Our Non Traditional Paleo Wedding – Serenity Kids

Our Non-Traditional Paleo Low-Budget Wedding Extravaganza

Estimated time to read 7 minutes

My entire life I have been dreaming of getting married and having children. At age five, I drew pictures of my future children, and got my first girlfriend at age 6 and began planning our wedding. This deep love and desire for children is one of the major inspirations for starting Serenity Kids.

Things didn’t work out with my 6-year old girlfriend, but fortunately, I met Serenity! A year ago, I asked her to marry me, and she said yes! We didn’t think we’d have time to have a wedding in the midst of all the craziness of starting our business, but I decided to take it on anyway, and we had our dream wedding last November 11th (11/11). One year to the day of our engagement.

I have an extensive (and underutilized) theatre background, so this was my chance to really put on a show. As passionate Paleoistas, we wanted to have really great Paleo food and drinks. But as entrepreneurs who’ve just launched a company, we had to do it on a VERY tight budget. So here is the story of our non-traditional Paleo low-budget wedding and how we did it!

NON-TRADITIONAL The ceremony took place in the middle of the woods, in a clearing a short hike up a dirt trail. We set up 200 chairs in a spiral formation so that when we walked down the aisle, we passed by every single guest. The action took place in the center of the spiral, like theatre in the round. The officiant was a close friend of ours who runs a church in Florida that is an eclectic mix of spiritual traditions, and he wore a long druid-like robe.

Since my name is Joseph, I have always wanted a Coat of Many Colors, like Abraham gave the prophet Joseph in the bible. Since my mom made my sister a wedding dress, she agreed to make this coat for me. It turned out to be a lot harder than a wedding dress, so we enlisted a friend who’s a professional costume designer. It turned out SUPER gorgeous! Serenity’s favorite color is teal, so she found a teal dress designed as a replica of one worn by Kate Middleton. We asked all our guests to wear white, making for an awesome aerial photo of the spiral.

We wrote vows that spelled out what a healthy marriage means to us (see them all at the bottom of this post), and we read each one to the other asking if they agree. In addition to rings, we exchanged ornately beaded bracelets hand-made by indigenous women in Brazil. As we exited, we stopped by each guest to receive a one-word blessing. And it ended with a bagpiper, who led everyone one in a slow procession out of the woods and to the reception.

The reception took place in a large warehouse that was converted to be a show venue (think burning man rave). We decorated it with a teal and copper theme, incorporating peacock feathers wherever possible. Our friends performed a skit I wrote, acting out important moments from our courtship. Then we had karaoke, and our friends and family sang to us, while enjoying delicious Paleo appetizers and drinks. As we exited, our guests threw lavender, and we drove away in a 1957 Chevy convertible!

PALEO We served amazing Paleo appetizers made by a local foods catering company. The menu included: Pesto Rubbed Chicken Skewers with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce, Whole Roasted Natural Turkey Breast with Dijon Shallot Sauce, Smoked Brisket Tacos, Cauliflower & Celeriac Root Mash Bar, Crisp Romaine Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette, and plenty of Pasture-Raised Uncured Bacon donated by Roam Sticks which also supplies our baby food.

The cake and sweets were provided by Austin-based company Guiltless Goodies, which specialize in treats made from seed flower and natural sweeteners. We made a Paleo donut bar.

For drinks, we offered Mock-Tails made with carbonated water, lime, lemon, and bitters. And Dry Farms Wine donated 24 bottles of their delicious Champaign, specially tested to be sulfite free and very low in sugar.

LOW-BUDGET In the end, we spent just under $8000 for a wedding of 200+ people. Here are a few tips and tricks we learned for pulling off an extravaganza on a tight budget.

Tips for a Low-Budget Wedding

  1. Non-Wedding Venue: By using a venue that wasn’t normally designed for weddings, we got a much lower price.
  2. Homemade Decorations: I enlisted my crafty friends and family to make fancy-looking items.
  3. Volunteers: I had a team of 30+ people helping out.
  4. Use Friends with Skills: I had friends volunteer to: bake the cake, decorate the cake, make decorations, etc.
  5. Digital Invitations: We used Evite for all invitations, saving us enormous costs.
  6. Negotiate with Caterer: I negotiated down the caterer’s initial cost estimate BY HALF!
  7. BYOB: We invited guests to bring their own alcohol.
  8. Get Sponsors: Four different small businesses donated or gave us major discounts.
  9. Photo/Video/DJ: I used friends or friends of friends who gave special deals.
  10. Clothes and Rings: I used a homemade coat and borrowed my grandfather's ring.

Everyone said it was one of the most touching weddings they’ve ever been to because it was so US. Personalizing it really allowed everyone to feel our love and excitement deeply, and also have a really great time!

OUR VOWS Do you promise to: