BY DESIGN : WEDDING WEAR : ALTAR-NATIVES : How I Did ‘I Do’ My Way, and Why Some Vow to Do Likewise

My 24-year-old sister and her 26-year-old husband are really kind of traditional. She actually likes to cook dinner, and he likes to mow the lawn.

But when they got married two summers ago, she wore a simple, white satin dress . . . with a sweeping fishtail. He donned a white tuxedo accented with a bright royal blue Colonel Sanders’ tie and vest. He and his groomsmen stomped around in Dr. Marten boots.

Forget pinching gowns, mile-long veils, stiff rented tuxedos, wedding rings that come with endless payments or other trappings of those fairy-tale, traditional weddings. Today’s young couples are increasingly saying “I do” their way.

Examples of alternative wedding regalia include:

* My insurance agent’s sister wore white Dr. Martens under her Cinderella-style wedding gown.

* For her Halloween nuptials, a bride made the women in her wedding party wear the most hideous second-hand bridesmaid dresses she could find.

* Another Halloween bride and groom requested guests attend in costume.

* Rather than placing bands on their fingers, one couple wanted their rings to be tattooed on.

Whether it’s opting for a flashy vintage suit or refusing to remove their nose rings for the ceremony, twentysomethings are deciding that growing up doesn’t have to mean growing dull.

When clothing designer Sean Barger, 26, asked Angel Lawrence, 24, to wed, they sealed the deal with an antique Tiffany diamond engagement ring they found at an estate shop for a tenth its original price.

At the May wedding, Lawrence will wear a Mandarin dress she got at a recent antique show. She’ll streak her dyed black hair electric blue to match the blue crown of silk flowers she’ll wear.

Barger will wear a made-to-order zoot suit, 1940s-style, from El Pachuco in Fullerton.

“I’ve always dug (zoot suits). The whole vibe of it seemed kind of cool,” says Barger, an admitted fashion fiend, which comes in handy with his Costa Mesa-based streetwear line, HiFi Mfg. “Renting a tux seemed so cheesy. I’d rather do something different and fun. That’s what a wedding should be all about.”

When Lawrence’s sister Heathyr, 30, and Kyle Hall, 27, decided to tie the knot last summer, there was only one thing on their minds: Elvis.

The King served as their inspiration all the way down to the bride and bridesmaid’s giant, glittery Priscilla ‘dos and the ring boy’s white satin Napoleonic Elvis jumpsuit embellished with silver stars.

Heathyr Lawrence, already known for her wildly rambunctious junior collection, Mantrap, stitched up the groom’s silver vinyl suit. He finished the look with white creeper shoes and a wide, white belt a la ‘70s Elvis.

For herself, Lawrence created a short, white satin circle skirt and a silver vinyl sweetheart bodice. She added a pink sculptured bow around the waist and a smaller version at the top of her head.

The bridesmaids wore corsets from Frederick’s of Hollywood and tulle tutus with white fishnets and platform shoes.

The groomsmen wore vintage tuxedos, silver cummerbunds and ties from Aardvarks on Melrose in Los Angeles. In all, they spent $800 on the bridal wardrobe.

“The thought never entered my mind about doing it any other way than this,” says Heathyr Lawrence. “It was definitely like a theatrical production. Super memorable.”

Less outrageous but still unique are the May wedding plans by Jaimie Hennessy, 21, and Theresa Ganchero, 23, both of Costa Mesa.

Ganchero, a clerk at Mother’s restaurant in Costa Mesa, dreams of an old-fashioned, ankle-skimming dress made of a gauzy linen that bares her shoulders. “I want something simple, not a wedding wedding dress, but still something white,” she says.

Nor does she want a veil or shoes--just a ring of flowers around her head and rings on her toes. Her bridesmaids will wear a similar look, with flowers in their hair. Hennessy, a craft artisan, will wear white linen pants and an embroidered Indian shirt.

And in case you’re wondering, for our union in Seville, Spain, last March, I wore a silk charmeuse, flamenco-style slip dress, a pearl peineta (comb) and mantilla (lace veil), while Simon Apodaca Jones suited up in a double-breasted, ‘40s tuxedo. My World War II-era engagement ring came from a Laguna Beach estate store.