Your wedding bands (and engagement ring, if you wear one) are a lasting public celebration of your relationship…

Turtle Love Committee's collection of cool engagement rings and wedding bands is put together for people who have decided they want a ring to commemorate their commitment … but don't want to go to the mall for the seemingly-requisite diamond ring.

Not only are Turtle Love Committee's engagement rings and wedding bands extremely affordable (all priced under $200!), but now you can tell which ones are eco-friendly.

Turtle Love Committee's new EcoTurtle logo identifies rings that are made from recycled metals and other eco-friendly practices.

To see a few of Turtle Love Committee's eco-friendly rings, keep reading…

Continue reading "Affordable eco-friendly rings from Turtle Love Committee" →

I think that stealing a wedding dress design and having it made in China (in a place that is probably a sweatshop) is really unethical. It upsets me, as it both screws the original designer (who is probably a creative type who you would want to hang out with) and the workers … all for a dress you will wear once.

Then again, I am not poor, and I can afford to pay the designer direct for some of the dresses I like and I will check that they are not made unethically.

Am I just being a judgmental bitch cos I have the money to "do the right thing" here? Am I assuming that people have not thought about these issue, but actually they have and are fine with it? -Anonymous

What a thick and meaty ethical question! Thanks so much for bringing the issue up. Ultimately, it's up to each of us to decide where their consumer values align — this is bigger than weddings. This is about pirating music, buying local produce, and world trade issues. I'm no consumer values expert, so really all I can do is share my personal perspective and values…

Continue reading "The ethics of a cheap off-shore wedding dress" →

The offbeat bride: Naomi

Her offbeat partner: Casey

Location & date of wedding: First Assembly Church Chapel in Cedar Rapids, IA. November 1, 2008

What made our wedding offbeat: For starters, I wore a black dress. It was actually a bridesmaid's dress, which made it tons cheaper.

Then, we did almost everything ourselves. I made our invitations on postcards. No real flowers — my bouquet was handmade from little christmas bulbs and tulle. Oh, and little white lights. Yes, it lit up!

Every tradition in weddings we pretty much went against. No unity candle, I stood on the 'wrong' side, my mom and dad walked me down, Casey had his parents walk him down.

There was no white was at our wedding — it was all black and bright blue.

Continue reading "Naomi & Casey's punk rock Iowa 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" →

The offbeat bride: Abigail Lalonde, Dogwalker

Her offbeat partner: Michael Lalonde, Software Engineer

Location & date of wedding: Mom and Dad's yard in Coatesville, PA on September 13th, 2008

What made our wedding offbeat: I did almost everything on my own with the help of some very special people. I catered a vegetarian feast for 150 people, made all of the flower arrangements, bouquets, boutonnieres, centerpieces, guestbook, decorations, bar, signature drinks, music playlists, favors, programs, etc. etc.

Continue reading "Abigail & Michael's DIY Self-Catered Photobooth Perfection Wedding" →