The offbeat bride: Corrin Cramer Pierce, Pilates Instructor/Massage Therapist/Actor/Improviser (and Offbeat Bride lab rat!)

My offbeat groom: Chris, Actor and All Around Good Guy

Location & date of wedding: The terraced gardens of a lovely B&B in Watkinsville, GA, just outside of Athens. October 30th, 2004.

What made our wedding offbeat: On the outside, our wedding probably looked pretty traditional. It's more how we got there that made it different than friends' experiences…our planning process was mostly laid back, and all about FUN. We thought of it as a big party for everyone we loved, and that took the "wedding-y" pressure off of it. We knew that we wanted lots of good dancing, lots of good food, and the people we loved, and everything else was gravy.

Continue reading "Corrin Cramer Pierce's B&B wedding" →

The offbeat bride: Amy Ross, Writer (and Offbeat Bride lab rat!)

My offbeat groom: Mike Ross, Academic

Location & date of wedding: June 3rd, 2001 in the garden of our college's anthropology museum, by the sea.

What made our wedding offbeat: My wedding probably felt pretty traditional to most of the guests — there was champagne and oysters, I wore a white dress, a bouquet was tossed … My biggest rebellion was something most people probably didn't even notice: NO DANCING.

Continue reading "Amy Ross didn't dance at her wedding, thankyouverymuch" →

The offbeat bride: Brittany Wager, Audio Engineer (and Offbeat Bride lab rat!)

My offbeat groom: Steve Wager, Web Consultant

Location & date of wedding: August 2002 at the Buffalo Gap Camp in Capon Bridge, West Virginia — the same place where we met at the All Good Music Festival in 2000.

What made our wedding offbeat: Since we met at a music festival, we wanted to recreate that atmosphere. Once we booked the location everything else sort of fell in to place. We had the campground from Friday morning to Sunday afternoon, so we invited everyone to join us for the whole weekend — not just the day of the wedding. We had a bonfire and jam on Friday night, a cookout and open mic at the lake on Saturday afternoon, and one of our favorite bands played three sets after the wedding. Getting everyone together so far ahead of the actual ceremony was wonderful. They all knew each other very well before the "main event" and it helped to being together our different groups of friends and family into one community.

I put a lot of focus into the music and making sure that everyone would be comfortable and have a good time. I didn't spend too much time on things like linens, centerpieces, food, etc. In the end people don't tend to remember those things anyway.

Continue reading "Brittany Wager's jam-band camput wedding weekend" →

The offbeat bride: Phyllis Fletcher, radio journalist (and Offbeat Bride lab rat!)

Her offbeat groom: Josh Knisely

Location & date of wedding: A friend's backyard in Seattle, WA; September 2005

What made our wedding offbeat: We fed people before and after the ceremony — something that's not offbeat if you're Jewish! We aren't, but we like the tradition of food first. So we borrowed it. Otherwise, our wedding was offbeat mainly because of things we *didn't* do. No: aisle-walking, bridesmaids, wedding colors, printed program, ceremonial music, or poetry. No "now is when we dance" dancing; no assigned seating, cake-cutting, bouquet-tossing, party favors, or choreographed exit. What's left, then? Everything else you have at a party! With a short and heartfelt civil ceremony between the appetizers and the barbecue.

Continue reading "Phyllis Fletcher's backyard wedding" →

When I first starting thinking about book ideas, many of the revolved around my stories. I'm a writer: of course I want to tell MY STORIES. But as part of Offbeat Bride, I'm getting to hear about some of the most amazing wedding stories. The pair who married underwater. The couple who produced a whole stage performance called Wedding! The Musical. The couple who got married at Glastonbury and have great photos of them muddy and in love laying on the ground at the festival. Straight weddings, gay weddings, geeky weddings, hippie weddings, rock weddings, fucking awesome parties that just so happened to be weddings.

A few years ago I found myself, as an essayist, considering writing a book — a 70,000 word project seemed somewhat daunting. But now I've realized that's because jesus: my stories aren't THAT fucking interesting. Honestly. But when I have other people's stories to share? HA! Why didn't anyone tell me that not only would it make writing my book more feasible, it would make it a pure fucking joy. People do awesome things when they play with the concept of commitment and ceremony and weddings.

Think of it: supposedly the cost of an American wedding is currently averaging around $25,000. Even if you spend far, far less than that, when was the last time you threw a party where you let yourself spend even $1,000? Never. The only parties where you spend money like that are weddings and funerals. It's not even really an issue of dollar amount — it's an issue of resources like time and attention.

So, it's really cool to see what my fellow freaks do with a party when they've got the resources to really do it up, even when it's far, far less than the national average. These stories are far, far more delicious than the national average.

Now if only I had a little more time to work on the book … it's getting to the point where I'm like a floating brain: all I do is write and think at work and then come home and write and think some more. I've barely seen friends since September, and Seattle Hermit Season has only just very barely begun and I'm already in full creative retreat mode. Please, won't you tap the glass of my formaldehyde jar?

Take a minute to meet the lab rats

You can read profiles and see pictures of a few of the women quoted in the book by checking out the lab rats archive!