Remember a year ago when Ariel introduced you to this adorable bike riding couple? Yeah, well a here's all details… a month after their first anniversary!

The Offbeat Bride: Jennifer, Theatre Manager (and OBT member "Jennifer")

Her Offbeat Partner: Kevin, Microsoft Solution Architect

Location & date of wedding: Wellington Barn, Wiltshire, UK — 19th July 2008

What made our wedding offbeat: We found that following the traditional pattern for the day (ie. we got married, fed everyone, and then danced) seemed to work for us, but the details made it our own.

Continue reading "Jennifer & Kevin's Marriage Mayhem" →

The Offbeat Bride: Jennifer – Journalist

Her Offbeat Partner: Adam – Bike mechanic

Location & date of wedding: Coledale School and Surfclub, NSW Australia — February 28, 2009

What made our wedding offbeat: We rode together on our brompton folding bikes to our wedding.

I had to put a big knot in my wedding dress, that my aunt had passed down to me, so it wouldn't catch in the spokes.

We rode past a bunch of teenagers who yelled "Don't do it" but we just smiled and did it anyway!

Continue reading "Jennifer & Adam's "Tour d' Amour" cycling, camping & surfing love fest!" →

The Offbeat Bride: Jan, Domestic Goodess or Housekeeper/lady of leisure, depending on what end of the country we are on

My Offbeat Partner: Bobby, Union Millwright, traveling from state to state, job to job.

Location & date of wedding: June 28, 2008 on Tybee Island, Ga. The Wedding itself was on the beach at the end of the island. The reception was a laid back Low Country Boil in our home and backyard.

Continue reading "Jan & Bobby's bikin' boozin' beach wedding" →

So you're in LA and you want to get married, like, TODAY. Enter Los Angeles wedding officiant Elizabeth Oakes and marriagetogo.com.

Elizabeth is a non-denominational minister and notary public authorized to issue marriage licenses in Los Angeles. She's conducted weddings in four-seater planes, bait shops, limos, hip-hop clothing stores, In 'N' Out Burger, trailer parks, celebrity homes, hospital rooms, The Museum of Jurassic Technology, and about a bazillionty other places.

With the recent shifts in California wedding laws, Elizabeth has been doing a ton of same-sex weddings lately, as you can see from this gorgeous shot of her with a couple on the beach. One of marriagetogo.com's weddings was recently featured in the New York Times.

Elizabeth can do civil ceremonies, elopements, interfaith ceremonies, non-religious ceremonies, and just about anything else. And for those of you looking for a green eco-wedding, Elizabeth has got you covered:

I am in the midst of developing Zero-Emissions Bike Wedding services, for which I will bike to any local ceremony site on a two-wheeler, lead a half-mile post-ceremony bridal bike parade along the route of the couple's choice, and make a donation to TreePeople, our local urban-greening program.

For more information about Elizabeth and to get married, uh, TODAY!, head on over to marriagetogo.com.

Thanks to offbeat reader Danielle for emailing me about these amazing photos from the schoolhouse wedding of Lulu Bliss.

The bride made her 1950s-style tea-length dress by hand (she reports it took about 100 hours) and if you look carefully, you'll see red crinoline peeking out the bottom. (Colored crinoline FTW!) We all know I'm partial to wedding hats, and this whimsical one is no exception.

To see more from Lulu's wedding (the happy couple on bikes! a wedding dog! walking down the aisle together!), head on over to Lulu's picture-heavy blog post.

I love happy bikey couples riding off into their future together, like Jennifer and Kevin here, as recently photographed by Quintessential Images in the UK. Lots more beautiful photos from this bicycle wedding over here.

The offbeat bride: Lea Vendetta, Tattooist/Artist

Her offbeat partner: Dave "Bastard" Archer, Tattooist

Location & date of wedding: Smathers Beach, Key West, Florida. April 1st 2008

What made our wedding offbeat: We got married in 1995 at the courthouse with no ceremony and no pictures. It was just the two of us, we were broke, and it was lame. Our 13th anniversary was coming up and I wanted to do something to finally be able to remember our wedding as a fabulous real wedding day! Of course we decided to do something 2 weeks before, so we improvised and everything ended up working perfectly! …like it was meant to be…

Continue reading "Lea's heavily inked beach wedding/vow renewal" →

Canadian photographer Trevor Jansen has put together an awesome website full of some gorgeous, inspiring photos of bad-ass brides, grooms, and engaged couples. The URL cracks me up (partners-in-crime.ca), but the photos are straight up hotness: