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…

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.

Pretty vintage wedding accessories: capelets, gloves, headpieces, and more!

I normally focus my Friday posts on alternative wedding shoes, today I think I’m going to spend some time with vintage wedding accessories.

Part of wanting to spend some time with them is just that the pictures are so dang pretty. I love this aesthetic… vintage-y, romantic, lovely. It’s just so dang pretty. 

This bride was carried to the altar in a coffin!

How do you walk down the aisle when your theme is “Till Death do Us Part” and you’re getting married in an Northern California cemetery? If you’re Kristen, you surprise the hell out of your groom by entering in a coffin carried by the groomsmen.

Yeah, yeah: I know LAST week was our week for spooky weddings, but trust: you’re going to want to see Kristen and Joe’s sweetly macabre video. It’s way more heartwarming than the title of this post suggests.