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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.
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Honor those who can’t attend your wedding with a memory tree

At Danielle & Nathan’s Halloween wedding, they found a gorgeous and meaningful way to honor the guests who weren’t able to be with them on their wedding day. Check out their Memory Tree…

Tiffany Steinke love letters alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Show your LOVE at your reception with carnival midway-style letters

Literal sign is literal! Michelle and Pat used carnival midway style letters to create a sense of space and LOVE at their reception. Want to make something similar? We’ve got a tutorial!

Original photo by Cheriejoyful alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

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…

MIN 75Q INV 001 A PD alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Your top 10 wedding invitations from Minted.com

I do this a couple times a year: I go peeking at the sales reports of what Offbeat Brides are buying from Minted so that I can see which wedding invitation designs you guys are loving. Why? Because you guys have fucking awesome taste, and I like to get inspired. So let’s take a look at the wedding invitations that are floating y’all’s boats this fall. Let’s count down the 10 most popular designs.