Category Archive

industry insiders

The Offbeat Wed community includes hundreds of inclusive wedding industry pros who are all working to change the cynical, exploitative nature of the mainstream Wedding Industrial Complex. We invite our awesome offbeat vendor friends to share their industry insider tips with us and our readers — together we can change the wedding industry to be more inclusive, more offbeat, and more awesome! (If you’re an offbeat vendor, let’s get you in here!)

JC Lemon Photography seen in the New York Times as seen on Offbeat Wed. scaled e1692223263891 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Offbeat Wed in the New York Times: How to Find Wedding Vendors That Celebrate Inclusion

I was interviewed recently for a story in the New York Times about how to find inclusive wedding vendors who align with your values. I hate that the 2023 Supreme Court ruling made this issue something that we need to talk about, but I’m honored to get to speak up on behalf of those of us in the wedding industry willing to take a strong stance around inclusivity.

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10 tips for marketing your non-traditional wedding business

How can an offbeat wedding vendor attract offbeat clients when there are so many other vendors vying for their attention? Here are a few tools to help with marketing your non-traditional wedding business.

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A guide to planning a non-traditional wedding

Offbeat nearlyweds with no clue where to start with their planning… listen up! Reverend Katherine Dupree has shared this guide for planning a non-traditional wedding, with five important steps to consider as you start your planning process!

unique LA wedding dress shops alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

A dress shop worker’s tips on how to get a better deal on your wedding dress

I’m a retail worker in the bridal industry in Australia, and I’m also a bride myself. Everyone wants a better deal on their dress, and for those of you shopping at brick and mortar dress shops, I wanted to offer some tips about how to talk to retail workers if you want to negotiate the price of your wedding dress down… from someone who works in the industry and knows. 

Don’t tell my boss, but I want you to get a better deal! 

how to become a wedding planner alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

How to become a wedding planner, by an offbeat wedding planner

After planning a commitment ceremony for myself and seeing how difficult it was for gay weddings in 2010, I’ve been wanting to get involved and be a gay planner for several years. I can’t quit my day job while getting there though. But with all of this quarantine free time, I thought it would be good to start looking into it…

MarthaDevon6 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

A Blessing On Your House: Decoding weird wedding language with a queer Christian minister

Words have histories, and the words that go along with wedding ceremonies have millennia of symbolism behind them.

But those of us with a progressive or non-traditionalist streak sometimes wrestle with those ancient meanings as we seek to queer our rituals and find words that reflect the humanity-uplifting equal partnerships we want to build…