ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Odd Couples and Bizarre Weddings

Updated on March 10, 2013

by Kathy Batesel

Have you met odd couples or people who chose strange wedding venues?
Have you met odd couples or people who chose strange wedding venues? | Source

Unique, Memorable Weddings that are Downright Bizarre

Have you ever thought "How did they ever get married? They are such an odd couple!" Are you fascinated by tales of bizarre weddings that make you go, "Hmm?"

I have! I've met couples whose ages are decades apart and adore each other. I've seen couples where one partner is attractive enough to be a fashion model and the other wouldn't dare go to an audition for the job. I admire them for defying cultural norms. But then there are some stories that provoke an entirely different response.

I've brought together some weddings that will make you laugh, gasp, and groan at just how weird weddings can be, but I've gotta admit, some of these are kinda cool, too!

Have You Ever...

Have you ever taken part in a wedding that would be considered extremely unusual?

See results

"You're Marrying Who?"

1. According to the Digital Journal, in 2007 a self-confessed narcissist married himself using a life-sized photo of himself in women's bridal wear because he was "dissatisfied with reality." Then 39, Lie Ye planned a traditional wedding in which he, along with his cardboard bride, toasted guests and observed respected Chinese ceremonial rites like honoring heaven, earth, ancestors, and aged guests.

Ah, well. At least a real person won't have to deal with the way narcissism affects relationships!

2. South Dakota woman Nadine Schweigert had a different reason and method for marrying herself. She claims self empowerment fueled her decision to commit to her "inner groom," according to her interview with Anderson Cooper.

I'll be loyal and happy to see you every day if you'll marry me, cuz I've got wag, baby!
I'll be loyal and happy to see you every day if you'll marry me, cuz I've got wag, baby! | Source

Would this qualify as a same-sex marriage? Although I can sort of wrap my head around her reasoning, I wouldn't dare ask her about her sex life.

3. Then there are those pet lovers who have unusual reasons for wedding their furry friends:

  • Joseph Guiso married his pooch in a public ceremony in Toowomba after assuring human friends and family that their love was not sexual, but pure.
  • Ghana woman Emily Mabou didn't find much support from her family, who boycotted her wedding to her dog. Her canine companion reportedly reminded her of her "kind, faithful, and loyal" father.
  • In India, marriage to animals is permitted in order to exorcise ghosts that have invaded their lives. They don't claim such marriages to be true love, however, and may go on to marry again once they're no longer bothered by otherwordly inhabitants.

Interview with a Woman Who Has OS

Do You Take This Thing to be Your Lawfully Wedded... What?

Though political activists sometimes chain themselves to objects to raise public awareness about social issues, a few people "chain" themselves to objects for other reasons.

Erika Eiffel took her beloved groom's name as her own when she filed to change her name after marrying the (drum roll, please!) Eiffel Tower. So did Eija-Riitta Berliner-Mauer, who felt anguished by the torture her husband of 29 years, the Berlin Wall, endured at the hands of the German peoples who demolished it.

One man married a pillow emblazoned with his favorite anime character. Another took a steam engine locomotive to be his bride. Yet another woman finally wed her favorite roller coaster after taking over 3,000 rides on ... him? It?

Most people who have married inanimate objects have a sexual orientation known as object sexuality (OS), a condition that may be related to Asperger's Syndrome. According to Health Guidance, people with OS may project feelings of pleasure or love into an inaminate object and believe that the object has feelings for them as well. While there may be an aspect of sexuality to their beliefs, they predominantly feel love and commitment instead. The idea of a relationship with another human may be difficult for them to imagine.

Would you get married underwater? This research facility offers intimate weddings and interesting honeymoon possibilities.
Would you get married underwater? This research facility offers intimate weddings and interesting honeymoon possibilities. | Source

Jules Undersea Lodge

A
51 Shoreland Drive Key Largo, FL 33037:
51 Shoreland Dr, Key Largo, FL 33037, USA

get directions

You're Taking the Plunge... Where?

The Jules Undersea Lodge isn't exactly a resort, but it certainly qualifies as an unusual place to dive headlong into marriage. Located 21-feet below the ocean's surface, this former research laboratory offers a 2-bedroom hideaway for visitors who SCUBA dive through the mangrove lagoon where it's located, ideal for an elopement and a honeymoon. (People who aren't SCUBA certified may take a 3-hour course to obtain qualification for making the dive.)

For another kind of nature lover, nudist resorts like the Desert Sun Resort in Palm Springs, California offer adults a choice of socializing with or without clothing in a luxurious and romantic Mediterranean style environment. Imagine how much is saved on the dresses alone!


Lovely Place for a Wedding?

Click thumbnail to view full-size
With over 350 days of sunshine a year, nuptials aren't likely to get rained out in Palm Springs, California, home to the clothing-optional Desert Sun Resort, shopping, and wind farms.For some people, "taking the plunge" can mean a long dive in Florida's Keys or a Coney Island roller coaster.Perhaps you've heard of the Elvis wedding chapel in Las Vegas? It's become a popular venue for an off-the-wall wedding.
With over 350 days of sunshine a year, nuptials aren't likely to get rained out in Palm Springs, California, home to the clothing-optional Desert Sun Resort, shopping, and wind farms.
With over 350 days of sunshine a year, nuptials aren't likely to get rained out in Palm Springs, California, home to the clothing-optional Desert Sun Resort, shopping, and wind farms. | Source
For some people, "taking the plunge" can mean a long dive in Florida's Keys or a Coney Island roller coaster.
For some people, "taking the plunge" can mean a long dive in Florida's Keys or a Coney Island roller coaster. | Source
Perhaps you've heard of the Elvis wedding chapel in Las Vegas? It's become a popular venue for an off-the-wall wedding.
Perhaps you've heard of the Elvis wedding chapel in Las Vegas? It's become a popular venue for an off-the-wall wedding. | Source
A Practical Wedding: Creative Ideas for Planning a Beautiful, Affordable, and Meaningful Celebration
A Practical Wedding: Creative Ideas for Planning a Beautiful, Affordable, and Meaningful Celebration
Meg Keene's guide is ideal for planning a wedding anywhere, to anyone! While you might not want something as unusual as the ones here, you'll find creative ideas to create the wedding that's right for you if you'll be getting married soon.
 

Perhaps you've heard of the Elvis Presley wedding chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada, where Elvis impersonators will conduct the wedding and serenade you with your choice of Presley's hits. (I don't recommend choosing "Hound Dog!")

For people who prefer to live life in the fast lane, Vegas also offers drive-through weddings for under a hundred bucks. Now that I think about it, though, I don't know many Las Vegas marriages that have endured.

Maybe that's why some people want to tie the knot at a place with special meaning, like a fast-food restaurant where they met or the garbage dump where they worked together. Read about strange places to get married in Travel and Leisure, where you'll discover that the famous wooden Cyclone roller coaster on Coney Island, where the ride's cars may symbolize the ups and downs they'll experience for years to come.

How About a Themed Wedding?

What kind of theme would you choose for your wedding?

See results

Popular Fairy Tale Wedding Themes

Click thumbnail to view full-size
This cheese-y wedding featured a variety of cheese, some of them hard to obtain, layered into a wedding cake topped by mice.George Norkus found this setting while covering a nearby wedding reception. It's similar to a couple I saw on TV doing a themed wedding based on their careers in theater.This Halloween wedding took place in New Orleans and featured costumes from spooky television shows.Sweetfaced Cakes designed this cake for a rock star wedding theme. (I wonder if the bride wore a leather dress?)
This cheese-y wedding featured a variety of cheese, some of them hard to obtain, layered into a wedding cake topped by mice.
This cheese-y wedding featured a variety of cheese, some of them hard to obtain, layered into a wedding cake topped by mice. | Source
George Norkus found this setting while covering a nearby wedding reception. It's similar to a couple I saw on TV doing a themed wedding based on their careers in theater.
George Norkus found this setting while covering a nearby wedding reception. It's similar to a couple I saw on TV doing a themed wedding based on their careers in theater. | Source
This Halloween wedding took place in New Orleans and featured costumes from spooky television shows.
This Halloween wedding took place in New Orleans and featured costumes from spooky television shows. | Source
Sweetfaced Cakes designed this cake for a rock star wedding theme. (I wonder if the bride wore a leather dress?)
Sweetfaced Cakes designed this cake for a rock star wedding theme. (I wonder if the bride wore a leather dress?) | Source

Odd Wedding Themes

I suppose it had to happen eventually, but I'd never heard of wedding themes until recently. Some aren't so new and are exactly what you might expect: the "fairy tale" wedding based on the Secret Garden or Beauty and the Beast, for instance, or Valentine's Day.

Others can be quite novel.

Puerto Rican event planner Nuestra Herencia Co. offers tips and items for people to plan a wide array of wedding themes, including Barbecue, wild west, military, seahorse, forest, and other wedding themes. Pretty cool and not exactly bizarre or strange, but then there are some that are...

Browse through these images to discover unusual themes like the "rock star" wedding, a cheese-y one, and how to get hitched Halloween style.

Personally, I like the creativity behind some of these ideas, but it reminds me that the wedding is just an event. It doesn't really say anything about what really counts - which is the quality of the marriage in all the days that follow.


Source

Would You Say "I do?"

Would you say "I do" to any of the ideas you've seen on this page?

See results
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)