This Tesla

Aug 09, 2023

By: Joyce Chen03/30/2018 at 12:45 PM

It was their (Tesla-themed) wedding their way from start to finish. Alexi Hoeft and Alexander Hart bonded over their mutual love of Tesla, so it was only natural that they planned their recent Washington, D.C. wedding "in the spirit of Tesla" by infusing the concept of sustainability into their entire nuptials.

"Our wedding was all about maximizing the amount of time everyone had to spend with each other, making sure the food and drink were excellent, and adding any quirky customizations that fit our personalities and budgets," Hoeft, 30, tells The Knot. "I respect companies like Tesla that don't accept the current state of the art in the industry as a guiding light for what they should imitate. Instead, they took the difficult road of starting with a blank slate and building a car platform from the ground up."

By that token, Hoeft and Hart, 29, made sure to eliminate as much "disposable waste" as possible from the wedding itself, meaning that Hoeft rented all three of her wedding weekend gowns (including her wedding gown) from Rent the Runway; she gave their copper and tulle ceremony backdrop to a friend with an upcoming wedding; and the couple encouraged their wedding party to use outfits "they already owned or were going to get anyway and were able to use for other events."

(Credit: Secret Leigh Photography)

(Credit: Secret Leigh Photography)

Hoeft's ring was even made from recycled jewelry metals, recycled accent diamonds and had a lab grown Alexandrite gem ("My name is Alexandra and his name is Alexander and I love the way the gem changed colors in different light," she says). "The sustainability aspect of Tesla's mission statement shows up loud and clear in those aspects of my wedding planning," she says.

Not that there weren't actual Teslas abound at the wedding, either. The bride and groom hitched a ride to the ceremony location (which was also, incidentally, the location for the cocktail hour and the reception) in Hoeft's father's white Model X, and they even creatively repurposed a red Tesla roadster Christmas ornament Hart gifted Hoeft as a cake topper.

"Incorporating Tesla into our special day happened pretty organically," Hoeft says. "Alexander was open to the idea of our official transportation being Tesla and using my dad's Model X for shuttling the wedding party around. What more appropriate wedding vehicle than a pure, fumeless, clean electric vehicle that's white and has the elegant show-stopping falcon wing doors?"

(Credit: Secret Leigh Photography)

(Credit: Secret Leigh Photography)

The couple even included Tesla in their individually written vows, which they read to one another during the ceremony, unbeknownst to one another.

In her vows, Hoeft recalls, she told Hart, "And here we are, two and a half years later and you have brought so much love and support and growth to my life. What is true love but setting a Google News alert for Tesla and devotedly following it because I like Tesla so much?"

Hart's Tesla-related portion of his vows: "Alexi, I am so grateful to be marrying you. Your positivity, optimism, and unbridled enthusiasm are contagious, and you light up every room you’re in. I’ve seen every day in the years I’ve known you an incredible passion and curiosity applied to the world around you, whether that's all things Tesla, the newest interesting story in the Wall Street Journal you then cut out for me, your teaching, or everything else you do."

(Credit: Secret Leigh Photography)

The couple also, uniquely, acted as officiants of their own wedding (Washington, D.C. is one of the few places in the country where the couple is legally allowed to officiate their own wedding).

"Alexander is always pretty open to letting my quirky personality show through," she says of opting to have a unique wedding. "And kind of like how Tesla built their cars from scratch based on what they wanted to get out of it, I didn't base my wedding off of the standard template. … That way, it felt much easier to break the mould when needed because we weren't starting with a mould, just with goals! And the wedding was surprisingly relaxing and went super smoothly even though we didn't have a decorator or planner or officiant. I don't think we would have changed a thing."

See more photos below.

(Credit: Secret Leigh Photography)

(Credit: Secret Leigh Photography)

(Credit: Secret Leigh Photography)

(Credit: Secret Leigh Photography)

Looking to achieve a similar wedding day vision? Take The Knot's Style Quiz here.