Category Archive

Catherine Clark loiters at her local library, makes art, watches movies en masse, plays video and tabletop games, poorly cooks healthy things, cuddles with her feline fur babies, and blogs at BijouxandBits.com.
chicago wedding venues alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Unique Chicago wedding venues coveted by Offbeat Bride readers

We decided to start rounding up a vendor list sourced directly from our readers for a series of reader recommended vendor list posts. We’re starting with venues in and around Chicago! Let’s take a look at who our readers have recommended, where they are located, and how you can contact them to get your Chicago venue search started.

multi ornaments gallery alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

8 of our favorite alternative unity ceremonies including one that nets you a permanent piece of art

We’ve talked about lots of alternative unity ceremonies before, but we’ve got even more we wanted to collect and share with you to get your brain buzzing. This time around, we’re talking about a glow stick ceremony, a baking ceremony, and even a lightsaber candle ceremony. Then we’re going to show you a particularly awesome ceremony that gives you a seriously meaningful and lasting memento to keep on display.

dinosaur jar centerpiece DIY

Dinosaurs and pickles combine in this ultra easy centerpiece DIY project

When you go through as many pickles as I do, you end up with a ton of empty glass jars. These come in super handy for crafting up some DIYed centerpieces, so I decided to convert my handy dandy dry goods pickle jar upcycle into a super easy, dino-tastic centerpiece idea. Here’s the surprisingly easy method for whipping these bad boys up in just a few minutes.

Collection Easy Entertaining alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Insider tips to make your cash registry just right for you

As you’ve probably already learned from your likely experiences trying to register at your local big box store, it can be daunting and restricting to say the least. We’ve gathered some tips from our sponsor Zola to make sure your registry is as flexible, usable, and customizable as we know it can be.

Virginia Wedding Photographer 2 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

3 ways to get your most authentic wedding photos with Richmond’s Tiffany Heidenthal

We love seeing your gorgeous, lovingly created decor, but seeing the real moments in the day — the vow goof at the ceremony, the guests admiring the flower grandmas, the reactions to the best man’s speech — those are the moments you want to capture authentically. Here are some tips for making sure you’re making the most of your pro photographer and capturing those genuine emotions. And I’ll introduce Richmond-based Tiffany Heidenthal Photography who OWNS in that department.

natural black hair bride 02 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

More natural black wedding hairstyles to lead you towards hair bliss

This isn’t the first time we’ve featured some natural-haired beauties, but there are some gorgeously textured, kinked, and waved ladies in this photo haul. We’re going to throw EVEN MORE immaculately-coiffed styles at you that you can store in your inspiration brain bank. Prepare to lose your heart big time.