Today I'm launching a new feature on Offbeat Bride, dedicated to all things superficial and shoe-whorish. This is basically just my excuse to geek out on shoes that I have no excuse to wear.

Be forewarned: I like my shoes loud. My favorite shoes are John Fluevogs, which tells you everything you need to know.

I'm kicking off the new feature with a few of my favorite blue wedding shoes. Bright blue shoes can add a snarl of HEY NOW! when seen peeking out from underneath a white gown — and if you're going balls-out and coordinating with a blue wedding dress or colored crinoline? LOOK OUT, MAMACITA!

And so, without further ado, let's dork out on some blue shoes together, yes? To learn more about a given pair of shoes, just click on 'em below:

Forget rice! OBT member Michele has created a more colorful and fun alternative for guests to show their enthusiasm…

Michele explains, "So when all the guests are seated for the ceremony, the four members of our bridal party will pass out the 'yay' flags so everyone can wave them as they wish."

"I wanted to do them out of fabric and print the designs, but time did not permit. Instead, I used some old and slightly sun-faded construction paper and ran it through the printer. This way I was also able to include our names and the date on the back. And instead of gluing them together, I ran them through the sewing machine."

And I say, YAY for these Michele. And YAY for your wedding this Friday!

The Offbeat Bride: Jeannette, belly dancer, violinist, and daytime accountant

Her Offbeat Partner: Cliff, software engineer

Location and date of wedding: Ceremony: Arizona State, Reception: Jeannette's parents' back yard — September 13, 2008

What made our wedding offbeat: We always knew we wanted a very small wedding. We decided to skip a bunch of the usual built-in drama and leave out bridesmaids, groomsmen, ringbearers, piles of doves, etc.

Continue reading "Jeannette & Cliff's small, anti-conventional wedding with a surprise reception" →

Texas wedding photographer Brandi Thompson (who y'all have seen on OBB before) just posted a couple sneak peek photos from Sarah & Celso's recent wedding:

Photo courtesy of Brandi Thompson Photography

That chartreuse wedding dress! Wow. Brandi said she'd share additional photos with Offbeat Bride when she's done with post-processing — but in the meantime, go check out the sneak peek she's got on her blog!

To celebrate the season, we're featuring a Halloween wedding every week for the month of October!

The Offbeat Bride: Misty, CNA

Her Offbeat Partner: Dell, Repo Man

Location & date of wedding: Meditation Garden at the A.R.E. in Virginia Beach, VA — October 31, 2008

What made our wedding offbeat: We definitely bucked tradition by having a handfasting in the ceremony, having wine in a dragon goblet (the last of which was offered to Mother Earth) and invoking the Lord and Lady to bless our union! Add to that a multi-faith Reverend who is a female, and the Witchy-Gothy wedding was complete!

Continue reading "Misty & Dell's Wiccan/Pagan, Corseted Boob-Fest, Halloween Wedding" →