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" →

photo by Drew Orrin-Brown

The offbeat bride: Tessa LeTaunt, Pin Up Model & Mommy

Her offbeat partner: Ronnie, Stay-at-home-Daddy

Location & date of wedding: The Uptown Theater in Kansas City, MO — July 11th, 2009

What made our wedding offbeat: Instead of having a unity candle, we had a Native American water ritual, which consisted of both my groom and I drinking from a double-spouted jug made of clay. Although this took away from our overall theme, both of our families have strong Indian heritage, which we felt the need to embrace during our uniting as one.

Continue reading "Tessa & Ronnie's Vintage Cabaret, Uptown Theater Wedding" →

This question actually came in as a comment on the post about Hannibal & Myshell's wedding video:

This brings a question that I've been wrestling with as a performer – if you or your beloved is a performer by trade, how much of the wedding is a "performance"? I feel like my guests are an audience and I worry that I'm not going to give them a good enough "show" -Leah

This is a great question, and one that I totally relate to. I hope I made it clear in my Authenticity vs. Attention post that this issue is one I wrestle with a lot. Little known Ariel Trivia: I started college as musical theater student on scholarship. I lasted one semester before bailing, but the when you spend your formative years singing and dancing, you can't ever really get rid of the jazz hands.

Continue reading "Planning a sincere-but-theatrical wedding" →

Here's a really neat venue option… a theater! Lots of stage space, seating and a funky atmosphere to boot! Take a look at some other offbeat venues like cave weddings or movie theater weddings or even zoo weddings!

The offbeat bride: Julee, Theatre Education Director

Her offbeat partner: Ross, Actor/Director/Playwright

Location & date of wedding: Nashville Children's Theatre in Nashville, TN on May 17, 2008

What made our wedding offbeat: We made a conscious effort for our wedding to be simple, DIY and to rebel against the industry.

Continue reading "Julee & Ross' Casual Quirky Children's Theatre Wedding" →

Those of you who've read the book know all about Jen Moon, the Seattle bride who's wedding was actually a full-fledged musical performance back in 2002.

Well, finally (FINALLY) Wedding! The Musical is online for your viewing pleasure — and trust me, you'll want to watch it all. From Jen's entrance via trapeze to the moment when they shoot the bouquet out of a canon, the whole wedding's fucking awesome.

So go! Watch!