The couple met while working in live theatre so they brought their creative skills, eclectic tastes, and passion for art and music into their Pasadena wedding celebration. Miranda and Jon combined medieval and renaissance art, funk music, bubbles, giant gorillas and a lot of love. They encouraged guests to dress in “finery regardless of time period” and there was a delightfully anachronistic tone to the evening.  

“For the theme think neo-medieval… Kind of like A Knight’s Tale re-imagined”, they told us. “We wanted something that felt like a Renaissance Faire but DELIBERATELY not tied to a specific commercial IP (although the bride is obsessed with Lord of the Rings). This looseness allowed us to imagine the theme on our own terms, play anachronistically, and curate a day that felt eclectically us.”

The ceremony was held a church because it was the most beautiful venue they could afford. As neither of them is religious, they included a handfasting ceremony. Miranda also chose to keep her own last name. A friend was able to officiate the ceremony while another friend performed on the violin.

They called on their community for many other parts of the day, too. Their bartender came from a local bar where the couple were regulars. The wedding meal was catered by a nearby Greek restaurant that sadly, later closed its doors.

“Honestly, asking people if they would help out and seeing the joy and excitement at being asked was the best part of planning,” Miranda said. “It was awesome to interact with everyone and see how much they cared about the wedding.”

They worked with Fantastical Adventures by Jill on the décor and day-of coordination, but the couple did a lot of the pre-planning themselves. Although that choice kept them to budget, it meant a steep workload. “It’s basically like taking on a second job for 6 months: logistics, projections, actuals, budgeting. It’s like having homework every night for a year,” Miranda said. “It was an amazing and very personalised experience because of this, but it was a LOT of work.”

The couple found smart ways to keep costs under control. Miranda found her dress at vintage boutique Cream and Ivory, choosing an 80s gown she describes as looking like it came straight out of Labyrinth. Trader Joe’s wine kept the drinks budget manageable. Instead of a traditional wedding cake, they ordered cakes from Porto’s Bakery. And despite having to scale back some original décor plans to stay within budget, Miranda looks back on the day feeling proud of what they created. She wouldn’t change anything.

““Spend money on the things that are important to you as a couple, and cut away the excess that the industry forces on you,” she concluded. “Craft the wedding you want as opposed to a template wedding that takes less energy but costs more money and is built around easy choices made for you. The process is more important than the wedding, so enjoy it and take ownership over it. It can be anything you want it to be.”