This is sort of an Offbeat Bride family wedding. Not only is it the wedding of longtime OBT member Ragani — but it was the first wedding that Managing Editor Megan ever photographed. Kudos to Ragani & Will for taking a chance on an a newbie wedding photographer.

The offbeat bride: Ragani, Art Director & Henna Artist

Her offbeat partner: Will, Paralegal & Performing Artist

Location & date of wedding: California Ballroom, Oakland, CA — May 2, 2009

What made our wedding offbeat: Having a traditional wedding was never really an option. We wanted it to be a reflection us and celebrate our eclectic community, so following "tradition" was not the best way to achieve that. Once we decided on having the wedding in a theater-like setting, the rest spun off that.

Continue reading "Ragani & Will's Cinematic Gala & Music Spectacular Wedding" →

Looking for a wedding dress in any other colors besides "white" or "ivory?" Maybe say… something like that black beauty for your Halloween wedding?

Yeah, well … good luck with that. Shopping for a colorful gown can range anywhere from frustrating to completely frustrating, forcing brides to either relive prom dress shopping or scouring the bowels of the internets for creative alternatives. That is until Wedding Dress Fantasy showed up on the bridal scene!

Based in New Jersey, they have an online store full of colorful wedding gowns! You can now easily find the perfect red dress for your gothic castle wedding, or blue dress for your urban loft wedding, or pink dresses for, oh I don't know, your lesbian gamer geek wedding? Or even the ever rare and elusive gold wedding dress for your elegant lodge wedding. They also gots tons o' love for the plus size brides as well.

Oh, and maybe you're a budget bride, but you feel weird about ordering a custom dress from overseas. Wedding Dress Fantasy's custom dress prices are uber-affordable, ranging from $299 to $599.

So, when you're ready to easily track down your perfect colorful wedding dress, head over to Wedding Dress Fantasy.

Happy almost-Halloween! Today marks our final post in our month-long celebration of Halloween weddings.

The Offbeat Bride: Steff, Copywriter and Braille Transcriber

Her Offbeat Partner: James, Geo-technician, Armourer and heavy metal drummer

Location & date of wedding: Spookers, Kingseat Hospital Grounds, Kingseat, New Zealand — 1 November 2008

What made our wedding offbeat: James and I met on an archaeological excavation five years ago, when I happened to look over my shoulder and notice a really cute grey amorphous blob (I'm legally blind) wearing an identical Iron Maiden shirt to mine. It took two years swapping our favourite metal albums and me running away from him before we eventually started dating. When we decided to get married, everyone knew it wouldn't be the usual sort of white roses affair.

Continue reading "Steff & James' Viking Heavy Metal Halloween Wedding of Epicness" →

The Offbeat Bride: Mandi, Marketing Manager

Her Offbeat Partner: Neil, Tabletop fantasy and futuristic battle-games retail assistant!

Location & date of wedding: Cooling Castle Barn, Kent, UK — 4 December 2008

What made our wedding offbeat: We had a few ideas about what we wanted; normal for us — not so normal for others it seems We had a few setbacks during our year of planning, so we stripped right back to only the things we really, really wanted. We encountered a bit of resistance from people along the way but on the day, we had what looked like a very traditional wedding from the outside but a little bit different once they were all tarpped in the room with us!!

Continue reading "Mandi & Neil's Castle, Cupcakes & Tequila Wedding" →

The Offbeat Bride: Jeannette, belly dancer, violinist, and daytime accountant

Her Offbeat Partner: Cliff, software engineer

Location and date of wedding: Ceremony: Arizona State, Reception: Jeannette's parents' back yard — September 13, 2008

What made our wedding offbeat: We always knew we wanted a very small wedding. We decided to skip a bunch of the usual built-in drama and leave out bridesmaids, groomsmen, ringbearers, piles of doves, etc.

Continue reading "Jeannette & Cliff's small, anti-conventional wedding with a surprise reception" →