Thus, when Roo and I decided to have a Star Wars themed wedding reception, we were the ultimate picture of class and elegance—at least according to anyone in the BYU Astrophysics Department.
I couldn’t write about our reception without addressing the one question that most people are usually too polite to ask: Why?
Most people assume that either:
A) We surveyed a cross-section of 9-year-old boys to find out what would be the most awesome party ever and used that idea to celebrate our wedding, OR
B) I lost a bet.
The truth is that we had both been to our fair share of conventional wedding receptions, including our own. (The Star Wars reception was actually our second reception. The first very standard reception was held in Utah. We saved Star Wars for Roo’s family and friends in California.) And we’d had enough of tiny mint cups and being besieged by Michael Buble over the sound system. We knew we wanted to do something different. We thought of maybe having a cookout catered by In N’ Out, then thought a movie-themed party would be exciting. At some point, the movie-theme warped into ONE movie theme: Star Wars. Possibly because Roo already had an attic room literally jam-packed with every conceivable Star War-related toy, game, poster, bed sheet, diorama, and cardboard cutout—enough to decorate an entire house. It was perfect (though some might say tremendously nerdy. I chose to disregard that sentiment, however, and view Star Wars as a monumental icon of American pop culture. That makes it cool—and I know a ton of 9-year-old boys who would agree.)
The celebration would have been incomplete without my Princess Leia buns. The geriatric ladies marvelled at my "shiny" hair. Once I explained that I was wearing a wig, we became fast friends. And yes, Roo had a little Jedi braid to complement his full Jedi robe.
I made sure we put pictures of us looking normal here in the entryway--next to the Stormtrooper riding the Dewback. And the Taunton.
An ewok! Some of our family members really got in the spirit and dressed up. Many wore Jedi robes, one even sported an full Queen Amidala gown--headdress and all! The rest thought we were nuts.
Our catered dinner included: Obi-Wantons, Lightsaber Skewers, Yoda soda and Dark Side Salad.
The kids thought they were at a birthday party and kept asking when we would do the pinata.
Here is a sampling of just a few decorations. The highly-speculative masterpiece hanging above the mantel was painted by a Romanian friend of Roo's. I like to let everyone interpret its meaning for themselves. Its just safer that way...
Here are the party favors: lollypops encased in assorted plastic Star Wars heads. Sweet! (literally)
Most of the guests were already retired by the time the first movie was released in 1977, so they didn't really get what was going on. But that didn't keep them from marvelling at the decor. These ladies were so thrilled with this thing that they insisted they take their picture with it. We thought about explaining that it was the torso of an imperial guard, but we didn't want to confuse them. So we took their picture with the thing and they were overjoyed.
Roo made this giant replica in high school. It is the ship the bad guys fly in. It made a good centerpiece.
Roo wielded a light saber in case any of the guests got too rowdy. Luke Skywalker is looking pretty satisfied with the event. He stood in our line and entertained the guests to no end--making it easier for us to slip away unnoticed for some Yoda Soda.
Our cake was shaped like a planet--the ice planet of Hoth, to be specific. We put dry ice underneath so the fog would bubble up and shroud the cake in mystery and give it a sense of foreboding. The only minor crisis occured when Roo noticed that they had placed Luke Skywalker on top next to Leia--a major blunder. Thankfully, there were multiple Han Solo action figures in Hoth garb on hand to replace the errant Luke. Here is the cake after the crisis was averted--topped with Han and Leia. Luke is on the back of the cake sleeping inside a dead Taunton.
Not really. That would be a little weird.
And we're not that obsessed.
4 comments:
I am glad this has finally come to light. It is good to embrace your past....even if it was a long time ago.
very delicious Obi-wantons are!
Wow, not being a star wars freak, I mean enthusiast, I think this is pretty funny. I'm glad you didn't start the history series with this particular story, it might have prevented me falling in love with your story.
Ryan mentioned this the other day, it is pretty funny to see the actual photos. I can't get over that painting.
Annie, thank you so much for sharing! I have wanted to hear more about/see pictures from this reception ever since you mentioned it to me a few short years ago. This is really just awesome from start to finish.
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