For many of us, a themed wedding strikes fear in our hearts. We picture over-the-top displays of tackiness, stripping a wedding of its worth and making a mockery of its meaning. But these four couples tell a different story. They incorporated a theme with a lot of class and a little bit of irreverence. After all, it’s about what’s personal to the couple, be it superheroes or yellow submarines.
Superhero themed wedding
Megan and Tom don’t take themselves too seriously, so once engaged, the couple began planning a wedding that reflected their fun and eclectic personalities.
“We wanted a personal, informal feel,” says Megan, “something like a festival or fair.” It was a planning session at The Bad Waitress in Minneapolis that sparked an idea. Both bride and groom loved the vintage, mod, diner-like feel of the coffee shop and were especially drawn to the table cards featuring superheroes like Captain America. It was then that light bulb went off.
It was a little tricky at times, though. Megan was living in the Czech Republic during their engagement, which made detail coordination difficult. On top of that, Tom’s mom is Polish and, according to Megan, “very, very traditional,” so Megan was worried she’d be “the future daughter-in-law planning the crazy wedding.” It was this thinking that inspired the couple to carry out their superhero theme in a subtle manner.
The wedding stationery suite—invitations, programs and thank-you cards—had a similar look and feel. A friend of the bride turned the couple into illustrated superheroes with other throwback design elements like starbursts and retro fonts. The couple likened it to a comic book, noting that they mentioned “Superhero attire optional” at the bottom of the invite. (Much to their surprise, a cousin of the bride’s mother showed up with five costumes in tow, including a Batman outfit she changed into for the reception. “She was about a bottle of wine into the night at that point,” jokes the bride.)
While the couple didn’t plan their attire according to the theme, their bright, bold color scheme of Tiffany blue and red made for a superhero-esque feel, especially among the bridesmaids, who wore blue tea-length dresses capped with red knit boleros and red shoes.
Theme aside, the couple wanted a personal, heartfelt day full of 
details that were special to them as a couple. In place of a unity candle, the bride and groom sutured together the bride's baby blanket, which she had cut when she moved overseas, keeping half for her and sending the other half to her husband. (The suturing was also a nod to Tom’s schooling to become a surgeon.) They also skipped the traditional wedding cake and instead served ice cream treats from a vintage ice cream truck. Even their placecard holders were individual servings of s’mores, which guests could later roast over a bonfire.
“It’s great that more brides are making their wedding such a personal reflection of them,” says Megan. “Really, it’s what we wanted to do and we did that.” But the icing on the cake, er, ice cream cone? “My mom kept saying this was the most fun she’s ever had at a wedding."
Beatles themed wedding
A themed wedding seemed like a natural for Amber and Gregg Rohde, a couple with a passionate love affair with all things Beatles. After all, they got engaged outside Abbey Road Studios in London after walking by Paul McCartney’s former home, all the while singing Beatles songs. (Amber even has McCartney’s name tattooed on her foot!)
Initially, the pair was going for a 1960s retro vibe with modern elements mixed in. The bride picked out her dress, they decided on the Graves 601 hotel for the reception, then came time to design the invitation. Rohde noticed they were drawn to an option that reminded them of the Beatles’ iconic White Album. As both their stationer and cake baker, Robin Martin from Gateaux Inc. was the one who caught onto the theme and suggested they run with it.
From there, it spread. According to Amber, the theme wasn’t overt, so if you weren’t a Beatles fan, you might not have realized what was going on until their Beatles cover band—complete look-alikes down to the slim suits and mop-top haircuts—took to the stage for the Rohdes’ first dance.
The couple played a bevy of Beatles hits throughout the ceremony: A pianist cousin serenaded guests with a handful of Beatles songs while guests were seated, and the mothers walked in to “I Will” while the bridesmaids were escorted by “Across the Universe.” Amber walked down the aisle to the tune of “Here, There and Everywhere.”
Additionally, their yellow and slate-gray color scheme tied into whimsical Beatles references, from the yellow submarine floating its way to the top of their martini ice luge to their chocolate favors that spelled out “LOVE” in yellow bubble letters. And while it wasn’t color-coordinated, the Rohdes’ cake sat atop a water-filled base with whole and cut green apples floating in it—an homage to Apple Records, the record label founded by the Beatles.
While they didn’t hire a formal wedding planner, Amber used Martin’s expertise throughout the planning process. “Robin became vital in that everything I did. I would bounce ideas off of her,” she says. “She was my saving grace.”
Lake living themed wedding
Though they grew up more than 1,000 miles apart, both Chelsea and Mark Geraghty spent their youth on the water: her childhood near Lake Minnetonka and his on the lake near his New Hampshire home. So it’s no surprise they decided to incorporate a “lake living” theme into their wedding.
The couple wanted to convey a relaxed atmosphere throughout the day, so they enlisted Nicole Walesch of b.inspired events to coordinate the details. “Mark and I are both very laid-back people,” says Geraghty. “We weren’t the types that were set on a million different things, so we told Nicole, ‘We trust you. Do whatever.’ ”
The result was an easy, vacation-like affair, says Geraghty. A natural choice for the ceremony and reception was the historic Lafayette Club on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. The ceremony was held in a tent near water’s edge, while the reception was in the club’s grand ballroom. A serene palette of blue, chocolate brown and white brought the water theme indoors.
For a beachy vibe, placecard holders of painted mini Adirondack chairs in a tray filled with sand greeted guests; Chelsea’s father took the time to paint every chair by hand. The couple had a steel drum band during their cocktail hour, and all the reception tables were named for bays and coves on Lake Minnetonka and New Hampshire’s Squam Lake. Even the custom lighting for the reception resembled waves crashing on the shore.
Their rehearsal dinner was also on-theme, with guests receiving invitations that mimicked old Lake Minnetonka postcards (which the couple enlarged and have framed in their home); the night before the wedding, guests were treated to a tour of the lake on Paradise Charter Cruises.
“Everything turned out perfectly,” Geraghty says, “and the ceremony outside at Lafayette was ideal”—although, he chuckles, “had the weather been different, I’m sure I’d change that answer.”
Back to your roots theme
Chris Vdakes is proud of his Sicilian heritage. When the local event promoter and his fiancée Lena began planning their wedding, they knew they wanted to do something fun that also paid homage to Vdakes’s roots. Thus was born their Roaring ’20s wedding—with a side of mobster for good measure.
The whole family got in on the action, with the bride’s father in a slightly oversize brown pinstripe suit and her mother in a flapper dress and headwrap. The bride’s vintage-inspired dress came from The Wedding Shoppe, but her outfit wasn’t complete without a custom headpiece, bird-cage veil and blue feather boa; the groom wore a suit he already owned. As she walked down the aisle, Lena held a bouquet of calla lilies and peacock feathers, which the couple kept because it was “too cool to throw,” says Vdakes. Did we mention she also sported a machine gun at one point, and the groom had a .45 strapped to his side?
“We put the guns down for the ceremony,” insists Lena.
They held a small, private ceremony at Harmony Park in Geneva, about 90 minutes south of the Twin Cities, with a dinner afterwards for the family and friends in attendance. A limo then took the bride and groom to a larger reception at the Cabooze in Minneapolis where a few hundred guests were waiting.
The couple hired both Mike Silverman—better known as That 1 Guy— and local band Black Blondie to get their guests moving on the dance floor. Vdakes also surprised his new bride with a burlesque show “with tassels and everything,” he says, coordinated by Nadine Dubois of Lili’s Burlesque Review.
Everyone had a great time, says Vdakes, laughing. “I’d say it was a success.”
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