Welcome to another installment of OMGOBT, where I feature some of the best that the OBT has to offer. This time: OBT member Jen Han shows us her diy projects for her skull theme, which manages to be a little punk rock and yet totally adorable at the same time. So, take it away, Jen…

My fiance is OBSESSED with Duke Basketball… so the wedding colors are Duke blue. i reeeally love skulls so we are incorporating skulls into the stationary, place cards and cake. i'm pretty proud of the subtle incorporation of skulls in the invitations:

Continue reading "My DIY skull theme, by Jen Han" →

This guest post comes from OBT member ninakr!stine, who shares her vintage-inspired diy wedding invitations with us. The wedding was last August, but these invites are, erm, TIMELESS!

We designed our invitations to look like a packet of items you might find in your grandmother's attic. Here's what we did…

Continue reading "My vintage DIY invitations, by Nina Kristine" →

Last week's Why you should propose to your boyfriend post was a big hit, so I'm continuing on with Part 2: HOW to propose to your boyfriend.

Of course there are as many ways to propose to your boyfriend as their are people reading this website, but when considering proposing, here are a few things to consider:

1. Have lots of conversations with him about marriage and commitment, so that you know you're on the same page. Do you share ideas and values? Do you share a common outlook? Do you both want to do this?
2. If you're not sure he'd feel comfortable being proposed to, find a casual way to find out. Share a story about another woman who proposed (I've got one coming up for you!) to see how he responds.
3. If you want to really twist the tradition on its ear, consider asking his mother for his hand in marriage! This list of how to ask a man for his daughter's hand in marriage is actually pretty helpful, and has the bonus of being slightly amusing when you flip the genders: "Promise [her] that you’ll take care of [her son] for the rest of [his] life."
4. Pick a symbolic gift, if you want one. It totally doesn't have to be a ring (who remembers the "engagement lighter" mentioned in my book?)
5. Start scheming! The web is FILLED with proposal ideas, but I'm guessing crafting one unique to your relationship would be way more special than any over-engineered feat of romance.

Want a great story to use as an example? Keep hear how one OBT member proposed to her boyfriend…

Continue reading "Proposing Part 2: How to propose to your boyfriend" →

Welcome to another installation of OMGOBT!, the series where I share some of my favorite content from the OBT. This post comes to you from OBT member Rodrigues.

I have been pondering ways to keep my family involved in my wedding yet respectful of our wishes. I almost feel like it is harder to plan a “mostly traditional with some personal twists” style wedding than a totally off-the-wall affair, mostly because if you are having the latter, it seems friends and family will eventually resign themselves to the fact that you are unequivocally NOT going to have the wedding they want.

Because our wedding appears fairly traditional on the surface, the changes we’re making are confusing the hell out of my parents, making them think that we are only changing certain things to spite them.

Continue reading "How to keep family off your back, by Rodrigues" →

Welcome to OMGOBT, a new category of posts on Offbeat Bride that feature some of the most inspiring, most helpful, and most awesome posts from the OBT. This first installment involves love and cat vomit, and is by OBT user Cassie.

So the other day I was looking at my cat. More specifically, I was looking at my cat as she spewed what seemed like a quarter pound of half-digested tuna/chicken feast all over one of my favorite sweaters, which I stupidly left unsupervised on the bed. And I thought, "Sweet lord above this cat is driving me crazy, what with all the puking and crapping lately, but I love her to bits and wouldn't give her up for anything."

And here is where the most pathetic realization came over me: My relationship with my future husband is like my relationship to the cat …

Continue reading "How my cat taught me marriage isn't so scary after all, by Cassie" →