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.

gender neutral first dance on offbeat bride alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Who cares who leads? Non-gendered first dance ideas for all

My brother-in-law — who has never danced himself — once told me that it is only natural in dancing that the man leads and the woman follows. Having taught many partner dance classes, from Swing to French Folk, I can tell you that that is completely and utterly untrue. Of course there is nothing wrong with the “man leads, woman follows shuffle”-type first dance, but not every wedding involves one man and one woman. And even for those who do, there are many options beyond the traditional first dance…

pink two piece custom couture dress by julia miren dresses alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Panic at the dress shop: 4 secrets to wedding dress shopping when you have a panic disorder

Although there are almost as many panic triggers as there are people living with the disorder, some of the more common triggers include being in an enclosed space or feeling unable to leave, getting too hot, and feeling scrutinised. This can make wedding dress shopping a scary prospect for a bride who gets panic attacks. Here are some tips to make wedding dress shopping with your panic attacks in tow a little easier…

10 wedding photographer pet peeves alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Don’t let these 10 wedding photographer pet peeves mess with your photos

Wedding-day snafus don’t just stress out the couple — they can also affect your photographer’s ability to get those amazing photos you’ve envisioned. So I polled a handful of longtime pros to find out their biggest pet peeves and the stress-relieving fixes. I hope these 10 tips will help you build an awesome working relationship with your photographer.

15398103915 9e01b68fc0 c alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Confidence: the secret key to pulling off a guilt-free budget wedding

When I was planning my wedding, cost was a big factor. While I wanted to enjoy the day and have it represent my partner and me, I didn’t want to do it at a premium cost. So I SCOURED the internet to find ways to slash my budget. The problem was that some of these “20 Ideas to Cut Your Budget” just weren’t feasible. Here is where I think the biggest difficulties in planning a budget wedding lie: that it’s really hard to find affirmation in choosing the “cheaper” way. So here are my tips for planning a guilt-free “budget” wedding…

on the importance of wedding underwear alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

On the very important importance of underwear

I cannot stress enough the importance of proper foundational garments. They absolutely do make or break a dress. This bra cost $120, but I’ll be able to wear it more than once, and it still cost less than getting my dress altered that dramatically.

post wedding portrait sessions alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

6 excuses to break out your wedding finery for a post-wedding portrait session

My husband and I got married a little over a month ago now, and I have realized that one of the best decisions that we made was to have a second portrait session after we returned home from our honeymoon. Getting good wedding photos was important to me, and I was stressed that perhaps the short timeframe in which we needed to get all of our “perfect wedding portraits” wasn’t going to be long enough, was going to be too stressful, or was going to be too hot. So I decided that having more photos of us taken when we didn’t have those stresses or constraints sounded like a much better idea, and man were there a lot of benefits to that choice…