Amidst all the geeking out over wedding porn of details and decor, I think it's always good to remember the beauty and magic of a simple, heartfelt wedding. Behold:

I know we feature a lot of weddings full of fabulous design and ideas and art and fashion and music and magic. And while the details can be fun for some of us some of the time, I love photos that remind us all that when it comes right down to it, really all you're going for is this moment:

Continue reading "A simple forest wedding reminder" →

Just in time to celebrate Geek Week — Offbeat Bride Tribe member Darina and her fiance Niko have unveiled their 8-bit video game wedding invitations that they designed themselves!

Darina explains:

"We knew that we didn't want standard paper invites. We wanted something for people to keep and remember. We are geeks. We love video games. Why not have a video game invite?"

The video games have two player choices, you're either the bride or the groom. And the goal is to get to the end to see all the wedding info. So here's what it looks like…

Continue reading "8-bit video game wedding invitations!" →

The second edition of my book is officially OUT! It's been shipping from Amazon for a couple weeks, but I'm getting reports of it appearing on the shelves of bookstores now too, which is very exciting.

This Saturday I'm doing a reading at Elliott Bay books in Seattle. I'm super hoping to meet some of you there — won't you please come and meet me and Megan? And Dre and Tavi will be there too!

• Date: Saturday, March 6, 2010
• Time: 2:00pm – 4:00pm
• Location: Elliot Bay Books (101 South Main Street, Seattle WA — one of their last readings before moving to the new space!)

Ladies, bring your grooms-to-be! I've got a few Altar Your Thinking Tees in men's sizes to give away!

Now, for those of you who aren't in Seattle, I've got a favor to ask of you…

Continue reading "Seattle reading THIS SATURDAY + call for reader photos!" →

The moment I saw their Lego cake topper and their card box constructed out of legos, I knew I had to profile them on "geek week!" So Lego nerds, check it out… -Megan

The offbeat bride: Lauren, computer nerd for a museum in Houston (and an OBT member)

Her offbeat partner: Nick, TSA Officer

Location & date of wedding: The War Memorial, Grosse Pointe Farms, MI — 8/28/2009

What made our wedding offbeat: From top to bottom, everything about our wedding bucked tradition. Somethings were out of our control, so we tossed out tradition. Lauren's whole family was unable to attend the wedding, so her father-in-law walked her in. But somethings… the lego cake topper, the moissanite ring (no diamond here!), and the knee high striped socks, well… we did it our way.

Continue reading "Lauren & Nick's Lego-filled, "nerdfest hootenanny" wedding" →

So you and your life-mate-to-be have already got all the plates, silverware, and toasters that you need, but what you DON'T have is the the budget for a sweet-ass honeymoon. If you're the kind of couple that would much rather have an amazing vacation than a blender, check out Traveler's Joy — an online honeymoon registry.

Simply set up an account, and Traveler's Joy will provide you with a registry page to share your honeymoon travel plans with your wedding guests.

The pages are totally customizable — urls, page themes, and you can even create lists of items that your guests can "purchase" for you, such as "super romantic couples massage on the beach." Then your friends and family can log on to your page and leave their donation towards your honeymoon.

Honeymoon Giveaway: Right now, Traveler's Joy is sponsoring a giveaway for a seven night, all inclusive, vacation at Jungle Bay Resort and Spa on the island of Dominica. Click here for more details.

This is also a great alternative to the "how do we ask for money" question, which Ariel answered yesterday. If so many of your family and friends are asking for and/or expecting a traditional registry, well then their wishes have come true! All you have to do is register for what you REALLY need, direct them to where you two are registered and then let Traveler's Joy will care of the rest!

I've gotten a few emails asking about the nitty gritty of Offbeat Bride, and how things are run behind the offbeat curtain, as it were. If this kind of thing is interesting to you, read on!

The Offbeat Empire (as I lovingly call it) is my full-time job, and I gotta say that after a decade of corporate servitude for companies like Microsoft and Amazon, it's fucking awesome to self-employed. I love finally having the time to focus on my own schemes instead of scheming for someone else. The Empire at this point includes Offbeat Bride and Offbeat Mama, and will hopefully expand to include Offbeat Home later this fall.

One of the joys/pains of being self-employed is that you get to wear a LOT of hats, and mine include:

Continue reading "A peek behind the offbeat curtain" →

For our second wedding on Offbeat Bride's "geek week" we bring you Amanda and Matt's astronomy inspired wedding, featuring a Doctor Who cake and astronomy-based decor and favors. -Megan

The offbeat bride: Amanda, ceramic artist (and OBT member)

Her offbeat partner: Matt, Aerospace Engineering grad student

Location & date of wedding: Rose Garden at Iowa State — 6 June 2009

What made our wedding offbeat: We did maybe ten traditional things, and even those were offbeat. We had gotten married the day before at the courthouse, so it was really just a time to celebrate together with good food, great atmosphere, and great friends and family.

Continue reading "Amanda & Matt's artsy-geeky, starlight, handmade wedding" →

The short answer: very, VERY carefully. The longer answer? Watch: