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: Shannon, theater actress/web site manager

My Offbeat Partner: Brandon, improv actor/managing director

Location & date of wedding: Lake Forest Park Civic Club on Lake Washington in Seattle, WA (we're not members, anyone can rent it) — 5/4/2008

What made our wedding offbeat: Our wedding was completely ours. We ran the thing ourselves and enlisted the generous help of talented friends and family to design our invites, print them, set-up, DJ, officiate, work the bar, and make appetizers.

We decided early on to eliminate certain expensive sources of stress to keep the budget and the stress as low as possible. We planned the wedding for about 4-5 months after the engagement to save ourselves a year of stress. Within a few weeks, we'd chosen an inexpensive (under $1K), little-heard-of venue north of Seattle. It's in a lovely spot on the lake but because the building is old 1960's utilitarian, so it's not used often for weddings. We decided the space was too small for a wedding party and we didn't want to deal with choosing dresses and tuxes and favors and coordinating the people (this ended up being our most controversial decision).

Continue reading "Shannon & Brandon's comedic Seattle wedding" →

Why is it that rockabilly brides always have the most fabulous wedding hair?

I'm totally in love with the 1940s 'do that Laurenn and her fabulous smile are rocking in this shot from Bonnie Berry Photography.

If you want to see the full series from Laurenn and Alex's Las Vegas wedding, head on over to Bonnie's blog. There's a gorgeous red dress, cupcakes, paper lanterns, cute kids and a smiley dog.

(Oh and thanks for the heads up, Kat!)

Remember the wedding with cue cards? Here's the full story!

The offbeat bride: Yolkai, Mama, crafter, delicious food maker

Her offbeat groom: Anthony/Ackshawn, Teacher, K-8 Behavior Specialist

Location & date of wedding: Isis Oasis Sanctuary, a retreat center with an Egyptian theme in Geyserville, CA.

What made our wedding offbeat:We did it our way! After six years and a baby together we wanted the public declaration, the fancy outfits, and the big fun party! We chucked most of the mainstream wedding crap and held on to a few sweet traditions. Pretty much everything, from the invitations to the interpretive dance, was an expression of our style, our silliness, and our values.

Continue reading "Yolkai's lighthearted red wedding" →

I'm in love with this wedding. I mean yes: the bride is wearing an amazing red wedding dress and we all know I love those — but she's also rocking a coordinated red wedding veil! Evidently, the veil was made the morning of the wedding. Bonus points for last-minute magic.

I also love that the groom matched the theme with his red mohawk — but I'm especially smitten by the fact that a groomsman helped the guests by holding up helpful cue cards during the ceremony.

Everyone: steal this idea.

(Thanks to the Mighties! for the photos, and to Melissa for the tip!)