Category Archive

Parties & Showers

Wedding showers for couples, wedding shower games, engagement parties, bridal showers, bachelor and bachelorette party ideas, rehearsal dinners, hangover brunches… we’ve got ’em all! Check out these alternatives to traditional wedding parties.

honeymoon fund box seen on offbeat bride alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

The evolving etiquette around asking wedding guests for money

The Atlantic recently interviewed me for an article about Stag & Doe parties, known as “Jack and Jill” parties: The Pre-wedding Parties Where Couples Charge Admission. Julie and I got into a huge conversation about the issue, and of course very little of it made it into the finished article (because she had a lot of ground to cover!), but I got The Atlantic’s permission to share the conversation here….

Celebrate Harry's birthday today with a most magical Harry Potter party

The most magical Harry Potter bridal shower

On this day ins 1980, a wizard named Harry Potter was born. To honor his birthday, we’re sharing this MAGICAL Harry Potter bridal shower in Itasca, Illinois. Danielle and Gabe wanted to share their love of Harry Potter with their friends and family and they nailed it. Don’t miss the Hogwarts letter-inspired backdrop, golden chocolate snitches, and spooky magical greenery…

This dancer bride cast her bridesmaids in a bachelorette party music video

This dancer bride cast her bridesmaids in a bachelorette party music video

In “bachelorette parties we could never dream of having” news, bride Jana B. managed to craft a full-scale DANCE MUSIC VIDEO with her bridesmaids. Caveat: Jana is a professional dancer and her crew (from dancers to dentists!) is clearly willing and able to pull this off. Could most of us do it, too? Hell no. Is it fun to watch? Hell yes…

Game of Thrones themed shower

We had a Game of Thrones themed shower with an actual Iron Throne!

I could not have been more surprised when, three months after my engagement to Elliott was announced, my usually traditional mom called me and said “How would you feel about a Game of Thrones themed shower?” Elliott and I love the show and we were eagerly awaiting the next season. I was jumping up and down ecstatically when I told her “YES!”

Burlesque bachelorette party: boas, gloves, and good times

Burlesque bachelorette party: boas, gloves, and good times

You guys, we’re coming into bachelorette and hen party season, which means that we know some of you are like, “Wait, what are the options for NON-penis cake bachelorette parties? Are there bachelorette party games and activities that don’t involve bars?” (No shame in penis cakes or bars, of course. I mean, I personally love a good penis cake. And a good bar.)

BUT! Seattle and Puget Sound area folks! You’ve got an amazing bachelorette party alternative — and it’s one I even have very first-person experience with: The Academy of Burlesque.

Why a murder mystery rehearsal dinner is a KILLER idea for a wedding party

Why a murder mystery rehearsal dinner is a KILLER idea for a wedding party

We got this idea from one of the most epic Halloween weddings we’ve featured, Sharon and Kevin’s three-themed gothic wedding. We definitely got caught up in one of their ideas: a murder mystery rehearsal dinner! The best part of getting people into a themed party like this is that it’s going to give guests a reason to talk to one another and let their guards down. Apparently they even kept up the characters after the party! Let’s hear from Sharon on how it went down…