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.

You won’t find many wedding stationers who divide their invites into categories like Rockabilly, Punk, Gothic, and Fetish — Uber Angel is one in a million!

Danni founded Uber Angel (based in the UK) because, as she explains on her about page, while there are a few non-traditional stationers out there, most of them are focused on “black & purple with celtic or mythical elements.” And while sure, that works great for a pagan wedding, it might not work for those of you who want tattoo-themed invites for your rock ‘n’ roll nuptials. In addition to her standard offerings, Danni also does custom commissions.

Offbeat promo: Buy Uber Angel invites and receive a 20% discount on extra stationery, table plans, place cards etc.

Check out Uber Angel and get inspired!

Oh hai. I can haz hottie groomsmen breakdancing at reception, plz?

I wish we could have seen the bride break out HER moves, since the bride and groom are both professional dancers. Check out Steelo & Penelope’s wedding shots from Scott Robert Photography over here. I especially love this shot of the groom and his b-boy groomsmen:

I’m all a-twitter over the amazing photos and stories from the wedding of two members of the Offbeat Bride DC Wedding Co-op.

…The bride had a sword!

…The groom wooed her with a bowl of brownies he baked that morning!

…They did all their flowers themselves!

…The bride’s entrance was one of the most dramatically beautiful I’ve ever seen.

…The location (Adelphi Mill) was insanely gorgeous!

Basically, you should just go read the groom’s incredibly sweet post about the wedding. I’m going to go lose myself in the photos again, myself…

Um. Yeah, so I have only one question? Ok - it’s more a comment and plea for resources to be added than anything else. There aren’t a lot of resources out there for plus size brides, let alone plus size off-beat brides. -Karissa

I haven’t spent a lot of time talking about dresses for plus size brides because my advice to y’all is the same as my advice to everyone: HAVE YOUR DRESS CUSTOM MADE. I don’t care if you’re a size 2 or a size 18, apple body, pear body, or cucumber body — a custom dress made to your exact measurements is going to fit you better than anything you could buy off the rack and will cost less than 90% of the dresses you’ll find at any bridal salon.

Remember Angela’s red wedding dress? Custom made. What about Bree’s stunning pin-up style dress? Custom made. Honestly, I don’t know why anyone even bothers with the demoralizing hell of bridal shops. Regardless of your size or shape, you’ll get the best fitting dress if you have it made for you.

That said, if you’re looking for additional resources, I definitely recommend the Plus Size Bridez group on the Offbeat Bride Tribe. But my best advice is to start looking for a good local dressmaker.

Caroline Winata of Tinywater Photography has something magic in her super lush, super saturated, super gorgeous wedding and engagement photos:

Those of you who are members of the OBT may recognize this bride-to-be — it’s Julie, who recently wrote about her experiences with Tinywater Photography in the OBT forum.

Keep reading for more Tinywater photos, including the most gorgeous urban elopement ever, a four-legged flower girl, and a trash the dress special offer…

Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re in Philly and looking for a wedding photographer, you definitely DEFINITELY need to check out Allebach Photography.

It’s obvious that Mike & Rachel Allebach so totally get offbeat brides — they just posted the most amazing series of tattooed bride photos on their blog dedicated to philadelphia wedding photography.

Seriously, you gotta see these shots…

Read the rest of this entry »

The offbeat bride: Kat, Craftsperson

Her offbeat groom: Kurt, Computer Engineer

Location & date of wedding: Ottawa, ON (Canada), married at the Army Officer’s Mess. June 23rd, 2007

What made our wedding offbeat: Our wedding seemed fairly traditional on the surface — it was held at a popular local venue for formal events, the bride wore an off-white wedding gown and the groom wore black tails. The offbeat part of the wedding was in the little details. Both my husband and I changed our last names. I had a maid of honour, two bridesmaids, and a bridesman in my party. Our cake topper was a Lego couple that I put together myself from diverse pieces I’d ordered online.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’m looking for wedding party gifts that don’t suck. All I see for the girls are the same old monogrammed purses and mirrored compacts and for the guys all I see is pocket watches, flasks, and pens. How much use can you possibly get out of this stuff, besides a pen, but why spend $20–$100 on a freaking pen! What would you suggest for gifts for the wedding party? –Katie

I’m bringing in an expert guest blogger to answer this question. So ladies, welcome Jennifer from Etsy Wedding!

We’ve all been on the receiving end of some intriguing gifts — my favorite was an engraved monogrammed sterling-silver toothpick case. Yes, with toothpicks in it. What — are you trying to tell me I have something in my teeth? We’re friends, girl, you can just *tell* me.

For the offbeat bride, you’re looking for something meaningful, not just easy to purchase in a set of 6. The gifts you list don’t ring true because they have nothing to do with the relationships between you and your bridal party. You’ve asked these people to stand with you as your closest community; a great way to dream up authentic gifts is to think with care about how you or your affianced knows each person — a funny joke you’ve shared, an interest that brought you together, a memory only your siblings know — and go from there. (If we learned anything from Lloyd Dobler, you don’t give someone a pen!)

Read the rest of this entry »