Are your parents helping pay for your wedding? Have them read this.

The only rule is to talk openly and honestly about expectations clearly before accepting any money — is the money a loan? A gift? If it’s a gift, does it come with stipulations or expectations? Talking about money is uncomfortable and awkward for everyone, but it’s critically important for parents who might be contributing to weddings to be VERY clear about what their expectations are… and to watch out for predatory marketing that targets parents…

Honoring a wedding you’re not invited to: advice for an estranged mother

My daughter has estranged me and excluded me from her wedding.

A few good friends are keeping me company that day and I would like to plan an authentic small ritual to honour and celebrate my daughter and her fiance’s love and union. Nothing religious, but something spiritual. Can you offer suggestions?

Wedding as a political act: 8 ways to show your wedding is part of the resistance

We’ve talked for years about folks who’ve used their weddings as political statements, most notably with marriage equality back before it became legal nationwide… but we’re in a different era now, and I’d argue that things are way more overwhelming than they were back then.

Let’s talk about a few ways to make a political statement with your wedding…

Weddings: the petri dish of family drama

All sorts of your interests and lifestyle choices probably seem a little odd to your family, but until you’re planning a wedding, it’s easier to ignore the differences. It’s not until you have the combination of two families coming together, social anxiety, financial considerations, religious and cultural traditions that all these things are forced up into your face.

#stealthisidea: the artichoke bouquet and 5 other wedding ideas I totally stole

Here on the blog we have a whole archive of posts called “Steal this idea” dedicated to (wait for it…) wedding ideas you should totally steal. I mean, almost every post on Offbeat Bride has at least one idea to steal, but sometimes we see these perfect little nuggets of ideas that we have to call out.

Here are a few ideas to steal that I’ve found on Instagram this week…

Should I schedule my wedding for the same day as a family member’s wedding?

My fiancé and I have been together for over nine years. Each year we celebrate our anniversary on the day we made our relationship official, and on our 2016 anniversary — he proposed to me. After all the emotional dust settled from this, my first thought was: we’ll get married on our anniversary in 2017!

Then I remembered, my half-brother’s cousin already announced that they would do their wedding on that very date….