Seriously, could I love my offbeat Bay Area brides any more than I already do?

We’ve got the bride in a smashing red wedding dress, the groom in a green top hat, the officiant in a purple wizards cap (!!!), stilt-walkers from Mystic Family Circus, and an attendant in feathers ‘n’ leather festival finery. This photoset calls it a Happy Pagan Costume Love Wedding. I’m suspecting these are friends-of-friends who I haven’t met yet, because seriously: these are exactly my kinda freaks. (Have I mentioned that my husband is an aerialist? We know a lot of circus folks.)

(Thanks to utah raptor for the photo!)

Yay! I love finding bad-ass wedding’s like Mick and Mu’s Australian nuptials!

The bride wore black nail polish and a fabulous corset/jacket/skirt combo, and the groom clearly rocked.

The bridesmaids were in black tees and jeans. Oh, and you’ll love the getaway car. Fuck yeah!

Really, the whole Black Wedding set is worth browsing through.

(Thanks to dave_apple for the photo!)

If you lean towards the darker side of the wedding planning spectrum, consider this cake.

It’s white and tiered to appease the family traditionalists, but those thick black roses on top make it clear who’s aesthetic is in charge here.

Love it!

(Thanks to basmatiheather for the photo!)

Check out my whole collection of red wedding dress photos!

Obviously I have a thing for red wedding dresses. Photographer Martin Oliver captured a bride named Penaran in a red Ian Stuart dress. I love the rouching of the red train, and the bride’s adorable little cocktail hat.

For more shots, keep reading. And thanks to Martin Oliver Weddings for the photos!

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I finally got the scoop on the vineyard wedding I featured in last week’s wedding porn.

The offbeat bride: Rebecca, Speech and language therapist

My offbeat groom: Jeremy, Biomedical engineer

Location & date of wedding: Alexis Bailly Vineyard ~ Hastings, Minnesota ~ August 2007

What made our wedding offbeat: We kept it simple and intimate, with the charming vineyard grounds and surrounding country landscape as our only “decoration.” The winery was open to the public (which actually made it more fun), and only our parents, siblings and their spouses, and grandparents attended the ceremony.

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I love this playful bike ride shot from Rebecca & Jeremy’s vineyard wedding. I don’t have any details on the event other than what you can see in these pictures, but I positively adore the groom’s suit (so cute with the bow-tie!) and the bride’s cocktail-length dress.

Photo courtesy of Red Apple Images.

1. One word: umbrellas.

2. You get to wear Wellies and/or Crocs.

3. The diffused lighting, a photographer’s wet dream. (Ouch! Pun!)

4. Did I mention fun with umbrellas?

(Thanks to ZekiZeki for the photo!)

In Offbeat Bride, I talk about the concept of having two weddings — this couple took that concept to the extreme! Opposites really do attract — and get married.

The offbeat bride: Amber, Cosmetologist

My offbeat groom: Scott, Construction worker

Location & date of wedding: Two locations in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2006: a friend’s home on The 4th of July, and in a park for Beltane with a maypole.

What made our wedding offbeat: We had two weddings, mine and his. Mine was a pagan handfasting ceremony on Beltane, complete with fairies and a maypole and a priestess named Heron. His was a patriotic 4th of July bar-b-que, complete with surprising American Flag ensemble.

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