Star Wars and fairies and hobbits oh my! Hesa and Alan were sure of one thing when it came to planning their wedding— the more non-traditional the better.
The couple chose the beautiful Carpenter theater in Richmond VA to celebrate their love— a space that comes complete with a lighting and sound production team, that allows each couple to fully build the wedding day of their dreams.
For Hesa and Alan, there were two things that remained incredibly important to them— 1) they wanted their friends to be able to “let their weird hang out” and come exactly as they are and 2) Hesa wanted to wear a rainbow dress and fairy ears. Done and done.
When describing their theme, Alan said it was “like you went into an elevator and saw every nerd fandom option and just decided to press all of the buttons.” Whether channeling the Shire through the woodland tablescapes or having a lightsaber entrance into the reception— these two were not afraid to do exactly what THEY wanted, and to say the hell with tradition.
“The only thing consistent about us is that we are inconsistent— so our wedding day needed to feel like us. We’ve all gone to too many weddings where we felt like we didn’t fit in, so it was really important for us to have a day where we felt like we belonged,” Hesa commented, while sitting on the floor of the lobby in her rainbow ball gown, as she took off her fairy ears and crystal light up crown.
The couple did exactly that; from the completely vegan menu offerings and string quartet that exclusively played themes to popular video games during cocktail hour, to the custom rainbow suits for the bridal party and holding the teddy bear Alan first won her at a fair in lieu of carrying a bouquet— the entire celebration was a reflection of their love story and individual personalities.
Hesa’s rainbow ball gown was a beautiful tulle creation from CocoMelody, which she paired with a light up moonstone crown, her cosplay fairy ears, a star studded cape from Etsy, and Giuseppe Zanotti rainbow wedge sneakers. Alan’s custom teal suit came from Better Menswear RVA, which he paired with Captain America cufflinks and his favorite purple Converse.
While the one thing that Hesa wished for on her wedding day was to get married under the stars but being that they booked an indoor venue she assumed that it was ‘just one of those sacrifices you make’. Little did she know, Alan had coordinated with the lighting designer at the venue to orchestrate a night sky full of stars on the ceiling of the theater, which he was able to reveal to her during their first look. “He always listens to my crazy ideas and does whatever he can to make them happen— it’s why I was so excited to marry him!” Hesa gushed through tears on the big day.
The entire celebration was a true reflection of Hesa and Alan’s colorful life together, and the beautiful love that comes from getting to be your authentic self with the people you cherish the most.
