Briana & Jesse’s Geek Chic Galaxy-Inspired Wedding in the Blue Ridge Mountains

Briana & Jesse’s geek chic galaxy-inspired wedding was on May the Fourth (be with you) in 2022. Their intimate, authentic wedding took place at a stunning venue in the Blue Ridge Mountains with a view of the sky that was the perfect setting for their special day. These two are lovers of Star Trek, Star Wars, board games, and video games, and know that the stars aligned to bring them together. They wanted a wedding day that truly reflected their relationship and had fewer than 60 guests in attendance, and this fandom design included purple, green, and blue to create a galaxy design that was tasteful and geek chic.

Vendor Team

Rings: Lily Booth Collection

Invitations: Minted

Viking Drinking Horns: Norse Tradesman

Ring boxes: HaphazardDesigns

Table Signs: Dolanpaper, GateBuilderModels, DavesOffice, and Portraits By Alan

Wooden Place Names: SugoiCC

Personalized Tie Pins: sierrametaldesign

Cake Topper: ThistleAndLaceDesign

Jesse’s earrings: thinkupjewelry

Handfasting cord: EmbracingCords

Til Death sign: LedNeonCraft

Wedding Cape: NoonOnTheMoon

Tiara: Kariannessecret

Briana & Jesse met taking martial arts classes in their hometown of China Grove. They both moved to Raleigh to attend NC State, and Jesse asked Briana out on their first “unofficial” date to the movies. They knew throughout their time together in college that they wanted to spend forever together. Jesse asked Briana to marry him when they were on a trip to Yosemite National Park, and they could see the Half Dome in the distance. Her ring has opals from her Grandmother’s necklace.

Details and Attire for a Geek Chic Galaxy Design

Planner Emily Katherine Events said, “When Briana and Jesse first reached out, they wanted help planning an intimate wedding that would incorporate some of their favorite interests. They are both super fans of StarGate, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and Star Wars, and wanted to include these fandoms (as well as some others) in a subtle yet definitely-there way. To keep that balance of subtle and in-your-face, we decided to lean into a broader Galaxy theme and were able to include some very obvious nods to these shows as well as extend the galaxy theme into the colors and other areas of the day!”

They had a geek chic galaxy-inspired wedding wedding at The Ridge in Marshall, NC surrounded by an intimate group of family, friends, and stars. Paper details were largely designed with purple and stars, and their custom ring boxes said, “My Precious…” with a Tardis design and the phrase, “Love is not an emotion. Love is a promise.” These two got ready with their closest friends inside The Residence on the property. Briana looked like a geek chic dream with a beautiful gown from Maggi Bridal, tiara, blue green and purple fairy hair, a necklace gifted to her by Jesse, and an epic 25-foot cape veil. Jesse spent the morning chatting and playing video games in the lower level of getting-ready house alongside his closest friends, and he gifted his groomsmen Viking axes and drinking horns.

A Galaxy-Inspired Wedding Ceremony

Briana & Jesse’s galaxy-inspired wedding ceremony took place on The Knoll with a stunning Blue Ridge Mountains backdrop. The ceremony, officiated by Magical Weddings by Carly, was framed by a circle arch decorated with greenery, and a white bar cart covered in greenery was available for pre-ceremony champagne. The couple incorporated a hand-fasting ceremony within their wedding ceremony, which symbolized that they are choosing to be together, after they exchanged rings and personal vows. In their vows, written separately and secretly, both included a favorite line – “undomesticated equine could not drag me away.”

Magical Weddings by Carly said, “I loved working with Brianna and Jesse, they were such a wonderful geeky couple and so calm and chill throughout the day. The view of the mountains was one of the most stunning I’ve ever seen. And I think Briana had the longest veil, it was amazing! I enjoyed including subtle fandom references in their script and seeing all their other star touches, like all the spaceship tables. I particularly loved working with all my fellow wedding pros as well, most of whom I’d worked with on many previous weddings, there’s such a great sense of community among wedding vendors in NC.”

Fandoms in Wedding Design

The day faded into evening with a cocktail hour at the Spanish and French-inspired Chateau, which is a short walk from The Knoll. There were plenty of board games and brain teasers for guests to enjoy while drinking cocktails and enjoying the view. When it was time for the couple to join the party as husband and wife, Briana & Jesse made an entrance to remember with a beautifully choreographed first dance. Briana’s love of Dan + Shay music was seen in the signage, as well as their first dance.

To include fandoms in their wedding design, some subtle details of the galaxy theme were in all parts of the wedding “included the round shape of their ceremony arch – known in the wedding biz as a moon gate, referred to during this planning process as the stargate!” according to planner Emily. “We also drew from the colors of the galaxy cake to inspire the rest of the wedding colors, with various shades of purple throughout their attire, decor, and flowers. Every detail of this wedding was thoughtfully decided upon by Jesse & Briana, and the end result was a beautifully unique celebration of their love!”

“One of the more obvious nods to their favorite space shows,” Emily Katherine Events said, “was the dinner tables named after ships, displayed as framed blueprints & schematics.” The 6 guest tables were decorated with purple, green, and blue flowers and bud vases, alongside white lanterns and table name signs that were framed schematics of different spaceships, including The Serenity, The Death Star, Millennium Falcon, USS Enterprise, The Stargate, and The Tardis. “Their cake was also unmistakably part of this theme, with a gorgeous galaxy mirror glaze! And the cake topper was a clever pun based on a line from Star Trek, Cake It So.” The custom cake-cutting set read, “May our lives forever be richer than the sweets we eat. Forever and always, Jesse & Briana.”

We snuck them outside for an epic sunset couple’s shoot before they danced the night away with a purple “‘Til Death” neon buzzing in the background. These two made a grand exit to cold sparklers and ended the evening with lightsabers and some incredible star photos.