The offbeat bride: Erin, teacher
Her offbeat partner: Chris, photographer
Location & date of wedding: Treasure Island Beach, Florida on November 1st, 2008
What made our wedding offbeat: We live together with our four children (two mine, two his, all ours). This wedding was not just about the two of us, but about merging to become this big, crazy, wonderful family.
I said vows to Chris's biological children, and he said vows to mine. It just formalized the incredible bond we already have with each other. We didn't have bridesmaids or groomsmen, we walked down the aisle together, and we skipped the bouquet toss and garter business, and most other expected elements of the modern American wedding.
Continue reading "Erin & Chris' Brady-Bunched on the Beach Wedding" →
Here's a really neat venue option… a theater! Lots of stage space, seating and a funky atmosphere to boot! Take a look at some other offbeat venues like cave weddings or movie theater weddings or even zoo weddings!
The offbeat bride: Julee, Theatre Education Director
Her offbeat partner: Ross, Actor/Director/Playwright
Location & date of wedding: Nashville Children's Theatre in Nashville, TN on May 17, 2008
What made our wedding offbeat: We made a conscious effort for our wedding to be simple, DIY and to rebel against the industry.
Continue reading "Julee & Ross' Casual Quirky Children's Theatre Wedding" →
Here's another great offbeat wedding from Offbeat Advertiser Whitney Lee Photography. I asked Whitney's client, Joy, to tell us a little about her recent Texas wedding full of kids, games, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, and even a "Just Married" sign that the couple came bursting through!
Joy says: I went into this wedding with a couple of guiding principles: kid friendly, casual for comfort in a state park, and budget. First, my brother has 4 kids and there were 18 kids total on the guest list. As an elementary school teacher I have an understanding of how rough it can be to do anything when you have kids so I wanted to make the wedding fun for both kids and adults. My husband and I are both fairly goofy to boot so lots of our details reflected that.
I'm famous for saying, "do do do doot!" when I get excited about something so we provided kazoos for everyone and instructed the whole audience how to use them to give us a kazoo fanfare after the announcement of the first couple. Lots of people had a hard time figuring out how to use them - but it was so much fun!
Continue reading "Whitney Lee Photography presents Joy & Alec's kid-friendly state park wedding" →
The offbeat bride: Nicole, Landscape Architect
Her offbeat partner: Stew, Photographer & Designer
Location & date of wedding: Hernshead Pavilion Central Park, NYC - July 13th, 2008
What made our wedding offbeat: We found out about Hernshead Pavilion, a Victorian pavilion by one of the lakes in Central Park. It cost us only $25 for a two hour permit. Since we don't share in a fear of the number 13 (it's one of my personal favorite numbers) we were able to get the time we wanted despite our short planning period! Hooray!
Continue reading "Nicole & Stew's Unusually Elegant Central Park Wedding!" →
The offbeat bride: Melissa, Community Health
Her offbeat partner: James, Full-time Homeschoolin' Dad
Location & date of wedding: Medieval Wall Lined City Carcassonne, France - August 23rd, 2008
What made our wedding offbeat: I had my 50's-inspired prom dress custom made and allowed my 10 year old the freedom to design her own. I wore greens shoes, green ribbon with a white dress and a green lace parasol to spice it up a bit.
Continue reading "Melissa & James' Woodland Gypsy European Wedding!" →
The offbeat bride: Gem - art lecturer (and OBT member!)
Her offbeat partner: Mel - sex boutique proprietor
Location & date of wedding: Brighton Town Hall/beach/pier, Brighton UK. Wednesday the 6th of August 2008.
What made our wedding offbeat: Being a gay couple started events in a generally non-regular tradition and our family and friends realized quickly that it wasn't going to stop there … we wanted a day that would fulfill our dressing up fantasies, even if that meant just being really comfortable. We didn't want anyone in starchy suits if they weren't going to feel at ease and our wedding was primarily about enjoyment.
Continue reading "Gem & Mel's gay retro/ska british beach bonanza" →
How can I make it clear from my invitations that while I love kids, I don't love them at my wedding? -Gemma
As usual, my recommendation comes down to being proactive instead of reactive. Instead of making it negative ("How can I say 'NO CHILDREN ALLOWED'?"), simply pick a venue and time that support adult-only activities. In other words, have a night wedding at a 21+ venue like a bar or lounge. There's nothing like an 9pm ceremony and a dude checking IDs at the door to keep the kiddlets away.
Continue reading "Fool-proof way to keep kids away from your wedding" →
