Category Archive

Friends & Family Advice

Whether it’s your mom pressuring you to lose weight or not inviting family to your wedding or how to fire a bridesmaid… this is our archive of how to handle wedding planning drama with friends and family. Be sure to check out our archive of copy ‘n’ paste conflict resolution posts, too!

sneak alcohol into a dry wedding alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Open thread: Is it disrespectful to sneak alcohol into a dry wedding?

“Recently I went to a cousin’s wedding. She used to party but has recently stopped drinking, and her wedding was dry — punch and water were the only beverages served. I respect her decision to throw the reception she wanted, however, my brother and I wanted to drink something with a little burn. Is it terrible to leave a wedding in a park, go to the liquor store nearby, and sneak back in with our well-hidden brown bag?”

do i need bridesmaids on offbeat bride alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Do I need bridesmaids? 4 reasons to have a wedding without a bridal party

This question comes up again and again from engaged couples: do I need bridesmaids? Am I weird if I don’t have bridesmaids? Is it mean that I don’t even WANT bridesmaids? Even more generally, do I need to have wedding attendants at all? Here are four reasons to feel fine about having NO BRIDESMAIDS.

poop alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Poop it out: How to deal when guests bail the night before your wedding

“The evening before my wedding, three guests cancelled via text. I was pretty gutted as there didn’t seem to be any reasoning behind them cancelling. Obviously if it was something really important behind them cancelling, I would be so understanding — but they didn’t really give a valid reason.

I’m a bit sad that they didn’t come and I’m not sure what to say when I see them next.”

B guest list alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

You’re on standby: why I love being a B-list wedding guest

True story: I was recently a B-list attendee at a wedding, and it was awesome. I didn’t have any less fun because I was a last-minute addition — I just felt lucky to be there. Let me explain why…

talking to religious guests unsure if they want to attend our lesbian wedding alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

How we’re talking to religious guests unsure if they want to attend our lesbian wedding

Now, you and I both know that it’s the same as any other wedding (or as different as every other wedding, as the case may be). But within our community, it’s kind of a rare thing. I mean, this will be MY first two-bride wedding! We have specific people who have issues with our relationship for religious reasons and I wanted to offer a non-confrontational way to talk about that subject and maybe squeeze out a few “yeses” from those who are on the fence.

15948874849 469512a9c9 c alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

How to tell your family that your wedding will be adults-only

I want to send an email to our family members letting them know that the wedding will be adults only. While I still can’t control the way anybody interprets the message, doing it this way at least allows us to control the words that they see/hear. This was really difficult to write, but here’s what I’ve come up with…