Rebecca Bolte is a Seattle area photographer looking to shoot more offbeat weddings. Being a bit of an offbeat bride herself ("I'm having a vegan wedding in Alaska on August 3rd!" she told me) she's looking to cater her photography to couples with offbeat style.

And to prove her commitment to nontraditional couples, she's offering FREE engagement photo sessions to Offbeat Bride readers!

When I talked to Rebecca about her interest in offbeat weddings, she explained, "I'm a vegan feminist DIY rocker girl who's pulled herself up by her bootstraps, so I have a deep love and respect for people trying to make their own life while maintaining their uniqueness."

For the details of the engagement photo giveaway, keep reading!

Continue reading "FREE engagement photoshoot from Rebecca Bolte" →

Yes, I'm a longtime fan of Wai-Ching dresses, and even wore one to my book release party. But with this silk dress, Chrissy Wai-Ching has truly outdone herself. No seriously:

I love that Chrissy made the groom's dramatic silk tie to match … but really you haven't lived until you've seen the back of the dress. That's where the real party is goin' on…

Continue reading "Wai-Ching does it again" →

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" →

Prepare yourself for some guh-guh-guhmazing wedding porn from One Love Photo, based here in my homeland of Western Washington.

When photographer Heather Gilson contacted me about advertising, I went to go peek around her website to see if she did work I thought my offbeat brides would enjoy.

And what did I see? Amazing mod garden ceremonies. Grooms in chucks. Wai Ching dresses. In other words: quintessential offbeat brides.

Want to keep feasting your eyes? (Nyom nyom nyom: wedding porn!) More One Love Photo shots below!

Continue reading "One Love Photo: Photos as untraditional as you" →

Some of you are already familiar with the work of Seattle wedding photographer Jenny Jiménez — she shot the infamous Pixel wedding. But oh, she's done so much more than that, including placing in the PDN Top Knots wedding photography contest.