The Apocalypse might not be a theme you’d automatically go for when planning a wedding, but for Kevin and Reagan it felt pretty spot on. They spent a long time deciding whether marriage made sense for them and as their conversations turned were political and grounded in the reality of the world they are moving through together, Reagan kept coming back to one thought: “This is my person to go through the apocalypse with.” That was true with or without a wedding but once that idea landed, they couldn’t shake it,

Another thing super important to them both was to avoided gendered language throughout the day. Kevin is non-binary and the couple wanted the structure of the wedding to reflect that, while also making their queerness visible without explanation or performance. The ceremony took place in the round, with guests seated in a circle. Kevin and Reagan processed toward each other. Bathrooms were also gender neutral and during their first dance (which was to As the World Falls Down, naturally) they both got the chance to spin and be the spinner!

The décor was something Reagan really enjoyed pulling together. Classical statue heads were used on the tables, their mouths painted chrome in a nod to Mad Max Fury Road. Another big reference for them was books. “Kevin’s never seen a book store he could walk by without going in” Reagan said. “We bonded over a shared love of books and comics and many of our dates have involved meeting at a local brewery and reading their own books at a table together. Instead of a traditional gift registry we asked people to give us a copy of their favourite book. It felt like a fun way to get a bunch of interesting new reading material we might not have chosen for ourselves and also to get to know our friends and family better.”

Guests were also invited to attend in costume which, as artists LARPers and burners, most of them did. Apocalyptic outfits were encouraged but they wanted everyone to wear something they felt comfortable in.

Speaking of which, one of the elements of planning the couple didn’t anticipate being so tricky was finding comfortable chairs! Reagan explained, “As a plus sized person with plus sized friends and family, it was really important to me to have chairs that didn’t feel like they were about to collapse under you and were wide enough for hips of all sizes. In the end we went with cushy conference centre-type chairs. They’re not fancy or cute but they’re comfortable and feel solid. We wanted our guests and ourselves to be able to focus on the day, not worry about how their chair was constructed. While we were very concerned with people’s physical comfort, we were less so with their emotional! When we were making decisions about the party and going ‘Is this too weird…?’ we kept saying to each other ‘We’ve taken care of our guests’ physical comfort. Their psychological comfort is not our problem!'”

Reagan wore a dress which almost looked like two contrasting gowns joined down the centre, one black and one white. The base was from Rish Bridal, with modifications by Leiren Designs including new sleeves, and adding black velvet and trim. Reagan’s parents both passed away in 2019 and her memorial photo charm necklace was by Birthstones Jewellery.

In true apocalypse fashion, not everything went perfectly. Reagan forgot to carry her bouquet that she’d laboured over for months, the wrong music played at the start of the ceremony and their dog was very anxious, but in the end none of that really mattered.

“My sister gave some really great advice when we first got engaged”, Reagan concluded. “Choose the three things you care about the most and let everything else go. For us that was being able to invite all the people we love, having those people physically comfortable, and having them well-supplied with good food and drink. Anything that happens outside of that was a bonus but if it didn’t work out we didn’t have to stress. It was fun getting to go crazy with the theme and clothes and things, but when stuff didn’t work exactly as intended, who cares? You’re still getting married to someone you love.”