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Author of three editions of the Offbeat Bride book and its sequel (From Shitshow To Afterglow, the ultimate offbeat breakup book) Ariel Meadow Stallings is the publisher of all the Offbeat Empire web properties. She lives in Seattle with her son. To read her latest writing, follow @arielist on Medium.
photo by jenny gg alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Bring Your Own Bickering: Why does everyone freak out over BYOB weddings?

Ah, ye olde BYOB debate. Second to the “Are potluck weddings tacky?” debate, this is one that people have some pretty strong and pretty divided opinions about. As always, our answer is “It’s ALL tacky — so what?” but there are some issues more complex than just subjective etiquette and tastefulness police at play here.

audrabayette unpluggedwedding alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Offbeat Bride interview about unplugged weddings on New Hampshire Public Radio

I first wrote about unplugged weddings way back in 2011, with a two-post series. The posts went crazy viral and in the three years since then, the idea has picked up major steam. The Huffington Post noticing the trend in 2012, and New York Times picking up on the concept in 2013. I’m happy to say that the concept is now popular enough that it’s no longer seen as “offbeat” in any way.

i love you flag by snaptacular photos alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

“Not an effort to be unique, but an effort to be us”

The New York Times recently ran an article called Your Hand in Marriage, and Offbeat Bride got a nod for our DIY posts. That’s cool, but what really caught my eye was this quote from a bride named Lauren Ireland:
“I felt like there’s such a movement to homogeneous wedding styles with Pinterest and Etsy, which are wonderful tools but do seem to make things seem very similar,” she said.
Her wedding, she added, represented “not an effort to be unique, but an effort to be us.”

13891399156 012cda45fd c alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

So many buckles: Rob’s amazing red gothic fairytale groom gear

We’ll hopefully be profiling the full wedding soon, but I have to stop first to give some snaps to Rob here and his impeccable gothic-tinged suit, complete with one of the most beautiful red jackets I’ve seen in a long time. Oh, and the buckled red vest? Amazing. The detailing, you guys… THE DETAILING. And the accessories! And his bride, Liz. Just wait…