So you're having a Lego cake-topper. Or maybe your groom made himself Lego cuff-links. Regardless, you're thinking to yourself, "Self, what's the DIY perfect wedding favor to go with these Legos?"

Answer: Chocolate Legos!

OBT member Shandriz made these for her wedding, simply by pouring melted chocolate into a Lego ice tray. So easy! So DIY! So very Lego!

You may remember when we featured Kerosene Deluxe's amazing gothabilly hair a few months back — now here's the full story!

The offbeat bride: Shanah (aka Miss Kerosene Deluxe), Plus-sized pin up model/Makeup artist/Part-time beauty shop manager

Her offbeat partner: Jerry, Chef

Location & date of wedding: The Courthouse/Beni Hana restaurant and Thomson House, Montreal, Quebec – August 9th, 2008

What made our wedding offbeat: Jerry and I are an offbeat couple, so it was no suprise to those who know us that our wedding would be an 'unusual affair'. We just took everything we love and mixed it all together.

Continue reading "Shanah & Jerry's Gothabilly Wedding!" →

I'm totally all SQUEE-y over these custom offbeat illustrations from butterflieskiss.com.

Donna, the illustrator who runs butterflieskiss.com crafts custom images that you could use on save the dates, wedding invitations, thank you cards, wedding favors … or even wedsites.

Let me let you in on a little secret: I'm tempted to commission Donna's illustrations for offbeatbride.com! I mean, does it get any more OBB than this lovely inked bride illustration?

Donna does illustrations catered to semi-traditional wedding invitations too, but she's got amazing images perfectly catered to diverse offbeat brides needs including goth and circus-y/vaudeville brides, lesbian brides, bollywood brides, and even pregnant brides!

And if those wedding-y illustrations too tame for you, Donna has another line — donna-matrix.com, catering to racier images perfect for bachelorette party invites or heck: even your wedding invitation if you're planning a fetishy wedding. (HOT!)

Donna's offering 10% off on custom illustrations when you mention offbeatbride.com — so get on that shit, ladies!

And who knows: next time I redesign, you might see some of Donna's stuff in the header of offbeatbride.com…

The necklace I wore at my wedding was designed by a Dori, a jewelry-making artisan friend. When I realized that she'd started using Etsy, the ebay of the indie crafts world, to sell her wares, I asked her if she could share tips for offbeat brides looking to shop for wedding supplies while supporting independent artists.

When Ariel asked me to design her wedding necklace in 2004, it was before the days of Etsy. I was maintaining my own online shop — creating, designing, photographing, tweaking, uploading, coding, promoting… To say it was far more work than I wanted was an understatement. I just wanted to make jewelry — my website was a whole 'nother job.

Two years later, I've dropped the maintenance of my own website in lieu of joining a legion of independent designers on Etsy, a website full of handmade, independent goodness. As one of the many Etsy vendors who's thoroughly addicted to their forums, I went digging and found a few shoppers dressing up their wedding days with Etsy.

Continue reading "Wedding shopping on Etsy.com" →