Every bit of Flash and Gilly’s wedding at the Science Museum of Virginia showed their personalities and style, from their untraditional cakes to their hipster beer koozie wedding favors. EVERYONE is quirky in their own way, and your wedding is your chance to express yourselves, so the more you can break a little from the norm to show something a little special and different about yourselves, the better!

A textile designer at Urban Outfitters, Gilly knew just how to express herself stylistically. She found the perfect vintage, lace dress online, sewed her own veil, found purple shoes for the ceremony, and incorporated a pearl necklace, art deco earrings, an old beaded clutch, a brooch ring, and her mother’s old library pin for her something blue. She had elegant blond finger waves on one side of her hair, and the other side revealed recently buzzed hair of a darker brown shade. She wore her signature chunky glasses and switched to new white birkenstocks toward the end of the night. She looked elegant and vintage with a punk rock twist.

Her groom, Flash, is actually known for wearing some pretty interesting suits to his friend’s weddings…you could catch him wearing a khaki corduroy suit one day, and cut off jean shorts with a plaid shirt the next, but he ramped up his style a little bit for his big day, wearing a classic grey, 3-piece suit. His accessories showed a little of his signature style, with a blue bow tie with tiny bicycles, dark-rimmed glasses, a pretty sweet mustache to go with his silver grey hair, and…the classiest lapel pin I have ever seen…a pepperoni PIZZA slice with a dagger through it. In fact, Matt gifted each of his groomsmen with a custom lapel pin: one had a Bart Simpson and Millhouse pin, one had an eagle, and one had a hot dog. They also did not dictate what the bridesmaids and groomsmen should wear, but the wedding party was pulled together with their bouquets and boutonnieres, and all looked wonderful together in the wedding party pictures. With a wedding full of personal style, it was cool that they also allowed their wedding party to express their own individual styles.

Instead of the typical big white wedding cake, or the trendy tiers of cupcakes, they did four small cakes of different types- different fillings, and very different designs. One of the cakes looked like it was tie-dyed, one reminded me of that original 1980s computer game, Q-Bert, one had a floral painting, and one was seriously avant-garde with a blue cube sitting atop a round white circle, all covered in thin paper flaps and waves. If I had to guess, I surmised they could possibly have a science theme, as they looked at home underneath the “PERIODIC TABLE” sign, in the grand hall of the Science Museum of Virginia. I asked the cake maker, Jen Cheney Starchak of Simply Desserts how she came up with these cakes, and she told me that Gilly had given her a few different textile clippings that she loved, and told her to be inspired by those, and to do what she wanted! What a dream client! Someone who gives the artist inspiration, yet gives them room to be creative and showcase their talent and artistry.

The soundtrack to the dance floor included Pavement, Billy Idol, Taylor Swift, the New Radicals, LCD Soundsystem, and the Dead Milkmen, provoking lots of nostalgic sing-along moments among old friends.

And the ultimate hipster wedding favor to go with the cases of PBR at the reception: custom designed beer koozies with tattoo-inspired artwork: GILLY & FLASH- GOOD FRIENDS, GOOD TIMES- 7.18.2015

So go ahead, be different! Don’t fall into the trap of emulating every one else’s wedding! Find your muse and follow it! Go your own way. Enjoy the photos from this awesome, unforgettable wedding- including portraits with all the amazing vintage trains behind the Science Museum of Virginia!