Tough conversations about marriage: why an online prenup is a good start

Recently, an old friend of mine decided to have a non-legal commitment ceremony… a commitzvah, they called it. For various reasons, she and her dude decided they didn’t want to legally get married, but you know what they did instead? They sat down with a lawyer, and had some really, really difficult conversations and worked out a legally-binding commitment agreement. Conversations about money. Conversations about children and aging parents. Conversations about fidelity and divorce. Realistically, because they opted to build their legally-binding commitment from scratch, they had conversations that many of us planning state-recognized marriages don’t have.

Reality check: wedding planning isn’t SO bad

We have a tag archive here on Offbeat Bride called overcoming adversity, and it’s all about couples who’ve dealt with significant, serious challenges on the path to the altar. Now, I don’t mean challenges like, “My divorced parents don’t get along; how will I do the seating chart?” or “What if it rains?” Not to diminish the reality of these challenges, but they’re just on a different level than, say, “My mother is dying so we threw the wedding together in a month” or “my partner was attacked by a shark.”

In the name of perspective shifting and reality checks, let’s take a wander through some of our overcoming adversity posts… because there’s nothing like cancer, premature babies, peg legs, and tornadoes to help you get your seating chart woes in perspective.

Navy suit, gingham shirt, slim tie, and vans: advice for grooms on how to find their style

Ok, so I guess today we’re just all about fashion. That’s ok, right? Especially when it involves the amazing fashion of groom Anthony Barlich, one of the founders of Chicago’s Hitch & Sparrow. Anthony rocked a navy suit, silver tie, and gingham shirt, with striped socks and grey Vans. (Topped off by Warby Parker glasses.) Darren from Well Groomed recently did a two–part post series interviewing Anthony about his fashion and guidance for grooms looking to find their own vision in a sea of anonymous suits.

One-lowmanship and luxury shame: one more way you’re supposed to feel bad about your stupid wedding

I know from the our reader survey exactly how many of you are trying to plan economical weddings with budgets under $10k (or $5k… or $2k). It’s a lot of you. But I also know exactly how many of you are planning weddings over $10k — and even over $30k. And I know how many of you are feeling weird about it.