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

The latest Minted.com invitation & save the date designs y’all are loving (plus another giveaway!)

Remember last fall when we did that Minted.com post? Well, it’s that time again! That slightly creepy time where I look deep into the bowels of my affiliate sales reports to see which Minted.com invitation designs y’all are loving the most.

I know lots of you are picking your invitations now, so let’s take a peek at the invitation designs that are getting Offbeat Brides the most excited this spring. PLUS, as an added bonus, I’ve got info from Minted about how you can enter to win $300 worth of FREE invitations.

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Why you should absolutely do engagement photos if they’re included in your wedding package

“I didn’t think we wanted engagement photos. My partner hates being the center of attention and has requested we try to find a wedding photographer who won’t act like paparazzi. But a lot of the photographers I’m seeing have packages that include an engagement session. I don’t think we want to do them, even if they’re free. What do people even use them for? Is there any reason to do them?”

Yep. Because it’s really not about what you *do* with actual photos, it’s mostly just about practicing. Lemme explain…

8379594915 bb8580cbf9 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

DIY shoe clips made with ric-rac, felt, and a glue gun

After searching Pinterest and Google, I found tutorials for using ric-rac to make flowers. They were the perfect pop of color I needed for my wedding shoes. So here’s what you need if you want to make some ric-rac flower shoe clips (although it’s not limited to your shoes because you can use these for anything).

traveling offbeat bride book thumb alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Pass your copy of the Offbeat Bride book to newly-engaged friends

It’s come to my attention that several Offbeat Brides have started a “Sisterhood of the traveling book” project, wherein they pass a single copy of my book Offbeat Bride: Creative Alternatives for Independent Brides from newly-engaged friend to newly-engaged friend. Here’s the purchaser of the book, Ellie, explaining how the tradition got established (spoiler: it was her husband’s idea!)…