Category Archive

Wedding Planning 101

You’ve just gotten engaged and don’t know where to start. Here are some wedding planning basics to get you started in planning your alternative wedding with Offbeat Wed!

Shindig Events CRAVE BarbieHull alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

How my wedding planner saved me so much money that she paid for herself, and then some

One day I had plans to meet with a caterer and a photographer and my planner tagged along, and brought with her a second photographer for us to meet with. The moment the amazing, wedding planner-picked husband and wife photography team commented on my TARDIS-blue nail polish, I was sold — SOLD, I tell you — on a photographer that I would never known about if it wasn’t for my planner. Holy cow, did springing for a wedding coordinator just save me $2,550? Yes, yes it did.

Toasting - An April Fool's Day surprise pizza parlor wedding

Liquor guess-timation: how to creatively calculate your wedding alcohol

We have collected much wisdom from some of our super-savvy Tribesmaids. From how they got their guests to help make the decision, to what an actual wedding order looks like, a simple-to-understand rule, and even some advice as to what to do with the left-overs — we got ’em to dish their cocktail menu details. If you’re looking for answers to this same drinky dilemma, check out these helpful tips…

hawaiian destination wedding invitation suite alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

When to send out all those damn wedding cards and invitations

Save the Dates, shower and bachelor/ette parties, wedding invitations, Thank You cards… when do you need to send out all those damn wedding things? Well, first of all, you don’t NEED to send anything (except Thank You notes), and every wedding is works differently. But here’s a super-helpful guide to when to send out wedding info for maximum efficiency purposes…

Untitled 1 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

How to shop for a plus-size wedding dress with less stress

I know for me, and I suspect a bunch of you out there, wedding dress shopping brought up a whole host of body issues and insecurities. Now that I’ve been there, done that, I thought I would share my experience and show you that it can be a very happy and positive experience. First off, I am overweight, there’s no denying that. Sometimes I feel great about how I look. Other times I let a bad body image get the best of me. For a little perspective, I am 5’6″, weigh 220lbs, and wear a street size 18 or 20, depending on the cut. Here’s my guide to plus size dress shopping…

shit people suggest alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Unsolicited wedding advice? Just add it to your “Sh*t People Suggest” spreadsheet!

The fella and I got engaged right before we traveled home to see our families for a vacation. We both have incredibly kind, welcoming families, so I was prepared for the outpouring of joy, and I was prepared to answer the inevitable when-where-who questions, too. But then, the suggestions started rolling in… At the same time, I felt like my ideas were being dismissed out-of-hand. On our last day of our vacation, I had a minor meltdown in the car. I didn’t know how to respond to the onslaught of suggestions we had received. Until I had a stroke of genius…

Fun and unique engagement shoot Photos by Rock Your Rebellion1 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

4 things that nobody tells you about getting engaged

I’ve been told my entire life — by movies, books, and trashy reality shows — that your wedding is just a magical event. Well, I’ve been engaged a few months now, and I’m ready for my magical moments to start happening. Getting engaged is pretty much like every other adult situation in your life: no one knows what they are doing and literally everyone is faking that they do. So that future generations don’t succumb to the same delusion that I was blissfully in, I’ve compiled a list of things that nobody tells you about getting engaged.