After working on offbeatbride.com for almost two years now (and Offbeat Bride the book for another year before that!) I've started to see some definite trends in offbeat bride styles.
I mean yes: we're all doing our own thang, but there are definitely elements that seem to pop up repeatedly in offbeat weddings.
To celebrate this, I decided that this Halloween I would dress up as, well, YOU! I wanted to see how many offbeat bride trends I could pack into one outfit.
No one in Seattle will get this costume at all — "goth drag queen?" "weird mary poppins?" — but I don't care. I did it for y'all because I love your style.
SO, how many offbeat trends can you see in these shots? We'll start easy: Red wedding dress? Check. Actually a prom dress? Check. Purchased off eBay? Check!
That MAC lipstick everyone keeps raving about on the OBT? Check.
Rockabilly-style tattooed chest-piece? (Granted, fake.) But check!
Peacock feathers? Check.
Hipster mustache? Check!
Fleuvogs and skull detailing? Check!
Headless groom/groveling bride? Check.
Headless bride/groveling groom? Check.
Coordinated wedding dog? Check.
(That's my Li'l D, Sassafras!)
Christy's classic "Just a minute, hon!" book shot? Check.
And of course then there are the cupcakes. Offbeat brides looooove cupcakes, but perhaps none as much as me! (I recommend sliding the slideshow speed to 1 second/photo for maximum CUPCAKE HORROR!)
And last but not least, Kambriel jacket for the full goth feel? CHECK!
Very special thanks to my dear friend Ben Haley who so graciously took the time to play bridal portraiture with me to get all these ridiculous photos.
SO! Offbeat Brides … any trends I missed? Maybe I'll do this every year, and we'll see what offbeat trends show up for Halloween 2009…
Comments on "My halloween costume: YOU!"
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Sarah
October 30th, 2008 · 10:53 PM · #
You rock. This made my day!
natty
October 31st, 2008 · 12:11 AM · #
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh i want that dog, that cupcake and that hat. and that lipstick. and whatever that awesome building is you're jumping in front of…
yeah, i'll take that too.
Dana
October 31st, 2008 · 12:23 AM · #
Ooh! Ooh! Where'd you get the hat/veil combo? Or did you make it?
I covet thee, oh tiny tiny hat of cuteness!!!
Sarah
October 31st, 2008 · 1:11 AM · #
Ariel, you look so seriously, drop-dead gorgeous!!
Kit
October 31st, 2008 · 1:36 AM · #
Awww, you're so cute! For full OBT goodness, I would say you should cut your hair short and dye it crazier colors, but I wouldn't want to change your lovely hair just for a costume.
Rachel
October 31st, 2008 · 3:19 AM · #
What a fantastic dress! Love the colour (and all the detail you've included – especially the fabulous book shot)
Jennifer
October 31st, 2008 · 3:22 AM · #
Oh man! I was all excited about my husband and I going as Maverick and Goose… I even had my fake moustache ready, but now I wanna go as an OBB! Next year… next year….
Jill
October 31st, 2008 · 3:25 AM · #
um…. you look better in your halloween costume than most people on their ACTUAL wedding day.
freakin awesome.
sandy
October 31st, 2008 · 3:45 AM · #
This shows how much you care about all OBBs *sniff*
Caressa
October 31st, 2008 · 4:12 AM · #
you crack me up! this is great! i believe you have personified all of us OBB quite nicely!
Rosalied
October 31st, 2008 · 4:38 AM · #
Ha! Awesome, the mustache shot and the cupcakes -love it, Happy Halloween Ariel.
rachel
October 31st, 2008 · 4:39 AM · #
well-written and well-observed. clever.
don't forget the husband in medieval/star wars/pirate costume as well…
Roxie
October 31st, 2008 · 5:18 AM · #
Best Halloween Costume Ever!
This just made my very early morning. Too funny.
Oh, but you forgot polka dots. I think thats one of the new big ones (and not just because of the polka dot dress hanging in my closet
Bmorenicky
October 31st, 2008 · 5:39 AM · #
Fantastic! I don't think you missed a thing!
Crystal
October 31st, 2008 · 5:53 AM · #
O M G Ariel you f**king (edited because I'm at work!)rock!!! Not only are you gorgeous (like always), but it all goes together which is really freaking funny!! Awesome costume girl!
Jaimee
October 31st, 2008 · 6:58 AM · #
So I definitely covet your outfit. you rock.
way to represent the OBB's!
Marquesa Jen
October 31st, 2008 · 7:05 AM · #
VERY awesome! Totally made my morning!
Aim
October 31st, 2008 · 7:06 AM · #
HA!! What a great idea!
(and some of us in Seattle will get it if we were to see you out and about)
For the person who asked, I believe the little top hat with veil is from Torrid. They tried to sell me a red one yesterday.
teneisha
October 31st, 2008 · 7:10 AM · #
radness!
laura
October 31st, 2008 · 7:18 AM · #
oh you look like you had SO much fun doing this. you ROCK!!
laura
October 31st, 2008 · 7:20 AM · #
Also, I'm getting married tomorrow… and have been a visitor to your site since I got engaged. Thank you so much for all of the inspiration!
Carling
October 31st, 2008 · 7:45 AM · #
too TOO awesome!!
Siobhan
October 31st, 2008 · 7:52 AM · #
Thanks so much for the giggle, Ariel. I've just been watching news clips on BBC of what's happening in Congo, and was sitting here crying. Thanks for the comic relief.
Stephanie
October 31st, 2008 · 8:00 AM · #
Ariel – you bring a special light to my day, even after my wedding. Thanks for being silly and embracing all that we as OBBs have to offer!
Dixie
October 31st, 2008 · 8:08 AM · #
You smite me with your unrelenting adorability. xoxo
jek in the box
October 31st, 2008 · 8:14 AM · #
oh! this is beyond delightful! it looks like you had a lot of fun and you are rocking the offbreat bride costume!
if only i knew about the tiny top hat, wee pup and mustaches… then i would have had an upbeat offbeat wedding!
Starna
October 31st, 2008 · 8:14 AM · #
This soo rocks! Great Job, I think you hit them all!!
April
October 31st, 2008 · 8:15 AM · #
dyed crinoline perhaps? but otherwise, that was awesome, now I want to go destroy a cupcake, darn this no carb diet!
Fae
October 31st, 2008 · 8:16 AM · #
Hilarious!
Lady Davonia
October 31st, 2008 · 8:19 AM · #
That's awesome!
amber aka akaisha
October 31st, 2008 · 8:29 AM · #
oh my god, this is hilariously awesome.
and your dress is hawt!
gwen
October 31st, 2008 · 8:37 AM · #
awesome hot and soooo fun! whee!
Jessica
October 31st, 2008 · 8:46 AM · #
Damn, Ariel! You look FANTASTIC! This is SO much better than the usual IT'S HALLOWEEN I WANT TO DRESS LIKE A NAUGHTY NURSE/SECRETARY/COP/MAID/BLAH BLAH BLAH!
Stephanie
October 31st, 2008 · 8:51 AM · #
Ariel, this is fantastic, and utterly perfect! You look great, and the coordinated wedding dog looks very proud!
Happy Hallowe'en!
Kelli Ann
October 31st, 2008 · 8:58 AM · #
lol that's too cool! Happy Halloween!
@~>~~
Amanda
October 31st, 2008 · 9:16 AM · #
First, you look awesome! Second Happy Halloween! And third, I'll second Rahel with the fantasy/medieval/star wars LARP outfit!
Your dog is adorable!
Kate
October 31st, 2008 · 9:22 AM · #
Hahaha! You are so cute/awesome!
Becky
October 31st, 2008 · 9:28 AM · #
that's so fabulous! you are gorgeous and i have dog/hat/lipstick/hair/cupcake envy!
Lani
October 31st, 2008 · 10:14 AM · #
I keep giggling at "Hipster Moustache." You rock! I love this site so so so much.
Lani
October 31st, 2008 · 10:15 AM · #
I also can't stop laughing at the cupcake shots. Ha!
Karolynn
October 31st, 2008 · 10:23 AM · #
Hilarious cupcake slide show!!
gillian
October 31st, 2008 · 10:25 AM · #
i am honored to be sister to such a perfectly perfect offbeat bride! and aunt to offbeat dog, of course!
the 'just a minute, hon' shot is my favorite. props to dre for representing hellgate!
Ariel
October 31st, 2008 · 10:30 AM · #
HA, GILLIAN!
To explain my sister-in-law's comment: "Hellgate High" is the name of my husband's high school Alma Mata. NO JOKE!
RedDress
October 31st, 2008 · 10:35 AM · #
*GASP* You're stealing my wedding!!!! and my pictures!!!! LMAO that's an awesome Halloween costume.
amir
October 31st, 2008 · 11:03 AM · #
great dress! love the eyemakeup and sas looks hot.
everysecretthing
October 31st, 2008 · 11:08 AM · #
Wow, you totally nailed it! You might consider making that chest piece permanent. GREAT photos too!
With our wedding only two weeks behind us, I was considering going as a dead version of us as bride and groom, but figured it'd be bad luck or something. This is much more fun.
Thanks for all the inspiration!
BlueyJ
October 31st, 2008 · 11:10 AM · #
Hey, you forgot unmatching bridesmaids!! Otherwise, dead on! Heehee.
TMae
October 31st, 2008 · 11:12 AM · #
yay yay yay!!! Inspired I say!
katie
October 31st, 2008 · 11:12 AM · #
Oh lord, I'm feeling a bit admonished! Offbeat is not seeming so offbeat… Now to nix the peacock feathers, fluevogs and cupcakes from my plans!
Just kiddin'. This is flipping hilarious.
Anne
October 31st, 2008 · 11:18 AM · #
HA!! Girl – you crack me up!! I love it! You look uber hot too!! DAMN!!! HOT HOT HOT!
The new offbeat: a white dress with red roses and traditional poses. HA!
Kelly G.
October 31st, 2008 · 11:37 AM · #
Amazing, and, I concur, Hot.
I think the dress being tea-length would have helped.
Maybe next year.
I want to play offbeat bride bingo– I get birdcage, MAC lipstick, fluevogs, cupcakes, and freespace. Bingo!
Obsidian
October 31st, 2008 · 11:43 AM · #
OMG, you look great what a kewl outfit you actually have quite a bit of my elements in there. You forgot the cupcake stand full of jello shooters. Drop by some night, I would gladly make some for you
Love your site, you rock
Rebecca R.
October 31st, 2008 · 11:43 AM · #
holy wow, you're the awesome! seriously, this is a brilliant idea–go, you!
Alie K
October 31st, 2008 · 12:09 PM · #
Oh, Ariel!! We love you!
Genevieve
October 31st, 2008 · 12:16 PM · #
You F*#king rule AMS! Gros bises~
rodrigus
October 31st, 2008 · 12:20 PM · #
Oh what I would do to have graduated from a place called "Hellgate".
I wish I had an excuse to get all decked out in OBB trends…. putting thinking cap on…
Ariel
October 31st, 2008 · 12:36 PM · #
Rodrigus, thanks for nailing it: this was really just an excuse to get to wear all the fun offbeat bride stuff that I didn't get to rock for my OWN wedding.
Kathleen
October 31st, 2008 · 12:53 PM · #
yr so awesome dude. I think you got all of our elements perfect. Where are the handfasting chords though????
garnet
October 31st, 2008 · 12:59 PM · #
f*cking awesome! I love every bit of it. (I would have added a non floral bouquet of…….lollipops or some shit)
strange but harmless. › Offbeat Bride: Halloween Edition
October 31st, 2008 · 1:41 PM · #
[...] delightful friend Ariel Meadow Stallings had me photograph her for the purpose of an Offbeat Bridge posting and general tomfoolery (some of you may remember my photographs of her book tour last year). The [...]
Matching Halloween - Electrolicious
October 31st, 2008 · 2:04 PM · #
[...] have two Halloween costumes, one where I match my book readers, and one where I match my dog: …they're both pretty dang [...]
Vicky
October 31st, 2008 · 2:14 PM · #
HA! I'm dying! That is too great! But come on Seattle Girl, where's your Wai-Ching??
jo-bee
October 31st, 2008 · 2:42 PM · #
That is very cool… I wish we had more Halloween over here. Oh well. The only thing I can think of is having a tea length dress… Like mine will be one year from today!!!
garnet
October 31st, 2008 · 3:01 PM · #
hey ariel you should do this EVERY year.
Damaris
October 31st, 2008 · 3:07 PM · #
So earlier I looked at the page and just saw a bride in a red dress with a top hat and dog, not even realizing it was you! KUDOS, my friend.
Emily
October 31st, 2008 · 3:29 PM · #
I loved this. A lot. I like all the details that you put in from the skulls to the peacock feathers that reflect common, shared elements of the community.
Mary Rose
October 31st, 2008 · 4:35 PM · #
Hee! I love it.
Also, that's where I'm having my wedding photos taken! I *love* the Deco-style doors of the museum.
Angie
October 31st, 2008 · 5:06 PM · #
Best fake wedding photo shoot ever.
I, too, am in love with Sassafras. What kind of dog is he?
Ariel
October 31st, 2008 · 6:15 PM · #
I call her a "bosthuahua" — a boston terrier/chihuahua mix.
For the most part she got the best of each breed — including a chihuahua upper jaw and boston lower jaw which means a HILARIOUS underbite.
Cassandra
October 31st, 2008 · 6:36 PM · #
OMG!!! This is so freakin' awesome!! And you look just gorgeous in those photos!
Meredith
October 31st, 2008 · 7:03 PM · #
Ariel, you look gorgeous!
That might be the best post you've ever had! LOVE IT!!
A to Z
October 31st, 2008 · 8:51 PM · #
Fun! If I had infinite fundage I would find excuses to purchase so many OBB wedding outfits and just wear them.
I especially love the icing on nose, as I am physically incapable of eating dessert without getting it on my face. It just tastes better that way. One of my bridesmaids says that she loves this about me because it reassures her that I have not been replaced by aliens.
Anne C
November 1st, 2008 · 12:21 AM · #
Wow. For a bunch of offbeat brides we do seem to follow the herd, it seems. I have completely re-thought my "kambriel jacket/mini top hat with veil" idea. Thank you. BTW: Awesome cupcake slideshow. My parents did something very similar for their '89 wedding, but with dairy-free cake and a bit messier.
Michelle
November 1st, 2008 · 1:32 PM · #
I totally want to marry you.
doctorgirl
November 1st, 2008 · 3:11 PM · #
Gulp, off to hide my red wedding Fluevogs! Shh… now I'm embarassed.
All you needed was the red or fuschia 40's rockabilly updo and voila… the perfect composite OBB. Though, frankly, you've pretty much nailed it!
madilyne
November 1st, 2008 · 3:42 PM · #
Ariel- you look so fabulous. Love that dress and the cupcake sequence was priceless. Keep on being your awesome self. I love this community.
-madilyne
Shina
November 1st, 2008 · 4:51 PM · #
Love the crazy-eye cupcake eating!
sn0tty
November 1st, 2008 · 5:30 PM · #
This was hilarious; awesome pictures!
Loaf
November 1st, 2008 · 8:52 PM · #
This is hilarious! You are rockin' Ariel!
I'm not doing any of these things at my wedding….I feel even more offbeat now!
burnsbothends
November 2nd, 2008 · 10:22 AM · #
You forgot everyone's favorite craft store- Etsy! lolz this made my day.
Stephanie BP
November 2nd, 2008 · 11:01 AM · #
You forgot the vintage swallow tattoo! Love it, Ariel. Especially the flicker cupcake feast!
Cam
November 2nd, 2008 · 12:33 PM · #
Soooo pretty. I just love it.
Goddess Leonie - Creative Goddess
November 2nd, 2008 · 2:01 PM · #
this is triply hilarious… LOVE seeing the whole set sunshine!
Reba
November 2nd, 2008 · 3:12 PM · #
You Fucking Kill Me!
I heart you Ariel!
I especially heart the cupcake slideshow… MWAH!
makelifehappen
November 2nd, 2008 · 8:37 PM · #
Awesome:)
lookin' good
Stacy
November 3rd, 2008 · 6:49 AM · #
Ariel, YOU ROCK!
topsyturvy
November 3rd, 2008 · 12:51 PM · #
This is too funny!! The fake chest tattoo kills me!
Nena
November 4th, 2008 · 2:41 PM · #
Youre a goober Ariel, and I love you.
Raven
November 4th, 2008 · 4:05 PM · #
You're awesome – thanks – this is fabulous
Jennifer
November 5th, 2008 · 11:33 AM · #
I had to add the link to our Topgun costumes. Turns out the moustache was wicked after all!
Abi
November 5th, 2008 · 9:07 PM · #
Boo (Kell)
November 6th, 2008 · 11:46 PM · #
Fantastic effort Ariel!!!
cynzia
November 9th, 2008 · 8:06 AM · #
While reading this, I was thinking if my daughter took a good picture of me in my costume this year. I was a Dead Bride, simply because I was upset that day due to fighting with my so called groom to be, I actually cut up a wedding gown/costume for our halloween wedding and we were going to marry on November 1st 2008 but cancelled due to "can't work out problems with the wedding" If yall intrested in seeing the "costume" I will upload it for you all. Happy Day to you All!!!
cynzia
November 9th, 2008 · 8:07 AM · #
P.S…. you rock Ariel!!! beautiful pics!!
Raina
November 10th, 2008 · 11:36 AM · #
AMAZING!!! You look fantastic… how much fun!!
elly
November 15th, 2008 · 10:31 PM · #
sooo much of that resembles my wedding
very cute!
Offbeat Bride | The fallacy of offbeat trends
December 10th, 2008 · 9:17 AM · #
[...] be a little concerned by) the distinct Offbeat Bride trends. I mean, that's why I was able to recognizably dress up as an Offbeat Bride for Halloween, [...]
Alexandra
June 4th, 2009 · 7:14 PM · #
Righteous. ;D
leighj
September 29th, 2009 · 12:10 PM · #
omg what makeup are you using??? it's gorgeous!!!
rachel
October 6th, 2009 · 11:39 PM · #
f'ing fantastic cupcake photo slideshow. i nearly peed my pants.
rachel
October 6th, 2009 · 11:39 PM · #
f'ing fantastic cupcake photo slideshow. i nearly peed my pants.
Mich
January 10th, 2010 · 5:49 PM · #
did you do a halloween 2009 shoot?