I've gotten a few emails asking about the nitty gritty of Offbeat Bride, and how things are run behind the offbeat curtain, as it were. If this kind of thing is interesting to you, read on!

The Offbeat Empire (as I lovingly call it) is my full-time job, and I gotta say that after a decade of corporate servitude for companies like Microsoft and Amazon, it's fucking awesome to self-employed. I love finally having the time to focus on my own schemes instead of scheming for someone else. The Empire at this point includes Offbeat Bride and Offbeat Mama, and will hopefully expand to include Offbeat Home later this fall.

One of the joys/pains of being self-employed is that you get to wear a LOT of hats, and mine include:

Continue reading "A peek behind the offbeat curtain" →

It's another round of reader questions! Not wedding advice, just … QUESTIONS!!

i don’t understand the deal of moustaches. i’ve seen it done many ways in the offbeat world, i just don’t the hows or whys of this fad. -Amy

Offbeat trends often echo subcultural trends, and the mustache thing is definitely the dominion of American Hipsterism. Think skinny jeaned tousel-haired 20somethings in Brooklyn, NY or the Mission district in San Francisco. Hipsters love their irony, and ironic 'staches have been all over the place for a few years. There's a whole silly website dedicated to Hipster Girls In Mustaches. I think the trend has gone from the ironic to whimsical as the trend has evolved from '80s throwback mustaches to dastardly vintage-style mustaches-on-a-stick. I'm not sure if I can get into WHY. I suppose I could make something up about young adults searching for meaning and authentic expressions of self in a post-9/11 media-saturated culture, but I'd just be talking out of my ass.

That said, who cares about the hows or whys. Is it silly? Totally. It it rational? Absolutely not. Does it make me laugh? THEN, SCORE!

What show are you a closet fan of? -Alisha

Continue reading "What's up with mustaches; TV; namesakes for me and my kid; and fashion" →

i hear a lot “i married my best friend”. are there anyone out there that don’t marry their best friend? i love my boyfriend, but he’s not my best friend. -Amy Michelle

I'm totally with you on your sentiment — I love Andreas, but I also love my lady friends and I love not having all my eggs in one relationship basket. But I think what people are getting at with the "marrying my best friend" statement is a response to the whole "ball 'n' chain" spousal animosity thing where people roll their eyes at their partners, talk shit about them behind their backs, etc. If your partner feels like a ball 'n' chain, then UR DOING IT WRONG! So yes, while I'm glad I have BFFs other than my husband, I'm also glad I genuinely admire him as a person. Or, as the NYTimes says:

Being married to someone you respect for being somehow better than you keeps affection alive. That this impressive person chooses you year after year makes you more pleased with yourself, fueling the kind of mutual self-esteem that can get you through decades.

Do you think that as time goes on, your interest in Offbeat brides will dwindle and you interest in Offbeat mamas will grow now that you're a mama yourself? -Ruby

Continue reading "Marrying your BFF, losing interest in weddings, and book tours" →

Here's another round of reader Q&As! Not wedding advice, and not stuff covered by my FAQ … just questions from you!

If you were to mentor other businesswomen – what would your pearls of wisdom be? -Jac

My biggest business advice would be to always recognize the folks who inspired you. All's fair in love and biz, and there are very few truly new ideas — the key is to acknowledge and respect the folks who came before you.

Continue reading "Advice for indie biz women, and offbeat bride + the mainstream media = ???" →

How did you manage to attract the initial OBBs who have been so eager to share their stories with you? -Monica H.

When I first started researching my book in 2005, I did what most journalists do: I put a call out to my network of writing colleagues across the country to see who had great stories to share. I'd followed a few stories on the Kvetch boards on Indiebride and contacted those folks directly. A couple of the brides featured in the book were people I knew personally, but most of them are stories that I found through research and networking.

When I launched the website in January 2007, the profiles were originally just my way to give a bit more background on the brides featured in the book. I quickly realized that there were other folks who might want to share their stories and set up the questionnaire so that blog readers could submit their weddings.

These days, there are so many weddings submitted that there's no way I could feature them all … even with Megan posting four or five a week!

Do you ever get tired of talking about weddings? -Karolynn

Continue reading "Where did the original OBBs come from, has my relationship changed post-wedding, and do I ever get sick of weddings?" →

This is my new regular feature where I answer questions from readers. Not wedding advice questions (I do that over here) but personal questions, blogging questions, etc. Let's dive in…

Do you have any pics of yourself and Andre [sic] re-using wedding stuff? (Like your outfit?) -Corinne

I swear Andreas wore his sleeveless tux jacket to a friend's wedding, but I can't find any photos … but my wedding corset has gotten a ton of re-use! Here's my mom rocking it while she gets ready for her wedding:

Continue reading "Rewearing wedding outfits, blogger time management, and raving" →

Inspired by Princess Lasertron (because really, who isn't?) I've decided to start doing a semi-regular feature where I answer reader questions. Not, like, wedding advice questions. But questions about other stuff — the site, the world, whatever.

Here are the first batch of questions, which came in via Offbeat Bride's Facebook page:

At OBB, we're all about honoring the personally meaningful, no matter how weird or "tacky" But I bet you've heard about some pretty off-the-wall wedding choices…what are the strangest things you've come across in your OBB travels? -Ariel H.

Ha! I love this question. I've definitely seen some things that aren't my personal aesthetics, that's for sure…

Continue reading "Questions from you: Strangest weddings, what inspired me to start OBB, what I regret from my wedding, and more!" →