Their love, dive bars and music is what inspired Hannah and Alex’s Denver nuptials. Their legendary wedding was full of DIY elements and they had vintage arcade games as entertainment. They even ended the night with an ’emo hour’ where their DJ played all their favourite emo and pop punk songs!
“We chose to focus our wedding around a dive bar theme because we had our first date in a dive bar, and five years later it’s still our favourite and most frequent outing”, Hannah told us. “We also worked hard to include elements of music – another huge bonding element between the two of us. Alex is a musician and we have spent a huge portion of our relationship connecting over music and attending concerts.”
Vintage beer trays, thrifted and restored, served as unique decor, while custom matchbook favours and a sandwich board welcome sign infused the venue with an authentic dive bar ambiance. They didn’t have lots of flowers, but the florals at the alter, displayed with one of Alex’s old drum kits, made for a really unique touch. The huge streamer ceiling installation was also a DIY effort, and was a lot of work but really transformed the space.
“I was inspired by a photo I found online that actually sparked the whole theme of our wedding!” Hannah continued. “It was tricky figuring out the placement and sizing but it turned out better than I ever could’ve imagined. We ended up using foil/metallic table skirts and plastic table cloths. The table cloths were hand cut and attached to string to create many, many banners.”
After their ceremony, the couple headed to a dive bar down the street for some time alone and their portrait session. It felt very special to do their wedding photos in a similar location to where it all began. “My favourite part of the day was probably when we slipped out of our cocktail hour for a small photo shoot and drink at a dive bar down the street. It was so fun to just have a moment for the two of us after the pressure of the big day was over. We were officially married and we were just ready to have so much fun with our friends and family. These ended up being the best photos from the day too!”
With a heathy budget of $30,000, they spent the most on the bride’s outfit, the bar and their photographer as these were the most important parts for them. However, they managed to pull things back with the catering as they served bar snacks during their drinks reception and had a taco bar for the main meal.
Looking back, Hannah and Alex’s advice to other couples is to just stay true to who you are when planning your wedding, “I wish we’d set more time aside for just us on the big day. It’s easy to get caught up in spending time with friends and family and trying to stick to the schedule! Don’t forget that this is all about you and your partner. You’ll hear and read advice from so many different people and publications. Take it with a grain of salt – stay true to who you are and what you and your partner want!”
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