Sarah posed this on the Kiwi & Aussie Brides Group on the OBT. It's an issue that we're sure lots of Aussie couples are struggling with, and one that unfortunately impacts couples worldwide. -Megan

Photo courtesy of Katherine O'Brien Photography

I'm an outspoken supporter of GLBTI rights, especially when it comes to marriage equality in Australia. I go to rallies, I write letters to my local member of parliament and I post stuff all over my Facebook. That said, I had a bit of a meltdown a few months ago when discussing my impending marriage — I hold a strong view that marriage should be between two loving people, no matter what their gender or sexual orientation.

I had trouble confirming that I wanted to adhere to and join an insitution that precluded my best friend, and many other people that have been supportive of my relationship with my FH. After speaking with all of them, and confirming that none of them would hate me for going ahead with a marriage, I decided that while I would continue to fight for the rights of my friends, I would also go ahead with my own hetero marriage.

All of that said, my FH and I have just started looking at ceremony structures for the wedding, and have been advised by our celebrant that we must include this in the introduction…

Continue reading "Marriage equality issues with hetero ceremonies in Australia" →

Meet Lilia & Ray Ahner, a husband a wife San Francisco wedding photography duo who totally understand the needs of offbeat couples because, well, they are one.

Lilia explained to me, "As old school goth & industrial and punk rock & metal kids who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area music scene, we're PIBs (persons in black) and former Goths … and we still love the dark aesthetic. " Lilia studied fine art photography and photojournalism, has a design degree, and worked as a web designer for over 11 years. Ray is a self-taught photographer who documents the SF Bay Area music scene.

Oh, and they take kick-ass wedding photos:

When I asked Lilia about their typical clients, she told me, "Our offbeat clients are independent and creative with an amazing sense of personal style ranging from indie, goth, punk, alternative, rockabilly, all the way to folks that might look pretty normal on the outside, but are amazingly creative and different on the inside."

…Sound like anyone you know?

To see more amazing photography from these two, keep reading.

Continue reading "San Francisco Wedding Photography by Lilia Photography" →

The offbeat bride: Lith, Pregnancy and Postpartum Doula

Her offbeat partner: Ealesy, Community Corrections Officer

Location & date of wedding: Tecoma Pavilion in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, Australia on February 24th, 2007

What made our wedding offbeat: I planned our wedding in a total of 9 days! Our wedding was not a legally recognised ceremony. We had a friend facilitate the ceremony because we did not want our "marriage" recognised because our nation does not permit same sex couples to marry.

Continue reading "Lith & Ealesy's Formal Feminist *Not Legal* Wedding" →

The offbeat bride: Molly, business owner and teacher

Her offbeat partner: Laurie, business owner/dog adventure guide/writer

Location & date of wedding: Guemes Island, WA overlooking the water and mountains on October 25th, 2008

What made our wedding offbeat: Some details of that made it ours….

Rather than sending STD cards or standard invitations…we put together a CD (I love music) and sent it to our guests. We sent the CDs 10 months ahead of time (and even with no Save The Date) it worked out great – people loved the CD and still talk about it. The CD had our website on it, which was all people needed. It set the tone for fun and expecting the unexpected. (In hindsight, it also served as the ‘favor’).

Guests were asked to participate in many ways. During the ceremony we had a Community Support section where guests were asked to publicly declare their support to our commitment. We also had a Ring Warming during the ceremony where the rings were passed around and guests were asked to take a moment to hold them, infuse them with their physical, emotional, and spiritual warmth. And we had a wedding certificate made that our guests signed with us after the ceremony. We got a lot of response at how much people enjoyed being a part of it all.

Continue reading "Molly & Laurie's Island Outdoor Lesbian Yes-We-Can Wedding" →