This is OBT member Ang's advice for streaming your wedding live on the internets. This is awesome for people who aren't going to be able to make it to the wedding as well as for all your OBB friends to be able to ogle you.

Real time wedding porn, YAY!!! -Megan

So here's my situation. First and foremost we are on a budget so our guest list is limited. I am a techno geek, so most of my friends live inside my computer and are pretty far away. Even though several are going to be able to make it to my wedding, there are even more that won't be able to make it. Not to mention family and friends who won't be able to make an international trip, or who are in poor health and aren't supposed to travel. Originally I was planning on sending them all photo CDs, and doing a slideshow on our wedsite, but then I started thinking with my geek gland.

Back in March, one of my fabulous internet groups had several members who attended an expo in Chicago. ALL the members of the site had helped to fund raise, and everyone was excited about it. I decided try and stream it live, so all our online friends who couldn't be there could be participants. It was a resounding success, and everyone loved it. Why couldn't I use this self same technology for my wedding?

Continue reading "How to broadcast your wedding live on the web — Part 1 of 4" →

Offbeat Megan snagged this awesome idea straight outta the OBT and we both knew it would be a fab DIY post. It's so super-duper unique and, well… celebratory!

Michele (congrats on the recent wedding!) put this simple how-to together to share with all you OBB lovelies. You can customize them any way you want… so get printin'! (and show us pics of your own special celebratory flags!)

"Yay!" Celebratory Flags
By Michele

I made these “Yay” flags for our wedding, intending for people to wave them for us as we walked away after the ceremony. They ended up being such an integral part of the evening, with everyone waving and shouting “YAY” every time we walked by! And since I added our names and the date to the back of them, they also served as the only favor we had for our guests. It is a quick and easy project- I hope you enjoy it!

Continue reading "How to make your own "Yay!" celebratory flags, by Michele" →

After spying Donelle and Adam's glorious 8-Bit wedding, we fell head over heels for their DIYed Shrinky Dink boutonnieres, hair clips, corsages and "diamond" necklace. And we were downright impressed with the fact that Donelle came up with the idea and executed it to complete perfection!

Donelle, graphic design maven of 8 Bit Onion, was oh so kind as to give us a tutorial chock full o' pictures. Read up, DIYers… this is a how-to you're going to wanna see.

Continue reading "How to make your own 8-bit wedding accessories, by Donelle" →

How much do you love the custom fortunes Kate included in her fabric fortune cookie favors?!

Offbeat intern cohort Megan spied this great DIY wedding favor that the crafty OBT member Kate had great success with, thanks to the no-sew, easy peasy tutorial from Megan over at Brassy Apple. It's a surefire way to kick out a cute favor with your own flair in no time.

Brassy Apple's tutorial is simple yet will have the "oohh" impact. The look could vary based on your theme and your fabric, and who says you can't jazz it up with some felt, ribbon or silly pom poms?!?! Dare I say, bedazzle it!

To get step-by-step instructions for how to make these fabric fortune cookie favors, head over to Brassy Apple.

Free Labels

I'm a blog-hound and have my Google Reader set up so I can munch on countless design/craft/music/news blogs for countless hours (thus diverting my attention away from work and increasing the possibility of ADD in my future) throughout the day. I stumbled upon this blog, iDiY, while perusing one of my faves, DesignSponge. I'm cursing this useful, amazing site for not presenting itself to me EARLIER (before my durn wedding)! It is such a great resource of freebies, inspirations and ideas for event or wedding planning.

Free Script Font

Need a fancy font for free but don't know where to find it? Enter iDiy! While not everyone wants scripty lettering adorning their offbeat wedding invitations or RSVPs, this is a fantastic FREE (yes, free… a beautiful word) font for anything that needs a little dressin' up. And for those wannabe creatives who are taking the plunge into custom invitation design themselves? Well, iDiY has got some great floral vector graphics and fancy schmancy designs to jazz up your paper.

Are you design-challenged but need a snazzy new look for address labels or stickers? Just add your text and print these puppies out onto adhesive sheets or cardstock. For the Love of Labels Part 1 and Part 2 should do it, and of course they're free (there's that word again!).

Personalized Hand Soap labels

iDiY even has some fab ideas for favors, that you can make yourself, for all you crafty little devils out there. These personalized hand soap labels are classy and formal, perfect for a wedding favor. And this planted banana bread idea has me drooling… would be a great way to let your cooking skills shine through and give your guests something tangible to experience.

There are too many goodies to show you, so just go! Search! Peruse the wonders of iDiY (and no, this is not a paid advertisement.. I just really like what this blog is doing)! Your wedding planning will be a lot rosier with iDiY at your side.