The moment I saw their Lego cake topper and their card box constructed out of legos, I knew I had to profile them on "geek week!" So Lego nerds, check it out… -Megan

The offbeat bride: Lauren, computer nerd for a museum in Houston (and an OBT member)

Her offbeat partner: Nick, TSA Officer

Location & date of wedding: The War Memorial, Grosse Pointe Farms, MI — 8/28/2009

What made our wedding offbeat: From top to bottom, everything about our wedding bucked tradition. Somethings were out of our control, so we tossed out tradition. Lauren's whole family was unable to attend the wedding, so her father-in-law walked her in. But somethings… the lego cake topper, the moissanite ring (no diamond here!), and the knee high striped socks, well… we did it our way.

Continue reading "Lauren & Nick's Lego-filled, "nerdfest hootenanny" wedding" →

The Offbeat Bride: Tanith, Aspiring Romance Novelist (and OBT member "TanithRice")

Her offbeat partner: Darius, Youth Case Manager

Location & date of wedding: The Crofoot Ballroom, Pontiac, MI — Aug. 14, 2009

What made our wedding offbeat: I had never dreamed of being "princess for the day," and good thing too, because our budget simply wouldn't allow it. I knew right away that I wanted an intimate affair with only our closest friends and family and since me and my hubby were the only ones paying for our wedding we did everything OUR way.

Continue reading "Tanith & Darius's laid back, Motor City recession special wedding" →

The Offbeat Bride: Maria, Graphic Designer (and OBT member)

Her Offbeat Partner: Dave, Roofer/Musician

Location & date of wedding: The Music House Museum in Traverse City, Michigan — Oct. 17, 2009

What made our wedding offbeat: We waited a long, long time for this. Dave and I met on the school bus and have been best friends for sixteen years. After nine years of putting off a wedding due to financial reasons, we finally decided to tie the knot at the courthouse (for health insurance — so romantic). We wanted to keep it a secret until the real ceremony, two years later, but Dave's mom found out and soon did everyone! Getting sick of family grilling us with questions, we decided, on a whim, to plan the ceremony and get "weddinged" in just six weeks! All for under $4000.

Continue reading "Maria & Dave's roaring twenties, museum wedding" →

Thanks so much to Abby Rose Photo for sending me these amazing photos of Tim & Andrea's Ann Arbor wedding. All the details are amazing — you'll see! — but I especially love that their reception was at the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market.

Seriously, folks: it pays to think very creatively when it comes to selecting your venues! (And yes, it helps if you have an amazing photographer — a lesser photog's shots of this unique venue could have made it look less than awesome.)

For more amazing shots from this wedding, keep reading — or get the full shebang by heading to Abby Rose Photo's blog!

Continue reading "Tim & Andrea's farmer's market wedding" →

The Offbeat Bride: Gaia, Solar Energy Designer

Her Offbeat Partner: Parker, Gourmet vegetarian chef

Location & date of wedding: Under our geodesic dome at our home in rural Michigan — April 20, 2009

What made our wedding offbeat: Our ceremony was about equality and expressing our unique personalities. She's a buddhist, he's a pagan, so we chose very egalitarian vows representing both traditions.

We took all the typical sexist language out of the ceremony, questioned the origin of every tradition and sought out ideas and symbology from many cultures.

Continue reading "Gaia & Parker's Buddhist Pagan Geodesic Hippie Handfasting" →