Run by Jamie and Brandy, a husband and wife team who played the theme to “The Odd Couple” at their own wedding, J. Scott Photography’s shots clearly run towards the artist and lush.

Jamie has a fine arts degree, and you can see from their wedding photo gallery that he definitely brings that aesthetic eye to his wedding photography as well.

For lots more shots from J. Scott Photography (including the cutest be-winged flower girls evar!) keep reading…

Click on any of the photos below to see more…

For hundreds more gorgeous shots, head on over to J. Scott Photography.

I’ve started my search for some offbeat readings for my wedding in October… have you compiled a list anywhere of readings from modern literature, songs, etc that are a little edgier and more current than the traditional? -Buster

This is one of those questions where I bow down to the all-mighty altar of Indiebride.com. If you’re looking for readings that have a few less thou shalts than your typical wedding material, you must check out Indiebride.com. See, the members of Indiebride’s forum have built an amazing 16-page repository of awesome readings!

Here are a few of my very favorites, which include references to science-fiction vampires, insomnia, and red right ankles.

Understand, I’ll slip quietly
Away from the noisy crowd
When I see the pale
Stars rising, blooming over the oaks.
I’ll pursue solitary pathways
Through the pale twilit meadows,
With only this one dream:
You come too.

From “First Poems,” Rainer Maria Rilke

Our union is like this:

You feel cold so I reach for a blanket to cover
our shivering feet.

A hunger comes into your body
so I run to my garden and start digging potatoes.

You asked for a few words of comfort and guidance and
I quickly kneel by your side offering you
a whole book as a
gift.

You ache with loneliness one night so much
you weep, and I say

here is a rope, tie it around me,
Hafiz will be your
companion
for life.

Our Union, by Hafiz From “Love Poems from God,” Daniel Ladinsky (ed), c2002

Red Right Ankle by the decemberists

this is the story of your red right ankle
and how it came to meet your leg
and how the muscle bone and sinews tangled
and how the skin was softly shaped
and how it whispered ‘oh, adhere to me
for we are bound by symmetry
and whatever differences our lives have been
we together make a limb’
this is the story of your red right ankle

To Love is Not to Possess
James Kavanaugh

To love is not to possess,
To own or imprison,
Nor to lose one’s self in another.
Love is to join and separate,
To walk alone and together,
To find a laughing freedom
That lonely isolation does not permit.
It is finally to be able
To be who we really are
No longer clinging in childish dependency
Nor docilely living separate lives in silence,
It is to be perfectly one’s self
And perfectly joined in permanent commitment
To another–and to one’s inner self.
Love only endures when it moves like waves,
Receding and returning gently or passionately,
Or moving lovingly like the tide
In the moon’s own predictable harmony,
Because finally, despite a child’s scars
Or an adult’s deepest wounds,
They are openly free to be
Who they really are–and always secretly were,
In the very core of their being
Where true and lasting love can alone abide.

The Invitation, by Oriah Mountain Dreamer
It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.

I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your hearts longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking a fool for love,
for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are square in your moon.

I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow,
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals or have become shriveled and closed down from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving, to hide it, fade it, or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own; if you can dance with wildness and let ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true.

I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true yourself;
if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul. I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty every day, and if you can source your life on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the moon in God’s presence.

It doesn’t interest me to know where you live or how much money you have.

I want to know if you can get up after a night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know, or how you came here.

I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.

I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself, and if you truly like the company you keep in empty moments.

Adrienne Rich, 21 Love Poems

Whenever in this city, screens flicker
with pornography, with science-fiction vampires,
victimized hirelings bending to the lash,
we also have to walk…if simply as we walk
through the rainsoaked garbage, the tabloid cruelties
of our own neighborhoods.
We need to grasp our lives inseparable
from those rancid dreams, that blurt of metal, those disgraces,
and the red begonia perilously flashing
from a tenement sill six stories high,
or the long-legged young girls playing ball
in the junior highschool playground.
No one has imagined us. We want to live like trees,
sycamores blazing through the sulfuric air,
dappled with scars, still exuberantly budding,
our animal passion rooted in the city.

When I am with you, we stay up all night.
When you’re not here, I can’t go to sleep.

Praise God for these two insomnias!
And the difference between them.

The minute I heard my first love story
I started looking for you, not knowing
how blind that was.

Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere.
They’re in each other all along.

We are the mirror as well as the face in it.
We are tasting the taste this minute
of eternity. We are pain
and what cures pain, both. We are
the sweet cold water and the jar that pours.

I want to hold you close like a lute, so we can cry out with loving.

You would rather throw stones at a mirror?
I am your mirror, and here are the stones.

–The Essential Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks

Love by Roy Croft
I love you
Not only for what you are,
But for what I am
When I am with you.
I love you,
Not only for what
You have made of yourself,
But for what
You are making of me.
I love you
For the part of me
That you bring out;
I love you
For putting your hand
Into my heaped-up heart
And passing over
All the foolish, weak things
That you can’t help
Dimly seeing there,
And for drawing out
Into the light
All the beautiful belongings
That no one else had looked
Quite far enough to find
I love you because you
Are helping me to make
Of the lumber of my life
Not a tavern
But a temple.
Out of the works
Of my every day
Not a reproach
But a song.
I love you
Because you have done
More than any creed
Could have done
To make me good.
And more than any fate
Could have done
To make me happy.
You have done it
Without a touch,
Without a word,
Without a sign.
You have done it
By being yourself.

From The Irrational Season
By Madeleine L’Engle

But ultimately there comes a moment when a decision must be made. Ultimately two people who love each other must ask themselves how much they hope for as their love grows and deepens, and how much risk they are willing to take. It is indeed a fearful gamble. Because it is the nature of love to create, a marriage itself is something which has to be created, so that, together we become a new creature.

To marry is the biggest risk in human relations that a person can take.If we commit ourselves to one person for life this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession, but participation. It takes a lifetime to learn another person. When love is not possession, but participation, then it is part of that co-creation which is our human calling, and which implies such risk that it is often rejected.

‘The Book of Love’ by Stephen Merritt (The Magnetic Fields)
From the album 69 Love Songs

The book of love is long and boring
No one can lift the damn thing
It’s full of charts and facts and figures
and instructions for dancing

But I, I love it when you read to me
And you, you can read me anything

The book of love has music in it
In fact that’s where music comes from
Some of it is just transcendental
Some of it is just really dumb

But I, I love it when you sing to me
And you you can sing me anything

The book of love is long and boring
And written very long ago
It’s full of flowers and heart-shaped boxes
And things we’re all too young to know

But I, I love it when you give me things
And you, you ought to give me wedding rings

I, I love it when you give me things
And you, you ought to give me wedding rings

…and that’s just the tip of the iceberg! There are so many more over on Indiebride.com. Also, I’d love to invite my readers to share their favorite modern, non-”thou shalt” readings in the comments …

What was I just saying about bar weddings? Here’s another one!

The offbeat bride: Baxter - writer (and OBT member!)

Her offbeat partner: Chris - Buyer at Amazon.com

Location & date of wedding: Discovery Park and Sunset Tavern - Seattle, WA (06-07-08) [Editor's note: Sunset Tavern, previously seen on OBB.com]

What made our wedding offbeat: Our ceremony was a short and sweet number is Discovery Park, overlooking the Sound with only family and a few friends in attendance. I wore a red corset top and a black skirt. He grew out his chops and wore a custom vest to go with his black pinstripe suit. A friend played “The Air That I Breathe” on acoustic guitar. Another friend officiated. We wrote our own vows which were basically love letters to each other, posed for some pictures and then it was on to the real party!

We met up with 80-some friends at the Sunset Tavern for a karaoke extravaganza with cocktail buffet. The affair had a playing card theme, mainly because we like the black and red color scheme but also because he proposed in Vegas. Instead of cake we had mini tarts decorated with the card suits.

We kicked things off with our first song: “Suddenly Seymour” from Little Shop of Horrors. The open bar helped eradicate any inhibitions that our non-karaoke inclined guests might have. My mother even sang a couple of numbers. The groom’s parents wouldn’t sing but happily danced all night.

Our biggest challenge: Initially, it was difficult to explain to people that we wanted to keep the ceremony small. We wanted only immediate family and a few close friends. Some extended family (and my mother) had a hard time understanding why we wouldn’t want every single person we happened to be related to by blood or marriage to watch us get hitched (in a very untraditional manner). We overcame these issues through many phone conversations gently explaining our reasons behind this decision and that it wasn’t meant to be a mean-spirited exclusion. We just wanted to keep everything small and simple.

My favorite moment: Our silly photo shoot in a rickety canoe in Discovery Park using umbrellas (sure it’s June, but it’s also SEATTLE) and all of our normally mic-shy friends belting out the tunes for us.

My offbeat advice: If you plan to have booze at your wedding and there aren’t a lot of minors on your guest list, DEFINITELY look into renting a bar or tavern.

Sunset Tavern won out, but we had many affordable options for bar venues who were charging only a reasonable bar minimum for the use of the space. We could have a cash or open bar (we chose the latter) but either way, we needed only to meet previously agreed-upon a dollar amount. Also, they had all their own tables and chairs and since we liked the decor of the place the way it was, we didn’t have to spend any money on decorations.

Also, try not to tell any of your vendors it’s for a wedding until they’ve already given you a quote. “Parties” tend to be much cheaper than “weddings”.

Enough talk — show me the wedding porn: Feed me, Seymore!

How can I make it clear from my invitations that while I love kids, I don’t love them at my wedding? -Gemma

As usual, my recommendation comes down to being proactive instead of reactive. Instead of making it negative (”How can I say ‘NO KIDS ALLOWED’?”), simply pick a venue and time that support adult-only activities. In other words, have a night wedding at a 21+ venue like a bar or lounge. There’s nothing like an 9pm ceremony and a dude checking IDs at the door to keep the kiddlets away.

It might sound like I’m joking, but I’m totally serious. It’s pretty much impossible to have a child-free afternoon wedding without hurting someone’s feelings, because it’s clear that you’re the one making and enforcing the NO KIDS ALLOWED rule. Then people get frustrated with you. As a guest, I don’t want to hear about what I can’t do at your wedding, who I can’t bring, or what I can’t experience.

Weddings in family-friendly locations like parks and gardens and restaurants and churches are usually family affairs, and you’re fighting a challenging, uphill battle trying to turn these family venues into something they’re typically not. When you try to say “no kids” at a venue where kids are usually allowed, it makes you the meanie bouncer who’s in charge of telling your guests what they can’t do. (”Yes, I know it’s a lovely garden with a big lawn to play on, but please understand NO KIDS ALLOWED.”)

But a bar? It’s obviously an adult-only venue, and bar weddings and bar receptions are awesome. When you have your wedding at a swanky lounge or reserve a rooftop hotel bar for your reception, it’s not your responsibility to enforce the rules or figure out how to word the invitation. You can outsource your bouncer duties to the guy at the door checking IDs and the liquor control board.

Now, if you reeeeally want a child-free afternoon wedding at a garden? Start preparing for the hurt feelings. Or maybe some of my readers have suggestions…

UPDATE
A quick note, since I’ve already deleted a couple comments this morning: The point with this post is not to say whether or not kids should or shouldn’t be invited to weddings. Obviously, that decision is up to the couple getting married.

I’m interested in hearing about proactive, positive ideas — I’m NOT interested in judgments about the concept of adult-only wedding ceremonies. I think most folks considering kid-free ceremonies already know that it’s a challenging concept for many people.

Her offbeat partner: Dave (Animation Production Coordinator)

Location & date of wedding: We were married at a gay karaoke bar called The Boulevard in Pasadena, on 07/07/07 — us and about 38,000 other people thought that was a good idea!

What made our wedding offbeat: We were a straight couple getting married in a gay karaoke bar with a musical theater themed ceremony. Not being much for tradition, when it came time to plan our wedding, we completely decontructed the entire process and put it back together again from scratch. We started by thinking “OK…if we were going to throw a big, fun party that *wasn’t* a wedding, where would we do that?” The answer: In a karaoke bar! (We’re theater people - need I say more?)

Instead of spending a fortune on invitations, we sent our guests “complimentary VIP tickets” to a show entitled “Music, Love, Cupcakes - A Most Unusual Wedding” (Got them through a company out of Canada - custom made and they look just like real concert tix, for about 21cents each!)

We created laminated backstage passes - like you’d see at on roadies at a concert - and had the bar staff, photographer and “bridal posse” wear them.

My dress was a Marilyn Monroe inspired cocktail dress and was $150 from Nordstroms. (And, yes, I WILL wear it again!)

One of the employees of the bar hosts karaoke in drag, and is an AMAZING performer, so we hired her to “host” our show. We dueted in to our own ceremony to Dean Martin’s “Ain’t That A Kick!” (My fiance began the song while I hid in back, and then made my big, surprise entrance about half way through!)

We found a minister who also happened to be a beautiful singer…or maybe she was a singer who happened to be a beautiful minister..not sure! Regardless, she was willing to marry us and then perform our first dance on acoustic guitar. And the father of the bride, in keeping with the spirit of it all, wrote and performed his own rap-song (complete with gear and bling) in our honor.

Our biggest challenge: *sigh* - Our/My single biggest challenge was dealing with what I called the “YouGotta’s” As in “But…you GOTTA wear a wedding gown!” and “You GOTTA have flowers at a wedding!” I really didn’t expect that as my family is very small…so it’s not like I have sisters and aunts coming out of the woodwork with opinions. But friends I had formerly deemed sane suddenly started acting really weird - like they had all drank the wedding Kool-aid! I even had a minister who I was interviewing over the phone try to talk me out of dueting in to the ceremony. She literally said “oh, honey…you don’t wanna do that.” (Uh…yes…I do….*click*!)

Everyone knew we were getting married in a karaoke bar, and yet I kept getting asked questions like: “Have you found your florist yet?” And when I would respond “We’re not doing flowers - its a karaoke bar.” They…well…their panties got all in a ruffle! People even balked at the fact that we announced the dress code was “casual.” So many people that we ended up including an FAQ on our wedding website that stated “YES, you can wear jeans!” In the end, I had to learn to roll with it, but I found myself constantly having to remind our friends “I don’t GOTTA do nuthin!”

My favorite moment: There is a fine line between “making fun of” and “having fun with” your wedding. We were always careful not to cross that line, and our ceremony was very beautiful. The moment we were sort of “magically” pronounced husband and wife is what stands out most to me. Our minister, an earth-mother type of woman, had us place our respective hands over each others hearts and hold them there. She then spoke for a minute or two about our love and commitment and then said “as you look in each others eyes and hold each others hearts in your hands, it is at this exact moment…. that you have become…husband and wife.” I was just kind of a sparkle-ley, romantic moment. (And with all the “show” we had put on, I don’t think anyone was expecting such a moving ceremony!)

Will some of them talk? Probably. But, you know what? They’re gonna talk anyways. Might as well give them something to talk about!

My offbeat advice: My best advice: You don’t “gotta” do nuthin’ you don’t wanna do! I know sometimes it’s hard and it seems like everyone has an opinion about your wedding. But if you make yourself nutty trying to please everyone, you will likely fail and will just be miserable yourself. Rather, if you stay true to yourselves and do what makes YOU happy, the others will follow, and a good time will be had by all! Will some of them talk? Probably. But, you know what? They’re gonna talk anyways. Might as well give them something to talk about!

Enough talk — show me the wedding porn: …Whatever Laura wants…Laura gets…

Thanks to daniellehampton for the photo!

You’ve seen her before on offbeat bride — but here’s the full story on Princess Lasertron’s wedding!

The offbeat bride: Megan, designer

Her offbeat partner: David, student and medical tech

Location & date of wedding: The Slowdown, a music venue in Omaha, Nebraska. May 31, 2008

What made our wedding offbeat: I proposed to him with a ring, we cried for a while, then we set off to create the fun, offbeat, DIY party that we always wanted to have … and hopefully get married too. From the vegan menu to my confection of a pink polka-dot dress, we wanted to throw a party that everyone would love.

We had a cocktail hour for mingling and snacking before our 8pm ceremony at The Slowdown, a new Omaha music venue, followed by dancing, cupcakes, and pizza late into the night. We were happy to see friends who came from all over the country, and more families than we anticipated for a late wedding. The kids had a really good time and tore up the dance floor!!

The dress was made by Joi Mahon, a designer from Sioux City, IA who I found online by total coincidence. She made my dress design come to life and also gave me the opportunity to model it in a fashion show which was really fun!

My cousin, who is an actor, officiated, adding lots of dramatic flair to the ceremony production. All the flowers were handmade by Princess Lasertron (aka me!). And it was catered by Catering Catering from Blair, Nebraska, who created every delicious vegan morsel to order just for us.

Our biggest challenge: The biggest challenge was definitely getting our parents on board in the early stages of the year-long engagement: “You’re getting married in a BAR???” “You proposed to HIM?????” “We would really feel better if you had it in a church.” “Why don’t you just have a sit-down dinner?” “Why won’t you take his name?”

At first we thought that we were really doing things the “hard” way because every idea and development was met with some mix of shock and disappointment. But as it started coming together and our parents realized that it WASN’T going to be a complete disaster, they offered their full support and excitement.

My favorite moment: This is so predictable, but walking down the aisle with my dad (who rules) and seeing everyone’s smiling faces turned toward me in the audience gave me the most unforgettable and amazing feeling. Like everyone was there for us, because they loved us. And seeing David standing on the stage waiting for me….when he offered me his hand to help me up the stairs…I could have just died!

Dave says his favorite moment was looking out over the dance floor and seeing all of our friends dancing and having a good time–both young and old. Our heavily tattooed punk friends, our dressed to distress goth friends, grandmas, aunts, moms, children—everyone was out there together dancing to the same music, laughing, smiling.

My offbeat advice: I guess my best advice would be that if there is a little thing you can do to make a guest, an attendant, or a parent’s life easier, do it. I tried to do everything reasonable in my power to make the day easy for everyone around me, and people did notice. Although we are not theists, we allowed a blessing at the end of the ceremony because it was meaningful to our parents. We did the bathroom baskets and the out of town gift bags and wrote out cue cards for our attendants. To me, it is important to avoid creating problems that don’t matter anyway.

And of course, carry oxy clean or your stain remover of choice!

Enough talk — show me the wedding porn: Oh so many amazing shots! Lots of sets for you to browse here:
* Wedding portraits
* Ceremony
* Reception

The first few fabulous photos have been uploaded on Flickr. Can’t wait to see more! Thanks to Kat for all her work as an OBT mod these past six months.

(Thanks to kat mountain for the photo!)

Her offbeat partner: Todd, Antique Clock Restoration Expert

Location & date of wedding: The Willows, Radnor, PA. 5-10-2008

What made our wedding offbeat: Our wedding was off-beat because we did it from start to finish our way. My husband works with antiques, so all the centerpieces were from his shop. I didn’t want anything too matchy, and he actually sold a few pieces, which was cool. My Aunt custom wrote our ceremony for us, and performed it. She calls herself an atheist minister. I wrote my own vows, I quoted Miss Piggy (the pig) and Pablo Neruda (the poet).

I walked down the aisle to The Cure, “Plainsong” and we walked out to Cake “love you madly”. Our bridal part walked in to “What a Wonderful World” performed by Joe Ramone. Our first dance was the Moldy Peaches, “Anyone else but you”. Music was important.

Our ring bearer was a 2 year old dressed like a lady bug. His job was important. Our favor were custom fortune cookies packed in mini chinese take-out boxes with 5 different sayings. Including “Todd & Kristina are awesome.” His Dad wrote a poem about us meeting on the internet and getting married. The girls wore butterflies that we bought from a floral supply store on-line and they all picked their own dresses. Is this too much? It was all special.

Our biggest challenge: Our biggest challenge came with a melding of funds & big mixed families. His parents paid for a big portion, we paid for a lot, and my mom paid for some. It was hard to keep control in a polite way that was respectful of them helping us out. It got really difficult sometimes. His mother is hard to pin down on decisions and gets stressed and freaked out easily, and my mother doesn’t like people and wanted to make no decisions, but made her feelings known when she disliked a decision that was made without her. We just kept in mind that everyone has their own way of showing love. And…I delegated a family member to each of the bridal party.

My favorite moment: Definitely the wedding vows. My Aunt said to him, “Remember, this ring belongs to her.” And I said, “Yeah!” And pointed at him, which was an honest reaction, but it made everyone laugh and lightened the mood.

My offbeat advice: Let some things go. If your Mom wants to decide on the menu, let her. Concentrate and keep in your hands the few things that are really important to you. It will keep the day of less stressful and those details are what bring the two of you into the boilerplate wedding.

Enough talk — show me the wedding porn: Kristina’s got some gorgeous ink on display in her wedding photos!