Saturday, January 12, 2013

Kalani's Victorian-Inspired Geektastic Wedding

I think my favorite part of writing Epbot is how nearly all of you write to me like we're already friends. True, most of you feel weird about it, and immediately start with an assurance that you're really NOT a stalker, honest, but after that you get down to chatting like an old school chum at a reunion. It's awesome.

Case in point: Kalani sent me a massive photo-report on her recent wedding, excitedly pointing out all the bits she made, drew, and created that she knew would be my favorites. In fact, there was WAY too much to include here in one post, but here are some highlights:


The full wedding party in all their regalia. And I SPY SPATS.
(Oh yeah, this is gonna be gooood.)

The bridesmaids wore black evening gowns with jewel-toned Victorian shawls, fascinators, and handmade (by Kalani!) silk handbags in place of bouquets. 

The groomsmen also each had a different accent color, reflected in their ascots and boutonnieres:

Kalani made all those boutonnieres, too, using dried flowers, ribbon, and feathers. Aren't they gorgeous?

Ah, but those aren't the only things Kalani made.

SHE MADE HER OWN WEDDING DRESS, YOU GUYS.

Baby got bustle.

What amazes me, too, is how Kalani downplays the whole MAKING HER OWN WEDDING DRESS thing by comparing it to just an eleborate cosplay that has to look good from a distance. Wow. I never thought about it that way before! But I'm no less impressed, Kalani.

Kalani also drew the artwork for their programs, a Mucha-inspired portrait of her and her new hubby filled with all kinds of geeky references and quotes ranging from Discworld to The Dresdon Files to Portal.
The programs also included a custom crossword puzzle based on the couple. LOVE that idea! 
(You can see a close-up of the art on Kalani's blog here.)

The groomsmen each recieved custom steampunk Nerf guns in these fab display boxes:
Do I need to point out that Kalani and Michael made all of these, too? 
No? Ok.


And for wedding favors, they made Legend of Zelda fairy jars!

The plaque is inscribed with their names and the wedding date.
Oh, and the fairies glow in the dark. Hee!

There is SO much more to see over on Kalani's new blog, from nerdy piano music to the dragon-topped cake to the groom's gear ring, so head over there to see the rest! (She actually just cut and pasted her entire e-mail to me in to the post, minus the chatty bits, so you can see what I mean about having too much material!)

But before I go, I'll leave you with the too-cute-for-words ring bearer:

AIIEE!! SO CUTE.

I am now convinced that all little kids should wear knickerbockers, suspenders, and bowties. (The girls would also have pigtails.) You guys can make that happen, right? :D


Many thanks to Kalani (and Michael!) for sharing all the eye candy and fun! You know, even if they DIDN'T invite me.

20 comments:

  1. Wow, what a talented couple (particularly Kalani) and beautiful wedding!

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  2. Wow, they put so much work into making their wedding their dream event. Good for them! I pretty much turned to my mom and said, "Make it happen. If we leave the ceremony married and there are blue hydrangeas, then I'm good."

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  3. I see those pictures and I have to let out a geeky little squeal. Love it - especially that dress (I think I might actually have that pattern kicking around in my collection) and all the clever little details. Amazing!
    ~linzi

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  4. I LOVE this, that dress is gorgeous. The best weddings I've been too are the ones where the bride and groom put their own touches into everything. So much more personal and romantic. Very beautiful Kalani! And congrats!

    Nikki T

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  5. I want to be Kalani's new best friend.

    That dress, that dress. The whole thing. So perfect. So awesome.

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  6. That is incredible! I am totally in awe of her! How long did that all take??? The dress is gorgeous. Elaborate cosplay or no, that took some serious skills!

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  7. Wow! They did a huge amount of work and I love the result. The fairy jars are a great idea I want to borrow.

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  8. Wow. I am just in awe. This is beyond coolness.

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  9. This is amazing! My future wedding is definitely going to be steampunk, as I am a Neo-Victorian for life, so this is some great inspiration/ utter jealousy!

    Thanks for sharing, and thanks to Kalani as well!

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  10. I think Kalani is my new favourite person that I have never met. Many years of happiness to them!

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  11. Those are the loveliest bridesmaids ensembles I have ever seen! Classy!

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  12. Hi, Jen. You said you wanted a better photo of the art work featured. Here is a link to a better photo of it, from her blog Neeland Cottage.

    Simply amazing!

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  13. Wow. Simply gorgeous. LOVE Kalani's pose in the first photo...she looks like something out of a John Singer Sargent painting!

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  14. Beautiful pictures! Congratulations to Kalani and Michael!

    Jen, I'm sure she didn't invite you ONLY because she didn't want you to feel stressed about traveling to go. That must be it, right?

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  15. Ah, thanks for the link, Sonia! I just added it to the post.

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  16. When my son was a ring bearer, he had that same set up...but in orange :) a friend had made orange (and not jut orange, orange with polka dots!) suspenders, bow tie and hat band. He matched the officient's vest :)

    I did what I could for my wedding, but I was a senior in college - no time, no money and no craft space! 10 year mark is coming up soon though, so I may take the chance to redeem myself :)

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  17. Bravo, Kalani; those pin-tucks in your train are perfect, and those suckers are VERY hard to get right. Everyone was so lovely; people usually look vaguely annoyed to be dressed up to be in a wedding party, but everyone looks so poised and proud! I thought doing the wedding party outfits for my Trek wedding was hard (by the time we were in the car on the way to Vegas, I couldn't feel my index finger or thumb, and had tedonitis down to my elbow from all the hand-sewing!), but GIRRRRL! you worked it out HARD. I hope you had help? <:)

    If we hadn't had our full-on Trek wedding on the Enterprise-D, the ONLY acceptable Plan B was Full-On Victorian Wedding at the Hotel Del Coronado! Plan C was World War 2-Era Wedding on the Queen Mary, with my husband wearing his father's old Navy dress blues.

    You know, now that I think about it, I frickin' LOVE Theme Weddings, and I need to add it to my costumer's repetoire and business cards. :)

    Your Pal,

    Storm

    P.S.: Thanks for the earworm, Mayme; "Bustle Fluffer" is stuck in my head now! (BTW, their costumes are all awesome; very nicely done corsets, and the bustles were both lovely and very accurate.)

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  18. I've got a kiddo, so that's knickerbockers, suspenders, etc. go on one. The pigtails will have to wait a bit, she's growing out her pixie cut at the moment.

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  19. Hi Everybody! Thank you so much for your kind words! @Mayme-- the Bustle Fluffah video was HILARIOUS! I think Epbot readers are the best.

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