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!" →

I just got this email from a reader, and had to share it with y'all…

At the risk of sounding like an overenthusiastic thirteen-year-old text addict: OMG, Ariel!!!

Your book (2nd ed.) arrived from Amazon today. I just finished reading it in a single sitting/laying down. I haven't laughed so hard in a while. A long while. It might have been the humanure essay, or possibly your wholehearted cheering of penis-cake eating as a married couple…whatever the reason, your book took a relatively crappy day in Iraq and made it fantastic.

Yeah, I said Iraq….

Continue reading "My favorite book review" →

The revised and updated second edition of my book, Offbeat Bride: Creative Alternatives For Independent Brides, is now available for pre-order on Amazon! I know from the reader survey that two thirds of you haven't read the book, so here are 13 reasons why you should get the book and not just read the website.

What's new and awesome in this edition:

• New introduction, mentioning some of the crazy lessons I've learned in the three years since my book first was published … mostly stuff I've learned from offbeatbride.com readers!
• All new chapter on budgeting, with quotes from budget brides I've featured on this website.
• Brand new cover, which is exciting because unlike the cover of the first edition — this time I actually got a say in the matter, and the book cover actually matches the website's illustrations which is nice from a branding geek perspective.
• New subtitle. The old subtitle ("Taffeta-Free Alternatives For Independent Brides") was always a little confusing (you'd be surprised how many people don't know what taffeta is, and pronounce it ta-FETA, like the cheese) and honestly, I don't have anything against taffeta. The new subtitle, "Creative Alternatives For Independent Brides," is both easier to pronounce AND more in keeping with Offbeat Bride's positive, pro-active mission.

All this is to say that if you have the first edition, there's probably no need to buy the second. There's not THAT much different. But if you've been putting off getting the book because you knew the new edition was coming … GO HOP ON THAT PRE-ORDER!

For those of you in the Pacific Northwest, save the date for the release party of the second edition of Offbeat Bride!

Offbeat Bride Book Re-Release Partay!

March 6th, 2010
2pm – 5m
Elliott Bay Books
101 South Main Street
Seattle WA

Seattle book nerds already know that this will be one of the last readings at Elliott Bay's venerable Pioneer Square location. They're moving to Capitol Hill in mid-March, so this is a great opportunity to take one last walk across their creaky wood floors.

I would LOOOOOVE to meet some of you there — I'm hoping this can be a good excuse for an OBB/OBT meet-up. Andreas and Tavi will be in attendance of course … and maybe Megan will even fly up from Los Angeles. (Sadly Shrie won't be there because she's going to be out of town at, yes, A WEDDING.)

If you think you can make it, please oh please RSVP!

i hear a lot “i married my best friend”. are there anyone out there that don’t marry their best friend? i love my boyfriend, but he’s not my best friend. -Amy Michelle

I'm totally with you on your sentiment — I love Andreas, but I also love my lady friends and I love not having all my eggs in one relationship basket. But I think what people are getting at with the "marrying my best friend" statement is a response to the whole "ball 'n' chain" spousal animosity thing where people roll their eyes at their partners, talk shit about them behind their backs, etc. If your partner feels like a ball 'n' chain, then UR DOING IT WRONG! So yes, while I'm glad I have BFFs other than my husband, I'm also glad I genuinely admire him as a person. Or, as the NYTimes says:

Being married to someone you respect for being somehow better than you keeps affection alive. That this impressive person chooses you year after year makes you more pleased with yourself, fueling the kind of mutual self-esteem that can get you through decades.

Do you think that as time goes on, your interest in Offbeat brides will dwindle and you interest in Offbeat mamas will grow now that you're a mama yourself? -Ruby

Continue reading "Marrying your BFF, losing interest in weddings, and book tours" →

I love this shot of OBT member Emily and her husband Michael doing a little light reading at their wedding in September. Emily captioned this shot Offbeat Bride: Don't Get Married Without It!

I've been meaning to put together a reading list of OBB-approved books for ages, and last weekend I finally got off my butt to make it happen.

I'm featuring books that Offbeat Bride readers love and have reviewed on the OBT … there are a few that absolutely didn't make the cut because readers consistently didn't like them (*cough*Anti-Bride*cough*) but if there's a book you think I missed on the list, leave a comment here with your review and I'll try to get it added!