When Geeks Get Married

As I indicated in my last post, I spent this past weekend at the wedding of my beloved goddaughter, Kristie, and my equally beloved godson-in-law (formerly godson-in-law elect) Alex. I am incredibly happy that two such wonderful people were able to find each other.

This was a perfect example of what happens when two geeks get married. The ceremony is full of nerdy references.

To start with, it's worth explaining how these two met. Alex likes to dress up as Harry Potter, and Kristie sometimes dresses up as Ginny Weasley. They met in costume during a Halloween event at their former college. Everyone who knew them were pretty certain it was inevitable that they would fall in love, which they did - just like Harry and Ginny. It's also worth noting that their entire circle of college friends have Potterverse identities; Kristie's former roommate Bailey is Hermione, her husband Matt is Ron, and they have other friends to fill in almost all the other roles. Even I'm in there - my husband and I are known to their friends, even the ones who have never met us, as Molly and Arthur Weasley. (My chicken soup is apparently legendary as being magical in nature and is known by them as "Mama Weasley soup.")

So when the time came for them to get married, it was the nerdiest fairy tale in history.

Kristie's bachelorette party (which I regrettably missed because my husband and I were in transit to the wedding) had a Mad Hatter's Tea Party theme. They all wore funny hats; Kristie's was a tiny sparkling top hat attached to a white veil adorned with blue butterflies, a la Corpse Bride.

I was on hand for the festivities the day before the wedding, however, and got to help with the making of the bridesmaid bouquets. From there we went to the wedding rehearsal, where Kristie's grandfather was the officiating minister. He began by saying, "Welcome, sons of Adam, and welcome, daughters of Eve." Narnia references! Meanwhile, I perused the wedding bulletin, which included a picture of Harry and Ginny on the back cover.

At the rehearsal dinner, Alex presented his groomsmen with Scottish dirks (he and all his attendants wore kilts for the wedding) and dagger-sized Scottish Claymores.

While my husband went to the church to take pictures of the groomsmen, I stayed at the bride's parents house and photographed the getting-ready. Kristie's headpiece was a crown specifically designed to resemble Lucy's crown from the first Narnia film. Her "something borrowed" came from me - a necklace purchased from our favorite vendor at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. Her hairstyle was patterned somewhat after the Disney princesses.

Bagpipe music was provided by Will, Kristie's best friend from high school, who was also in a kilt. The flower girls wore fairy wings on their backs, made by Kristie herself. As noted above, Grandpa Minister welcomed everyone by calling them sons of Adam and daughters of Eve. References throughout the ceremony were made to the Lord of the Rings ring quest, the Harry Potter books, and Beauty and the Beast, among other things.

Being the bride's godmother, I got to be the first person escorted into the church as part of the wedding party, and the last person escorted out as part of it too. The recessional music was the ending theme from How to Train Your Dragon. And as the newlyweds exited the church to be showered in biodegradable confetti, the four groomsmen lifted their new miniature Claymores to form the sabre arch.

At the reception, the first dance was to the theme song from Disney's Beauty and the Beast, partly because Kristie once played Belle in a stage production. The wedding cake also featured a Lenox cake topper of Belle and Prince Adam. The groom's cake, meanwhile, was in the shape of Hogwarts Castle. All the music, for a gorgeously personal touch, was provided by Kristie's dad's jazz band.

The final nerdy touch is a honeymoon in Florida...where they're currently in Disney World, and will soon be on their way to visit - what else? Harry Potter World at Universal Studios.

The sad part is that I'm pretty sure there were a ton of other references in there, and I just can't remember what they all are. But it was a beautiful, gloriously geeky wedding - and a perfect fairy tale from start to finish.

Just one photo.