Some brides go in for the more placid wedding themes, such as swans, doves or double hearts. And others mix it up a little with cowboy boots and haystacks, or old Hollywood cocktails. And then there are the brides who aren’t content to borrow anything (except, perhaps, something blue). These are the brides who can spin out a wedding universe worthy of Marion Zimmer Bradley, putting their unique stamp on everything from the preliminary save-the-dates to the final getaway.
One such bride is Sara, who dreamed up an inventive LEGO® wedding to her high school sweetheart last year — and pulled off the event for 80 in five months flat. (Take that, Trump!) In a quick detour from her hectic schedule, Sarah let us pick her brains in an interview … and revealed the inner workings of the ultimate Lego wedding. We think that no matter what your theme — if it calls for creativity, you’re bound to be inspired.
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FavorIdeas: How did you come up with the idea for a Lego wedding?
Sara: Well, first we discovered Eric Harshbarger’s Lego wedding cake on the Web … it just fit. At one point in our illustrious history, my husband and I turned down a night on the town to build a Lego train set in his basement.
FavorIdeas: And what were the initial reactions?
Sara: My husband was skeptical — he didn’t want to offend his family.
FavorIdeas: So how did your parents take it?
Sara: I really don’t think anyone believed us until they got the invitations with a Lego bride and groom on top. But both families kind of understood that was our style.
FavorIdeas: This sounds like kind of a cheesy question, but I think there’s a sort of philosophy behind the whole Lego thing. Like, when brides choose doves, it’s because they especially like the sense of innocence involved. And with dragonflies, there’s a sort of a spunky informality. What was the meaning behind Legos for you two?
Sara: Well. To be honest, there wasn’t anything too cheesy behind it. We’re a bit dorky, and thought that the Lego theme represented that well. In a deeper sense, too — it meant that we were building our families together, and we both made a good fit. In fact, our tagline as it were was “Building a Foundation of Love.”
FavorIdeas: Is it just me, or is there sort of a strong democratic flavor to Lego couples?
Sara: (coughs) Do you mean democratic as in liberal? Or just in the equality sense of the word?
FavorIdeas: Mainly the latter … I’m thinking of the whole Danish connection.
Sara: Well, we are liberal. We married in a Unitarian Universalist church, and our minister took inspiration from the Lego vows available on the Web. But yeah, couples who choose the Lego route might emphasize being on equal footing with each other.
PinterestFavorIdeas: Where else did Legos pop up on your wedding planning?
Sara: My Maid of Honor put a ton of them in a jar for a “guess the number of Legos” lottery at my bridal shower. And for favors, we found the perfect thing: some compressed sugar candy building blocks (“Blox”) that look just like Legos.
My mom actually emailed the LEGO company informing them of our momentous occasion — and they sent us a little Lego bride and groom! (And, oddly, an extra “policeman” torso.) She also commissioned a custom Lego cake topper — it was super-cool. Music-themed, with two notes and a record player on top, and engraved with our names and date.
We got to customize the minifigs for the topper too. For example, I got to pick out my hair — which was funny, because I knew which hairstyles come from which Legos, so it was like, “Do I want Hermione, or Slave Girl Leia?” (Ed. note: Minifigs are also known as “Lego people.” They’re the small, chunky figures that populate Lego words, often subjected to intense customization by the initiated. For example, you can snap off one minifig’s plastic hairdo and attach it to another minifig’s head.)
FavorIdeas: So which one did you pick? Hermoine?
Sara: Neither, that would’ve been too creepy. I just chose a generic brown (laughs).
FavorIdeas: What else did you squeeze in there?
Sara: As a cardholder, we used the empty Lego box shaped like a giant brick. And then for centerpieces, we got fishbowls from the dollar store and fill them up with miscellaneous Legos. This was just the best, as it turned out, because people started dumping them and building things — which was exactly what we wanted. Our guests completely got into the spirit. They started building “wedding presents” out of all the Legos, which started to congregate around our guestbook. We found tiny houses and tiny cars. And spaceships and laser cannons. After all, Legos make all kinds of wedding gifts possible (laughs).
We placed some Legos on our head table, too, but we rigged the game by hogging the good pieces, like trees. I have to admit, we were worried people would think it was tacky, but instead everyone just jumped in and had fun.
Oh — and one more. When we had the bridal dance… and people put money in that bag … (crazy, but I let my parents handle that!) … instead of tying the bills in knots, everyone started tying and wrapping them around the Lego bricks that were laying around. Everyone showed off some intricate little present-wrapping skills to get those bills folded around the bricks like that. It was hilarious the next day.
PinterestFavorIdeas: You had unusually talented guests.
Sara: That’s really about as far as the Legos went. The candies were the best. Nothing beat the image of my grandmother sporting a bright blue tongue from the Blox. I would have done more if I’d had the time. I wanted to make customized, individual minifigs for each member of my bridal party, but I didn’t get to it.
FavorIdeas: I’ve seen this done with Barbie Dolls and it was remarkable. Any more Lego ideas you didn’t have time to implement?
Sara: I also wanted to help set the scene with giant versions of those famous Lego flowers. I planned to make them out of foam board or foam insulation: blow up the outline of a Lego flower (the kind that go on those green stems) to a really large size, cut them out of foam and paint them.
FavorIdeas: And what now, that the deal’s all done? Are you planning a trip to LegoLand?
Sara: Not really, no real plans to go there, though it’d be our first stop if we were nearby.
Bridal GuideFavorIdeas: Are you both in technology, or just sort of naturally left-brained?
Sara: Yeah, we’re both programmers! Our next project — once we get room — is to get some of those sweet Lego robots. Are you a creative bride with a story to tell? Drop us a line telling us why we should Interview You!
More ideas for having a LEGO® wedding:
- An edible Lego cake — incredible artistry.
- LEGO ice molds (discussion). Inspiration for a great wedding display.
- A stop-action Lego reenactment of your history as a couple. Yes, it’s been done: fast-forward to 2:30 on the video below to see one couple’s love story told entirely with Legos. Sure to keep your guests’ tongues abuzz for months after.