Scribble Nation

From Indie Theater to Kitschy Palace

One of the most unique apsects of our wedding had to be our venue.  We chose The Heirloom Arts Theater for its affordability, its character, and most of all, its unique layout.  It didn't hurt that the owner's sister was a close friend of mine either.  Though the Heirloom is unarguably a very cool place, it doesn't exactly scream "wedding!", so we knew redecorating it would be a challenge.  We needed to dress it up without compromising its natural charm, and we needed to be able to transform it in a very short period of time.  We would only have three hours the morning of the wedding to get it ready.  We called on our family and friends, and were thrilled when they showed up in hoards to help that morning. Together, we transformed the Heirloom with time to spare.

Michelle, my maid of honor spent a few nights surging huge pieces of fabric that we used as curtains and valances throughout the theater.  She also pumped out a few throw pillows that we used to turn an awkward set of steps into a loungey seating area on the theater's balcony. Between the fabric, and some carefully placed faux flowers, we kitsched the heck out of what was a pretty much punk rock setting. Take a look at the before and after photos of the bar, for example:

Before

 
After

The stage was another focal point that needed tackling.  We went through a lot of crazy ideas before we settled on a pretty simple, but cute solution.  We covered the back curtain with silver, blue, and white stars, making the stage look a little reminiscent of an elementary school production.  Then we lined the edge of the stage with foil garland, and shiny cardboard letters that spelled out "Mary & Scott Forever".

The Stage

We used strings of Christmas lights anywhere we could to add a touch of extra light.  Our good friends, Brian and Melissa, found every cute niche to stick lights in, giving the place a little extra glow.  It looked especially cute in the entrance and hallway, where we also created a kitschy Elvis shrine, and hung a floral ceiling decoration.

Entrance Before

Entrance After (In Progress)

A Closer Look at the Elvis Shrine

Hallway Before

Hallway After

The bathrooms were pet projects of my sister, Sarah, and I.  We expected them to be in much worse condition. Usually, when you think of concert hall bathrooms you expect tons of grafitti, bashed fixtures, and general grossness. Not so with the Heirloom! We were amazed at how well both bathrooms looked when we stopped by to take a closer look.  On the day of the wedding it was easy as cake to dazzle up both rooms.  We turned the ladies room into a super feminine, pinup parlor, while we gave the men's room a retro casino lounge theme.

The Men's Room Before

These are pictures of the men's room about half-way finished. We also added Betty Page playing cards and a life size Elvis cutout (in a gold lame suit).

The Ladies Room Before

The ladies room is almost done in this photo. Sailor showed up later on with Betty Page playing cards, and neon colored parasols. You can't see them very well here, but we also had some really cute pink and green paper lanterns hanging over the stalls, courtesy of Mrs. Leonard.

We rented a wooden dance floor to encourage folks to boogy, and to give the main area a little more depth.  We also rented buffet and round tables and teal linens.  The color of the table cloths helped to bring out the deep red color of the walls, making the whole main are appear brighter and more lively.  We threw in some red, turquoise, and silver balloons, and decorated the tables with our etched centerpieces, votive candles, and sprinkled them with faux daisies.  For the ceremony, we covered the dance floor in chairs, creating an aisle, and a place for most of the audience.  Others sat at tables, or watched from the balcony above.  After the ceremony, we had friends clear the dance floor while servers passed out champagne.

The Main Area Before

The Main Area After

The same theme of tables and chairs continued on the balcony, providing a more secluded area for people to hang out.  We added some extra candles up here, Michelle's leopard pillows, some fabric to cover the upstairs bar window, and just for laughs, a life size cutout of Boba Fett.

Balcony Before

 

Balcony After - Not very descriptive shots, but you get the idea!

Here's a slide show of our morning helpers getting the Heirloom all dolled up! (With some other pre-wedding shots thrown in.)

Music Makes the World Go Round

Music is one of the most important aspect of both my life and Scott's.  We've both grown up in homes where music played an essential part of daily life.  Scott's parents adored rock n' roll and the glitzy glamor of Las Vegas shows.  The Beatles, Elvis Presley, and Barbara Streisand was regularly blasted in the Leonard household.  When I grew up, my parents' taste spanned the likes of David Bowie to Joan Baez.  Between my father regularly bringing home new and unique NPR favorites such as Irish Dement, and my mother waxing poetic over the genius of rock n roll heroines such as Stevie Nicks or Debbie Harry, my sisters and I were more than encouraged to blast our own records loud and proud. 

Like plenty of teenagers, we both spent our formative years obsessively listening to music, constantly searching for the next greatest song, or paying careful attention to already known masterpieces.  As Scott and I grew older this obsession never ceased.  Concerts, downloads, and bootlegs were the primary focus day in and day out.  Even now we will gladly miss sleep on a work night if there is a good show within 1-2 hours drive.

Music still plays a huge role in our lives, often surpassing all other hobbies or entertainments.  Not a day goes by where the sound of Scott playing guitar, or of me belting a tune does not echo against the walls of our small condo. The sound of Scott carefully dissecting a favorite song is often replaced lately by a single bass line throbbing in from the craft room as Scott methodically learns songs in preparation for the China trip.  As someone who is yet to master any instrument (apart from occasionally my own vocal chords), it blows my mind the way that he can listen and repeat melodies on so many different instruments.  As much as I love music, my flame for it is only a tiny glimmer in comparison to Scott's. I've never known anyone who loved music so much as Scott.

You can imagine the pressure that I felt when picking music for our wedding!  I chose a New Orleans jazzy rendition of the Wedding March so that the wedding party could dance down the aisle.  That seemed to go over really well, and had everyone in the audience boogying along. 

For the recessional, we chose "Wigwam" by Bob Dylan, a sentimental favorite of ours.  We were announced to Rebel Rouser by Duane Eddy, and the bride & groom first dance was "Sleep Walk" by Johnny & Santo.  That has always been our song, and it was a great match for the 50's theme anyway.  Countless hours of our lives were spent driving aimlessly through the night while listening to that song. What girl could help but fall in love with a sun roof open to the stars and Sleep Walk on the radio? I didn't stand a chance.

 

We opened the dance floor to Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell", and followed it with "Maybelleine" and the original version of "Woo Hoo" by the Rock-A-Teens. 

I obsessed quite a bit over the choices for this first batch of songs, trying to get a mix of the most kick ass, and soulful 50's rockabilly.  Elvis performed a 30 minute set after the first batch of music and really lit the crowd on fire.

Next, we danced with out parents.  I danced with my Dad to Iris Dement's "Sweet is the Melody".  Iris Dement was an artist my Dad heard on NPR one evening on the way home from work.  He instantly fell in love and made a pit stop from his commute just to get his hands on the full album.  He came home full of excitement, and made my sisters, Mom, and I listen to the whole thing as soon as he came home.  Lucky for us, we loved it too.  Since my Dad had always encouraged my sisters and I to sing, I sang the entire song to my father as we danced.  Strangely enough, he told me that one of the reasons he had liked Iris Dement so much was that her voice reminded him of mine!  Funny how things turn out.

Scott and his Mom chose "I'm Happy Just to Dance With You" by the Beatles, a good choice that came from Scott's love of the Beatles, and his Mom's desire for an upbeat song. You should know, Scott's mother is quite the dancer.  I don't think that she's ever had lessons or anything like that, but can she ever boogy!  She was kicking up her heels Tina Turner style the entire night, and was the talk of the dance floor!

 

The second batch of dance music was a mix of carefully chosen oldies and a few indie and alternative songs thrown in for good measure.  Elvis, who was also our DJ on top of being entertainment and officiator, popped in party hits now and again to keep people dancing.  After a good deal of dancing, he disappeared for a costume change, ready to warm up the crowd with his second set!  White jumpsuit Elvis was a huge hit.  He was swarmed with ladies, and had the entire place going crazy.

Following Elvis's second set, we did an Anniversary Dance to a version of "Our Love is Here to Stay" by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.  All the married couples began the dance, and were widdled down until only the longest married couple remained. Al and Carol Barney, my Matron of Honor's parents won the dance with 50 years of marriage, being celebrated this year!  Carol remained on the floor to judge in our next game, the Single Ladies Bouquet Dance Contest!

This wacky idea for a wedding game was drummed up by The Hat City Scissor Squad girls just a few weeks before the wedding. While discussing wedding plans we got onto the topic of bouquet tosses, and decided to have dance-off instead of the traditional toss.  All the unmarried ladies danced their butts off to "Single Ladies" by Beyonce, and Carol tapped them out one by one, until she selected my sister, Sarah, as the winner.  Reports say that she may have even done a crab style back bend to win the prize.

Our last set of music spanned the remainder of the evening and let loose with a series of indie dance hits, classic jams, and good old fashioned party music.  We wrapped up the night with a last dance of "Flightless Bird, American Mouth" by Iron and Wine, and called it a night... that is until we hit the karaoke bar later on.

For the heck of it, check out this page to see a complete playlist from our wedding.  You can download Itunes Mixes of the stuff that is available at the Itune Store, or you can hunt for these little gems on your own.  Enjoy!