don't know how we would have gotten it out!

What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding?
The most important lesson I learned was to not get so wrapped up in the thoughts of everyone else. I spent many days and nights panicking over how the decor should look, how I would look in my wedding dress, what others would think of our wedding, how my double chin would "ruin" our wedding photos, etc. It was really exhausting and unnecessary. The day of the wedding, all of those silly thoughts left my head and it was just us.

To all partners-to-be with low self-esteem and anxiety, I urge you to look around at what matters most to you: your future partner and your life together. I know the details of your day are very important to you, but try to pull yourself out of hardcore wedding planning mode and enjoy the experience.

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Enough talk - show me the wedding porn!