Like most people there have been moments in my life where I’ve considered taking the plunge and getting married (never actually have luckily enough though). During those moments, like most anime geeks, I had thoughts pass through my head on how I could incorporate anime into the ceremony. So when an entry on the website Offbeat Bride came up featuring just that, it caught my attention.

A couple from Australia, Anli and Laura, did just that with their wedding putting it to Revolutionary Girl Utena and Portal themes. That’s why once I heard about it, I knew that I had to talk to this couple and find out more about the event.

So, when in the planning stages did adding Utena and Portal into the wedding come about? Was this something you had already been thinking about early or was it something one of you thought up along the way?

Laura: It was really important to us that the wedding reflected our personalities and interests, so for me geeky references were a must!

I am a really big fan of Shoujo Kakumei Utena (especially Juri *squee*) and Utena has played a big role in our relationship over the years, the first gift I ever received from Anli was a handmade rose seal ring ^^; (very cute) which she upgraded a few years later to another DIY ring made of actual silver) and when I snuck her into the prom I was wearing a rose bride gown she had made for me. That was why in planning our wedding, we decided to pay tribute to Utena.  As I’m such a big geek, I also added Aoi Hana and Strawberry Panic references.

We also love Portal, especially the companion cube! 

Anli: We knew early on that Hikari Sasu Niwa would be our processional song and that we would play lots of music from Utena and other anime during the reception (and also Jarrett Heather’s piano arrangements of Jonathan Coulton songs, including ‘Still Alive’ – swoon!). The Portal stuff was added fairly early on too as we admired the many companion cube cakes on the internet. We were both happy to add geeky references to the day while still keeping it recognizable as a wedding.

I saw all the themes you managed to get into the ceremony including your aisle theme, were there any elements that you wanted to get in but couldn’t for one reason or another?

Anli: I didn’t feel that we had to compromise anything important.  We had such a long engagement during which we saved aggressively and planned all the details that I think we fit in everything that we wanted to.

Laura: The thought of incorporating references into the actual wedding started with our engagement. Anli proposed to me by wrapping a gold Juri locket in foil and hiding it in a box of chocolates that she bought me to celebrate our 4th anniversary. I love that locket so much that I was determined to wear it on the wedding day. As it turned out, the gold clashed terribly with the coloring of my dream dress and that is when I got the idea to incorporate other items.

Were your friends and family supportive of doing something creative and different? Did anyone attempt to convince you go to a more “traditional” route?

Anli: Our friends and family were very supportive. Not everyone was familiar with all the different references but they appreciated the efforts we had put into the day. In the end, we still had quite a ‘traditional’ format, or as traditional as a non-legal ceremony was ever going to be.

Laura: It was also great to have friends there who knew the in jokes   Some of my favorite memories of the day are seeing our guests’ squee when particular pieces of music played, or when we made references in our vows. A lot of them were so subtle that they worked on two levels anyway, the fans went *squee* and the other guests enjoyed the instrumentals for example.

Thanks to Laura and Anli for taking the time to answer my questions!

Updated 11/2: Removed sentence containing inaccurate info.