I’d like to introduce you all the Shrie, who is stepping in this week as the first ever Offbeat Bride intern! She’s going to be helping me with all sorts of behind the scenes stuff, especially getting more bride profiles posted on the site! I’ve got a huge backlog of amazing offbeat weddings to feature, and Shrie’s going to make the magic happen.

Shrie comes from a music writing background, having written for Seattle’s Three Imaginary Girls and interned at Sub Pop. She’s on the OBT and is planning a Vintage/Mexican Fiesta wedding on Friday the 13th in March 2009.

Anyhoo, thanks to Shrie for putting up with the spasticness that is offbeatbride.com, and here’s to lots more wedding porn for everyone!

The offbeat bride: Emily, English Master’s Student SIU

Her offbeat partner: Dustin, Undergraduate Student SIU

Location & date of wedding: Centenary Methodist and Hamilton’s Catering Jacksonville IL. March 07, 2008

What made our wedding offbeat: For the wedding ceremony, we stuck with the tradition of a Christian church — but my brother Luke McQuillan, a local musician, played video game music including the Zelda Overland Theme for my bridal march. In addition I drew up a comic strip for the program. My friend Leslie Galloway made the dress which was a design we worked out together.

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This was originally posted as a comment to the “Your wedding is tacky” post, but I think it’s important and wanted to take the time to answer it publicly.

…While I at first did enjoy this blog’s celebration of all things unique and offbeat, Ariel’s recent increasing blowups on any negative comments is, frankly, off putting. Any post on any subject is going to evoke negative AND positive reactions from people. Freaking out whenever people comment negatively, whether using “tacky” or not, is ITSELF unwelcoming of discussion.

I enjoyed this blog because it gave me inspiration for various ideas I could ponder and decide whether to include or exclude them with my wedding. And even though it is MY wedding, I still care what other people think, because this wedding is a celebration for my whole family. They’re giving time and money and traveling a long distance to be with me, I want them to have as much fun as possible. So yes, I find value even when people react negatively to different wedding ideas, and I even find value when people use the word “Tacky”

Demanding that every comment flower praise on the couple’s wedding choices isn’t offbeat, it is typical selfish bridal behavior. -Elizabeth

Elizabeth, I totally hear you and it’s definitely a balance I struggle with when thinking about offbeat editorial and moderation strategy. Honestly: it’s not like I love every single nontraditional wedding I see. It’s not like I’ve never looked at a wedding photo and thought “Woah! Bleah!” But ultimately my goal has always been acting as a cheerleader and supporter of nontraditional couples.

From the introduction of my book:

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offbeat bride posts will resume once I stop barfing. Whee!

Today is our 4th wedding Anniversary! To celebrate, I thought I would share a few outtakes from our wedding photos.

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The offbeat bride: Kate, admin lackey (midwife-wanna-be)

Her offbeat partner: Matt, wind turbine tech

Location & date of wedding: My parents’ backyard in Wadsworth, Ohio. May 10, 2008.

What made our wedding offbeat: Well, first of all, we were already married! We met in a chemistry class last fall, got engaged by Thanksgiving, and decided we wanted to be married in February. So we went down to the courthouse with our parents while still planning the small ceremony in May.

Matt & I wanted a ceremony and dinner that was small, non-formal, and personal. No big, cold, overly-glittery venue for us. We didn’t want to spend much money, and neither of us had much time to put into planning, since we both work and go to school. I have much more fun planning events like this, though, so I gladly took on most of that task.

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Expect less blog posts than usual for the coming week — things are a little crazy at the Offbeat HQ what with my birthday tomorrow, and a trip to Montana to meet my nephew and attend my brother-in-law’s backyard wedding. As always, the OBT is here to keep you company while I’m gone.

Just a quick note to let you all know that Altar Your Thinking tees are back up to full stock in both gray/lilac and bad-ass black. Oh, and extra bonus: I’ve even got black shirts in men’s XXL now, for my big teddy bear offbeat grooms! You can get yours here in the offbeat store. I’m thinking this may be the last order I place for a while (even with pre-orders, it got expensive!), so get ‘em while you can.

Also, I love y’all’s stories about how wearing your shirts to vendor meetings and (like Kat Mountain here) to the bridal salon!