Category Archive

Alternative Wedding Ceremony Ideas & Examples

We’ve got SO much wedding ceremony advice like how to officiate a wedding, tons of wedding ceremony readings, a bazillion wedding ceremony scripts, and even wedding vow examples! We’ve also got info about handfasting and other unity ceremonies. You’ll want to start here: Wedding Ceremony 101.

Wright Bruington Heather Elizabeth Photography wedding0016 low1 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Personalize your wine box with homemade touches

A wine box at wedding ceremonies often holds letters the couple wrote to each other, a bottle of wine, and two glasses, meant to be opened on a special anniversary. We love this idea, but there’s no reason you can’t shake up what goes inside. Kara and Gary had a created a wine box with their own spin: more letters, homemade mead, skeleton keys, and gifts!

EclecticUnions LindseyBen alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

How to have a friend officiate a wedding… specifically, YOUR wedding!

This is a notion that is near and dear to my own heart because that’s how I got started as a professional officiant.  My best friend asked me to perform her wedding ceremony, and her big fat Jewish-Lutheran-Pagan ceremony inspired me to become a Life-Cycle Celebrant.

Having a friend-officiate can be a lot of work — in the end, it is DIY project.  But if it is something that you have your heart set on, there are ways to really make it work, and make it work well. So, as a friend-officiant turned professional, I’d like to offer some advice and suggestions for having a friend officiate at your wedding.

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Karly & Steve’s artsy and crafty upcycled wedding

A certain superstorm may have wreaked havoc in the days before this wedding, but they pulled it all together somehow with the help of friends (and a new “BYOC: Bring Your Own Cupcakes” clause!). We’re really thankful they did, because we did not want to miss the amazing Wai-Ching dress, gorgeously-coiffed dreads, adorable family sand ceremony, and all of the DIY projects. Oh, let’s not forget the Harry Potter-inspired saxophonist/magician and impromptu break dancing on the dance floor.

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AND MY AXE: Nerd up your vows with a little audience participation

Secretly getting some pals to help you out with your vows can add a laugh to an otherwise butterfly-tummy situation. Jessica and Jacob took this route and added in some of their favorite geek references for good measure.

hassan052 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

My Nigerian engagement ceremony bridentity crisis

I’m generally of the belief that your wedding is not always about you, but it should reflect you: your beliefs, your values, and your community. But how could I feel good about a ceremony where I didn’t feel like myself and nothing else felt like me either? In the end, it was really been a two-step process…

tiki torch alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Give your unity candle a kitschy twist: light a unity tiki!

Andrea and Patrick’s enchanted tiki and karaoke wedding would naturally have a tiki torch lighting unity ceremony! Both sets of parents lit the candles to symbolize the joining of the families in awesome kitsch style.