10k
  46 Comments Aug. 5, 2013

Why does the internet love snarking about weddings so much?

The internet loves snarking in general, but there seems to be something particularly digitally delectable about making fun of weddings. Sometimes it feels like nontraditional weddings get snarked on the most, but these days it seems you're just as likely to see people bitching about how all the wedding trends are played out. What I want to explore is WHY? Why does everyone love getting bitchy about weddings? I'm going to put on my sociologist/media studies hat and share a few theories…

14k
  50 Comments Dec. 17, 2012

Othering: the ways offbeat types push ourselves away

Over the years, I've seen something come up time and time again from Offbeat Bride readers: people will send an email, post on the Tribe, or leave a comment that basically amounts to, "Do I REALLY count as an Offbeat Bride? Do I really belong here?" I think of it as the Offbeat Bride's version of othering: this way those of us who've defined ourselves as non-normative have of pushing ourselves away from other people. The push makes sense, of course — if you live in a region where your politics aren't aligned with those around you, of course you're going to feel a push, and like you need to clearly define yourself as "not that." There are a lot of social and cultural contexts where it makes perfect sense that people who feel a little bit off the beaten path would push against the people and society around them. What makes less sense to me is when I see us push against each other…

18k
  29 Comments Nov. 12, 2012

Everyone else is doing it: A wedding trend perspective

I started searching online and found all these great ideas: mercury glass candle holders, stacks of books for centerpieces, stationary with those cool old brackets on it, lanterns, library card escort cards — and ran with it. I was so happy that we were doing things that felt like us and not just the same old cookie-cutter wedding stuff that we had seen throughout our twenties. It felt amazing. Until we realized that everyone else was doing it, too.

11k
  23 Comments Sep. 24, 2012

Oh Noes, I Think My Wedding Will Be Normal!

You may think I'm crazy since our wedding was actually pretty darn offbeat and unique. But it didn't really feel that offbeat, and I was wondering if I should be concerned. I saw all these seriously amazing weddings on Offbeat Bride and the Tribe and I wanted to be among that crowd. Then I realized that the fact that it felt normal was awesome. It actually meant we were doing it right.