Dan Harmon + Erin McGathy’s Natural History Museum Wedding

Dan Harmon Wedding

For all fans of Community (aka one of the funniest shows of all time) + comedy in general, today’s wedding is kind of a big deal. The tv show creator + producer, Dan Harmon, wed his lovely lady, Erin, at Los Angeles’ Natural History Museum – and guys, the photos by Max Wanger are pretty out-of-this-world…

When Erin said she + Dan ...both love the 1970’s, rainy-day-field-trip feel of the Museum, we knew we were in for something special. She went on to say, Dan and I both work in comedy and frequently joke about ourselves, so the idea of pretending our wedding was an event so valuable to human history it required museum space was too good to pass up. We solicited the help of our artist friends to create displays about our relationship that stood among actual museum exhibits. There were mannequins wearing the actual outfits we were wore the night we met next to an enlarged, printed screenshot of us flirting over Facebook for the first time. We filled display cases with “artifacts” from our 3 year courtship. 

Pretty amazing, right? And that’s just the start! We have lots more details from Erin scattered throughout the post, but before we sign off, we have to give a shout out to Kristeen LaBrot Events for planning such an amazing affair. Erin says, at one point I told Kristeen that I wanted the reception to feel like you have lost your way in a pine-forest, but then arrive at a clearing to find your grandmother (who you has been missing for 30 years) having a large tea party. As ridiculous as that sounds…she knew exactly what I meant and pulled it off beautifully!

red bridesmaid dresses

protea billy ball bouquet

Fujiko’s Flowers crafted the super fun, vibrant bouquets (and all of the evening’s wild flower-inspired centerpieces).

wildflower bouquets

vintage wedding dress

Dan Harmon Wedding

Erin wore a stunning dress she designed alongside Annamarie von Firley of Revamp Vintage. Fun fact: the bodice is a repurposed vintage prom dress that she bought when she was 19!

Dan Harmon Wedding

Dan Harmon Wedding

Dan Harmon Wedding

Dan Harmon and groomsmen

Dan Harmon and groomsmen

red bridesmaid dresses

Dan Harmon Wedding

ceremony banner

Natural History Museum Wedding

Natural History Museum Wedding

Natural History Museum Wedding

Our Favorite Memory From The Wedding

There were so many memorable moments at the wedding and WOW…veterans aren’t kidding when they tell you it goes by FAST. My favorite part of the wedding was probably our “Unity Cloak” ritual. Dan and I always poked fun at contemporary, non-religious wedding rituals and how seemingly arbitrary they are, so we created on of our own. We held hands while our wedding party fastened a “Unity Cloak” (a gold christmas tree skirt from Amazon.com) around our shoulders. Dan is friends with Jack Black and we thought it would be novel to have him sing the “traditional” unity cloak song while this happened. To our surprise, Jack wrote a really sincere little song and our fake ritual that was originally a joke, ended up moving me more than anything else in the ceremony.That was when it finally hit me that we were actually getting married.

Natural History Museum Wedding

Natural History Museum Wedding

Museum Gallery Wedding Signs

Museum Gallery Wedding Signs

Museum Gallery Wedding Signs

Museum Gallery Wedding Signs

Our incredible friends Cat Solen and Erin Pierce created a perfect diorama depicting Dan’s proposal at Loch Ness. I digitally combined our faces and two of my bridesmaids dressed a “life-size” barbie to create our “future child.” Our friend, Dustin Marshall who is a brilliant audio engineer and producer edited together a track of Dan and I bickering from various podcasts we’ve done and played it on loop near life size cut outs of us that stood in front of a backdrop of our actual home-bar so guests could “hang out” with us at home. Our also brilliant photographer friend, Robyn Von Swank did a photoshoot with us as in the style of taxidermied animals and those pictures were used in signage that hung around the museum. It was odd and awesome.

Museum Gallery Wedding Signs

custom coke cans

ceremony banner

Natural History Museum Reception

rock candy escort cards

Natural History Museum Reception

movie couple table numbers

Natural History Museum Reception

anemone centerpiece

anemone centerpiece

On the tablescapes, Erin says, I have a penchant for the color palettes and design aesthetic of Wes Anderson, including a heavy use of ferns and wildflowers.

movie couple table numbers

Dan Harmon Wedding

Our Musical Choices

Processional: True Love will Find You in the End – Daniel Johnston (Played live by friend, Matt Gourley)

Recessional: The old western song “Ghost Riders in the Sky" (Played live by friend, Matt Gourley)

First Dance: Book of Love – The Magnetic Fields

Dan Harmon Wedding

Dan Harmon Wedding Cake

Our Advice To Those Planning Now

Sit down with your partner before and throughout planning to discuss how you want to feel on the day of your wedding and continue to check in with each other. I wanted to feel like a kid a birthday party, so I wore a big fluffy dress. We wanted to feel like we were part of the party so we seated ourselves in the middle of the reception with friends. I wanted to surprise my husband by singing the Prentender’s I’ll stand by you while my bridesmaids danced behind me, wearing giant Dan-heads….so I did it! We did a lot of atypical stuff and never stopped to think any of it was too weird. We were lucky enough to have a wedding planner who was enthusiastic about the challenge and never tried to convince us not to do something. Do rituals that are meaningful to you and skip the rest. Don’t do anything for the approval for your friends or family (you’ll just end up resenting them— and they just want you to be happy). Follow your own bliss, don’t second guess yourself and delegate your bidding to your trusted friends and family!!! They want to be a part of your big day and you will be so happy you have one less thing to worry about. Also spend money on booze before flowers.

photography: Max Wanger // venue: Natural History Museum Los Angeles, California // event design + planning: Kristeen LaBrot Events // florals: Fujiko’s Flowers // bridesmaid dresses: Mod Cloth // hair + makeup: Makeup Therapy // videography: SharkPig // paper goods, banner design + display signage: Kristeen LaBrot Events //  // catering: Heirloom LA // cake: Bride made // rentals: Town & Country Event RentalsVintage Table Co. // officiant: Duncan Trussell // music: Smiles Davis from The Flashdance // wedding dress: Designed by the bride and Annamarie von Firley of Revamp Vintage. The bodice is a repurposed vintage prom dress that the bride bought when she was 19 // hairpieces: Veil by Debra Moreland for BHLDN // shoes: J.Crew // groom suit: High Society // wedding illustration: Kali Fontecchio // display designers: Cat Solen & Erin Pierce

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