To celebrate the season, we're featuring a Halloween wedding every week for the month of October!

The Offbeat Bride: Kymba, RN (and OBT member)

Her Offbeat Partner: Kerry, Paramedic

Location & date of wedding: Shaffer Hotel, Mountainair, New Mexico. A haunted pueblo-deco, built in a unique style with an attached park, gazebo, firepit, game room, multipurpose room, an attached restaurant, and a ghost or two who joined in our fun — October 31, 2008

What made our wedding offbeat: As a free-spirited, multi-ethnic, democratic hippie marrying a former military, Lutheran, republican — there wasn't a whole lot about our wedding that was considered "normal" by either side of the aisle (well, except the aisle itself). My family was very happy with the whole Halloween wedding in a haunted hotel in costume vibe. His family was very happy with the gazebo ceremony site, country music reception, and the great local food.

Continue reading "Kymba & Kerry's Haunted Hotel Halloween Wedding" →

The Offbeat Bride: Tanya, bookseller/crafty lady

Her Offbeat Partner: Mark, administrator

Location & date of wedding: Parents backyard in Northampton, PA — 6/6/09

What made our wedding offbeat: We wanted to keep our wedding fun, whimsical, and more like an outdoor party. I made everything I thought I could, allowing me to show of my crafty side. I did the invitations, most of the decorations (except the paper lanterns), the centerpieces, and all of the flowers. All of the tables were covered in the vintage table clothes I had been collecting while planning the wedding.

I am a huge John Waters fan, hence the slight pink flamingo obsession. We had plastic pink flamingos in the yard and at our gazebo "altar."

Continue reading "Tanya & Mark's flamingo themed backyard wedding" →

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" →

The Offbeat Bride: Laura, history detective

My Offbeat Partner: Jim, army captain

Location & date of the wedding: Gazebo in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Lovingston, Virginia — July 26, 2008

What made our wedding offbeat: When Jim and I made the decision to get married in May, we knew we weren’t going to have the luxury of a long engagement; Jim had recently received orders for a 400-day mission overseas and we knew we would have to have everything done and in order before he had to report for training in mid-August.

I knew that I wanted a dress that was a bit informal and cocktail-length. I went to a chain store that shall remain nameless and tried on a couple to get a feel for the whole thing and discovered that white and ivory made me look like pale death. Hmm, not quite the look I was going for.

Continue reading "Laura & Jim's vintage gazebo wedding" →