Big fat geek wedding

Weddings are emotionally charged events full of happy tears, heartfelt speeches, and serious life commitments. But they should also be fun, memorable and representative of the wedded couple. Here’s how to incorporate elements of your hobbies and passions into your day.

Art and literature lovers

Fine art afficionados can get creative with every aspect of the day, from custom invitations to funky party favors.

• Recycle a favorite childhood novel by turning it into a bridal bouquet. Roll a page from a book into a cone and secure with a piece of tape. Tuck the points of the cones into a bunch of flowers and tie a ribbon around it all to hold it together.

• Have your guests sign the guestbook on a vintage typewriter.

• Design your own invitations using stencils and spray paint, or turn a portrait of you and your partner into a comic book style drawing.

• Write guests’ names on old library cards and use as table place settings.

• Possible wedding venues: A library or bookstore, an art museum.

Techies

Lovers of gadgets and technology can use its convenience to help document, plan and spice up their wedding.

• Send out a video invitation or save-the-date announcement through email or social networking.

• Build tiny robots for your cake toppers out of old clock parts.

• Livestream the ceremony for those who can’t attend in person.

• Give out USB drives with pictures, playlists, videos and more on them as wedding favors.

• Set up a digital photobooth on a laptop or tablet and have guests take pictures of themselves throughout the night.

• Possible wedding venue: Planetarium or observatory, makerspace.

Fantasy fans

Tolkien, Rowling and Martin fans can incorporate traditions of fantastical literature for a subtle nod to the greats, or can use them all for a complete fantasy festival.

• Make old style wedding invitations with off-white, tea-stained parchment paper. Seal with a wax stamp.

• Partake in a handfasting ritual for your vows. This is an old Celtic tradition where the bride and groom wrap a red string around one anothers’ hands as a symbol of their union.

• Have the wedding party don custom swords or helms.

• Set up a long table and hold a candlelit feast for the wedding dinner complete with standard fantasy fare—meat, pastries, beer and wine. You may want to skip the blood pudding depending on your guests’ appetites.

• Possible wedding venue: Renaissance faire, an extravagant church or cathedral, a snowy beach on Lake Tahoe.

Green chic

Being environmentally conscious for your wedding is not just for geeks, but if you really want to have an eco-ceremony, find reusable and recyclable elements for every part of your wedding.

• Send invitations digitally, or print on recycled paper embedded with seeds that can be buried in soil. The paper will germinate and sprout flowers.

• Look for a wedding dress or bridesmaid dresses at thrift stores.

• Lead guests on a short nature hike to the venue.

• Create a wedding bouquet out of vegetables, wildflowers, or recycled objects from around the house.

• Have a local farm and bakery cater the wedding with all regional ingredients.

• In lieu of wedding gifts, ask for donations toward your favorite environmental organization.

• Possible wedding venue: a farm, a field, a forest clearing, top of a mountain—any large expanse of the great outdoors.