My Big Fat Nerdy Wedding
So you want to have a nerdy wedding or are renewing your vows as my hubby and I did? Are you a bit of a do-it-yourself-er? Can’t find any nerd-themed decorations? So make them! I’m going to share some ideas that you can use to throw your own nerd wedding!
1. The theme
Some people may choose one central theme for their wedding and build everything around that. My husband and I are nerdy about so many different things that we could not decide on one theme alone. So we decided to make it about MANY of the things that we are nerdy about! I knew with so many different franchises being thrown together that I wanted there to be a consistent color scheme, so we decided on royal blue and gold. Having a consistent color scheme is important to pull everything together and avoid having your wedding look like a child’s birthday party (says the bride who stuck Superhero and Star Wars confetti, and mini light sabers ALL OVER her reception tables!)
2. The music
Why just stick with traditional wedding music? Our bridal party marched down the aisle to the Legend of Zelda medley by Lindsey Stirling
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3KUyPKbR7Q&w=560&h=315]
The violin keeps it classy enough to feel like wedding appropriate music with a nerdy flair. Check out her channel for other great nerdy violin songs!
I marched down the aisle to the Game of Thrones theme song (NOTE: Unless you want to make people feel very uncomfortable I would advise against playing The Rains of Castamere at your wedding)
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7L2PVdrb_8&w=560&h=315]
Our processional song was the Final Fantasy VI fanfare song (This got some chuckles)
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvpyz6MUa1w&w=560&h=315]
Have fun with your nerdy wedding music!
3. The flowers
If you want to buy real flowers then by all means, do so. But if you are on a budget like we were, then silk floral arrangements can be just as effective. We stuck with flowers in shades of blue and yellow (bought from Michael’s, The Dollar Tree, Walmart, and Dollar General!) We also included some swirly gold accent pieces, and I made some miniature versions of the dragon eggs I will discuss later in this article. The vases were just plain glass vases from The Dollar Tree. All I did was print out each of the house crests from Game of Thrones onto photo paper, and stuck those inside the vases.
4. The candles
Most wedding receptions have candles at the tables. For our nerdy votives, we simply cut out pieces from the pages of some old (invaluable) comics, dipped them into a mixture of white school glue and water, and wrapped them around the votive holders. Make sure you coat them in a generous amount of the glue mixture so the comic pages will stay attached.
5. The banner
Your head table might need a banner. I decided that I wanted to spell our last name out in elements from the periodic table. I designed the letters myself in a paint program. Then I printed out each letter the size I wanted, and glued them onto glittery cardstock that matched our theme colors
6. The cake topper, knife and server set
I wanted a fun, nerdy cake topper so I bought a basic cake topper from Michael’s of the bride dragging the groom away. I wanted to make it look like I was dragging him away from video games to go get married. So I made the TV, PS4, and game controller out of black craft foam. The soda can I made out of rolled up paper and taped the soda logo on. Then made the cookie bag by printing out the logo, stuffing it, and covering it in packing tape. I glued all of these items to the cake topper!
Finding a nerdy cake knife and server set was next to impossible. So I decided to make my own! I simply wrapped the knife and server in royal blue ribbon and glued it in place. Then glued on gold accent ribbon. Made mini gold bows and glued those on. The pièce de résistance was definitely the little TARDIS! I printed out the TARDIS on photo paper, cut it out, and coated it in packing tape (the cheap-0 version of laminating!).
I also used this method for the TARDIS on my garter
Collaborating our themes for this week, check out Jenine’s post on Nerdy Wedding Cakes!
7. The guest sign-in
I didn’t want a guest book. I wanted something that would double as something decorative in our home. So I bought a signing mat, and added these nerdy scrapbooking stick-ons I found at Michael’s.
8. The dragon eggs
Okay! Time to talk about the dragon eggs! I really wanted to re-create Khaleesi’s dragon eggs from Game of Thrones in a way that was inexpensive, yet effective. I found these jumbo foam eggs in the floral section at Michael’s (along with the mini ones I used in the bouquets), bought every single box of gold thumb tacks from The Dollar Tree I could get my mits on, and spent HOURS sticking them into the eggs! What I did was start at the bottom and work my way around and up, slightly overlapping each tack. A dab of glue on the last set of tacks will help keep them secure. Once my eggs were covered, I painted them to match the colors of the GoT dragon eggs. I stuck them into a chest I bought at Michael’s. BAM! I got dragons!
9. Last but not least, the altar
We bought a cardboard cutout of the TARDIS to be the backdrop of our wedding. Friends of ours who also had a nerdy wedding had a LIFE-SIZED 3D TARDIS! And once the ceremony was done, our officiator held the sign over our heads that I made. I wanted to replicate the trophies that you earn in Playstation games so I created it in my paint program, printed it out, and glued it onto a piece of cardboard.
Our nerdy wedding was beautiful, but even better it was fun! Do you wanna have a wedding that feels generic or do you want to have an awesome, nerdy wedding that really expresses who you and your spouse-to-be are? I hope that I have inspired you. Send me pictures from your nerdy wedding at [email protected] and as always, stay nerdy my friends!
~Jaime
