A gorilla may be the cover of Kemp and Alicia’s wedding photo album.

They told their guests to dress “for fun” for the Saturday celebration. For some, this meant jeans and a sweater; for others it meant dress pants and a button-up; for one, it meant a gorilla suit.

On Halloween, Alicia and Kemp became Mr. and Mrs. Pond at a courthouse; however, a mock ceremony and reception took place Saturday in the Pond family’s backyard and garage.

Invitations were sent out only a month before the celebration. This is appalling by theknot.com standard’s. The recommendation is, “invitations should go out eight weeks before the wedding – this gives guests plenty of time to clear their schedules for the day .” Despite the short notice, more than 100 friends, family members and neighbors attended.

An olive drab army tent dominated the backyard.

The bride wore black.

The groom boxed with his guests.

And at one point, the guests were all wearing colorful wigs and dancing.

I liked this wedding.

Not in a shock value, “Jerry Springer Show” way, although these details would allude to that type of cheap entertainment.

I liked this wedding because, while dancing in the garage, listening to Grandma and Mom Pond jam on the auto harp and harmonica and toasting the happy couple in the driveway with champagne in paper cups, I felt I was truly celebrating what it meant to be a young Pond.

I have been invited to four weddings in the past three months.

The three remaining couples will follow the traditional path. They have sent out “save the date” cards, invitations and RSVP notes – all in separate envelopes.

I am in two of these weddings and have spent hundreds on the bridesmaid dresses and matching accessories.

I have stressed out with brides-to-be about seating charts, the perfect white gown and the other various socially “correct” do’s and don’ts.

Each of the remaining couples is markedly different. They include a policeman, a nurse, and a factory worker, but they will all have cookie-cutter weddings.

For most of them, white bridal gowns, thrown bouquets and dollar dances offer predictability and comfort during the hectic day. However, this was not the case for the Ponds, and they were proud of it.

The Pond’s like being themselves, and they are good at it. This made everyone attending comfortable.

Passers-by may not have understood, but anyone who was in the backyard that day did.

Kemp’s face radiated with love and pride as he talked about his new wife. Alicia was not stressed out about details, but sat back and enjoyed the night with her closest friends.

The cousins drank and danced together.

The Pond wedding was truly a celebration of love and unity without the traditional wedding price tag (which CNNMoney.com says averages $27,852).

It was excellent.