Weddings are meant to be happy occasions that celebrate a new chapter in your life, but with all of the expectations of what it can and should look like, planning can be really stressful! After all, it’s hard enough to take care of yourself. How do you plan an event that makes you, your partner, and all the attendees happy?
As a creative, I understand the struggle of trying to make something that feels authentic to me, but is also palatable to a wider audience. So, if you’re feeling stuck, you’re not alone.
Something that helps me out when I’m in a rut, though, is seeing what other creatives have done in the past. In weddings, as in art, it can be useful to learn from other people’s experiences, and let their daring ideas inspire your own.
That said, here are some of the most unusual weddings that have taken place in American history:
In a Lion’s Cage: 1890
Some of the most daring ceremonies took place in lion cages in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Charlotte Wiberg and Arthur St. Andrassy got married in 1895 at a Boston zoo, accompanied by 2 lions, while a choir and 5,000 spectators attended at a safe distance.
Shortly after, Howard Bloomgren and lion tamer Paulin Devere got married in Omaha, in a cage of five lions. It is said that when Bloomgren proposed, Devere replied with, “If you love me, you must marry me in the lions’ cage, and prove that you have nerve.” So, the plan was set in motion.
At the ceremony, the bride, Devere, entered the lion cage first. Once the lions backed down at her command, she beckoned for the groom, Bloomgren, to enter, and they quickly performed the nuptials while 4,000 people waited breathlessly.
How to bring this energy into your wedding:
Now, you probably shouldn’t get married in a lion’s cage, but these couples are a reminder that you can incorporate your special talents, quirks, and hobbies into your special day. If you love animals, consider getting married at a zoo or featuring your pets in the ceremony! If you have a rock collection that you’re proud of, fun furniture, a favourite sport, or a beloved TV show – why not show it off in the theme, décor, or as a fun Easter egg for guests to discover?
After all, weddings are about the things that make you unique, as daring or nerdy as it may be, and it can be as big as a lion’s cage or as small as a ring. It’s whatever will make you most excited for your special day, and that joy will surely spread to everyone in attendance.
Going Underwater: 1950
One of the first underwater weddings took place in 1954 at Aquarena Springs in San Marcos, Texas. Mary Beth Sanger, a former Aquamaid, and Bob Smith, a former diving clown, wanted to get married where they first met – underwater.
A safe and picturesque ceremony required meticulous planning. The groom’s shoes contained 12 pounds of lead for stability, and the bride wore steel over her knees so she could be more mobile. The bride’s skirt hoops and the groomsmen’s pockets were weighted as well, and the groom covered his arms with cardboard so his suit would maintain its shape while wet.
The wedding party all practiced breathing through underwater hoses for the ceremony. The audience, however, stayed dry, seated in a watertight compartment submerged in the pool built specifically for the submarine theatre. Reverend Curtis Ellision officiated over a set of loudspeakers, and the ceremony finished with a traditional shower of rice as the couple resurfaced.
How to bring this energy into your wedding:
There are now vendors around the world that offer underwater ceremonies, but really, what Sanger and Smith taught us is that you can get married anywhere! People have gotten married while water skiing, riding horses, hitchhiking, and even in nudist camps.
If you’re not sure about where to spend your special day, why not choose a non-traditional venue that is meaningful to you? It may be both more cost-effective and memorable for you and your guests.
At the State Fair: 1960
Simpler weddings have taken place quietly within a crowd of strangers.
Alan and Marilyn McConnell got married on a carousel at the Los Angeles State Fair in 1969. They then repeated their vows on a carousel ride every year after that. Others incorporated their children into the annual tradition and recall fond memories of their ceremony whenever the state fair rolls around.
These sweet couples show us that weddings don’t have to just be a one-off event. You can take this opportunity to create new traditions that last a lifetime.
How to bring this energy into your wedding:
You could make an annual celebration at a fair like the Renaissance festival, or perhaps a seasonal tradition in a pumpkin patch, or a sunflower field. You could even incorporate a favourite restaurant or date spot, such as a movie theatre, so you can recreate favourite moments from your ceremony long after the fact.
The idea is that you don’t need to feel pressured into creating the day of your dreams only to never use most of your purchases again. Weddings are to celebrate your marriage, and that continues even when the papers are signed and the guests leave.
So why not get married where you’ll be reminded of your love story year after year.
On the Streets: 2020
Maybe the most frustrating part of weddings, though, is that they do not always go according to plan. Many couples experienced this first-hand when the coronavirus pandemic shut down the nation in 2020. But this challenge also gave rise to some of the most creative celebrations in modern-day that have made lasting changes in the wedding industry.
Dr. Kerry Anne Perkins and Michael Gordon didn’t plan to get married on the sidewalk of Philadelphia. In fact, they had wanted to have a large wedding but shifted their plans to a micro-ceremony due to the pandemic.
Then, as Perkins and Gordon were getting ready for their “first look,” a group of Black Lives Matter protestors passed by the couple’s venue, and the two spontaneously decided to join in solidarity. The crowd cheered as news of Perkins and Gordon’s ceremony spread across the internet, making it an even bigger celebration than the couple had originally planned.
How to bring this energy into your wedding:
Their ingenuity is both an example of how beautiful moments can come from the unexpected and a model of how you can use your wedding as a platform to highlight a cause that you care about. That way, your ceremony will impact far more than you expect in a positive way (even if it doesn’t go viral on social media).
I hope these daring weddings remind us of how we as humans are most impactful when we are authentic to ourselves. I know that my artwork has always been the best when it is personal and specific to me, and even when there are people who don’t understand it, the people who matter will.
At the end of the day, your wedding is a celebration of your relationship, and that can be whatever you want! Whether you seal the deal in pyjamas at a bus station or bundled in layers on an iceberg, it should be your imagination, not other people’s opinions, that sets the limit.
About the Author
Ruthie Wu is a multidisciplinary storyteller, singer-songwriter, dancer, actress, and artist. She’s written a play, published a children’s book, won contests with her poetry, and her paintings have been featured in community centres in the United States and Canada. As a proud Chinese American, she is passionate about amplifying marginalised voices and building bridges between people one word, story, or drawing at a time. Ruthie has been a long-time follower of Rock n Roll Bride and is thrilled to be a guest writer on this one-of-a-kind platform!