The offbeat bride: Maya, Musician/artist/massage therapy student (and OBT member "Mama G")

Her offbeat partner: Adam, computer engineer

Location & date of wedding: Austin Museum of Art, in the community room — 8/8/09

What made our wedding offbeat: I'm new in Austin and Adam also has friends all over the country, so people flew in from everywhere to join us. We had to have a cool party, but on a budget. The community room at the Austin Museum of Art was a perfect little chapel for us! And it fit the "Starry Starry Night" theme we were going with! Adam and I are both sky/astronomy geeks (his first gift to me was a high powered telescope, because he wanted me to have the stars).

Continue reading "Maya & Adam's "Starry Starry Night" Wedding" →

The Offbeat Bride: Sharla, newspaper production designer (and OBT member "Firecracker")

Her Offbeat Partner: Kris, engineer

Location & date of wedding: Moab, Utah — April 25, 2009

What made our wedding offbeat: We love Moab for its scenery and fantastic trails, so we chose to get married there. We had about 23 guests, no attendants, and very little of the traditional trappings. I made my own gown in blue silk, and I had orange crinoline, orange shoes, orange fishnets, flowers, etc.

Our table decorations featured local rock arrangements, handmade tablecloths & runners, thrift store bowls with miniature Jeeps and chocolate rocks. And we served gourmet sandwiches and cheesecake to our guests. I walked down the aisle to Funtwo's electric guitar rendition of the Canon in D, and our ceremony was brief and nonreligious. The town mayor performed the ceremony, which included a Native American wedding blessing as well as just the right touch of humor.

Continue reading "Sharla & Kris' Moab, Utah Motorhead Wedding" →

I've got this theory about wedding photography and offbeat couples.

See, wedding photographers aren't just doing a service for you. You're also doing a service for them by providing images for use in their portfolios. And, let's be honest, which photos add more to a photographer's body of work: another traditional shot from a traditional wedding or a photo of a couple dressed as astronauts taking flight on their wedding day?

In other words, photos from your offbeat wedding may be of greater business benefit to a photographer … and therefore, photographers may be willing to negotiate a lower price.

I decided to test this theory by asking some of my favorite wedding photographers about their pricing policies and negotiating tips for non-traditional couples. Here's what I learned…

Continue reading "The offbeat advantage negotiating with wedding photographers" →

I guess it's wedding hair week on Offbeat Bride — take a look at the amazing blue hair that Lori rocked at her recent Portland wedding, which they dubbed WeddingCon.

The entire wedding looks just lovely, but I'm especially taken with Lori's up-do. There's just something awesome about the traditional curls-with-sparkly headpiece look … but in bright blue!

(Thanks to Operators Are Standing By for the photo!)

If you're in Philly and looking for a wedding photographer, you definitely DEFINITELY need to check out Allebach Photography.

It's obvious that Mike & Rachel Allebach so totally get offbeat brides — they just posted the most amazing series of tattooed bride photos on their blog dedicated to philadelphia wedding photography.

Seriously, you gotta see these shots…

Continue reading "Philadelphia wedding photography from Allebach Photography" →