I opted to not carry a bouquet; put something, anything, in my hands and watch me awkwardly bend, fold and fondle it into oblivion. Plus, for some strange reason, I didn't feel like spending a load of money for flowers that I was just going throw away at the end of the day. But if I wasn't so fidgety I would have definitely been one of those brides that opted for a bouquet alternative to flowers.

Since Offbeat Bride Kerry started a discussion called "Bouquet Alternatives" on the Offbeat Bride Tribe a wealth of amazing offbeat bouquet porn has been popping up. I thought I'd share a few of the unique and inspiring ideas.

OBT member Zan suggested making this bouquet out of "beautiful, cheap, fashionable feathers" that she'd seen at Hobby Lobby.

Continue reading "17 wedding bouquet alternatives for fearless brides" →

I'm on a roll with the non-floral bouquets this week! Here's another option from Etsy seller Refinerii, who makes these bouquets out of salvaged metal and iridescent Austrian crystals, glass beads, white pearls, and silver wire. The result is super sparkly and distinctly industrial, perfect for an urban loft wedding:

A few weeks ago, I featured Naomi's crafty/punk wedding, and there were lots of folks who wanted to know more about Naomi's illuminated christmas bulb bouquet, which her mother made for her. Well, I got the information from Naomi! Here y'all go…

Supplies Needed:

Continue reading "How to make a light-up Christmas ornament wedding bouquet, by Naomi & her mom" →

I've featured lots of alternatives to the standard "clump of flowers" bouquet (check out all my non-floral bouquet posts) but this photo may feature the ultimate alternative: gorgeous feather fans.

Now, this may not be an option for the vegans & vegetarians in the house … but for a hot summer wedding, can you picture the loveliness of all these fans in motion? The fluttering of feathers and little breezes of air in the bridesmaids hair as they stand at the altar? Why, it's positively cinematic!

(Thanks to bethany_bezdecheck for the photo.)

The offbeat bride: Naomi

Her offbeat partner: Casey

Location & date of wedding: First Assembly Church Chapel in Cedar Rapids, IA. November 1, 2008

What made our wedding offbeat: For starters, I wore a black dress. It was actually a bridesmaid's dress, which made it tons cheaper.

Then, we did almost everything ourselves. I made our invitations on postcards. No real flowers — my bouquet was handmade from little christmas bulbs and tulle. Oh, and little white lights. Yes, it lit up!

Every tradition in weddings we pretty much went against. No unity candle, I stood on the 'wrong' side, my mom and dad walked me down, Casey had his parents walk him down.

There was no white was at our wedding — it was all black and bright blue.

Continue reading "Naomi & Casey's punk rock Iowa wedding" →