Category Archive

Advice

Wedding advice and etiquette can be a weird thing, especially when you’re talking about alternative and offbeat weddings. We pride ourselves on our compassionate focus on constructive, respectful communication and focus on conflict resolution.

alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Toasting: why so many people hate this wedding tradition

Sometimes we gossip with our wedding industry vendor friends. We like to get the scoop about things they’re seeing more often at weddings (ring warmings! hand fastings!) and just generally get the insider gossip. And you know what our vendor friends are telling us? That basically, almost everyone hates wedding toasts.

father daughter dance alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Save the parent dances for the very end of the dinner hour

WEDDING TIP OF THE DAY: Save the parent dances for the very end of the dinner hour. It’s an awesome way to bring everyone’s attention from their plates over to the dance floor.

bride1 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

5 ways you can rock your engagement photos AND save the dates

As a wedding photographer I pretty much love engagement sessions — for me, they’re a great way for me to get to know the couple I’m working with and for the couple to get to know me. For couples, they’re a fun way to capture a period in your life that DOESN’T directly involve the wedding — it’s just you and yours, doing your thing. Engagement photos also often serve a second purpose: you can make really amazing save the date cards using the photos from your session. That is, assuming you like the photos in the first place! So how can you make sure you love your engagement photos?

8895612726 39497051b3 n alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

How much money are you willing to put into your offbeat-ness?

I’ve just started looking around at venue options, and I’m realizing that my dream venue (funky and yes, offbeat) is potentially going to cost us TWICE as much as this more traditional, kinda-boring venue that offers wedding packages. Thinking about this reminded me again that offbeat does NOT necessarily mean less expensive! Then it made me wonder how much other Offbeat Bride readers are willing to spend to pursue their nontraditional visions — versus going lower-budget for a more packaged wedding. Given that many corners of the wedding industry are set up with packages, how do you decide between an easy/low-budget package vs. a more expensive but more authentic offbeat vision?