Are your parents helping pay for your wedding? Have them read this.
The only rule is to talk openly and honestly about expectations clearly before accepting any money — is the money a loan? A gift? If it’s a gift, does it come with stipulations or expectations? Talking about money is uncomfortable and awkward for everyone, but it’s critically important for parents who might be contributing to weddings to be VERY clear about what their expectations are… and to watch out for predatory marketing that targets parents…
Offbeat Bride interview about Renaissance weddings on NPR’s Here & Now and Houston Public Radio
As a lifelong Renaissance Faire goer, I always have a soft spot for Ren Faire and fantasy weddings, as evidenced by the abundance of them (13 pages!) in this archive.
We love to jam about wedding trends, so when Houston’s Public Radio and NPR’s Here & Now wanted to talk shop about geeky fantasy weddings and weddings at Ren Faires, we were so down.
Offbeat Bride interview about unplugged weddings on New Hampshire Public Radio
I first wrote about unplugged weddings way back in 2011, with a two-post series. The posts went crazy viral and in the three years since then, the idea has picked up major steam. The Huffington Post noticing the trend in 2012, and New York Times picking up on the concept in 2013. I’m happy to say that the concept is now popular enough that it’s no longer seen as “offbeat” in any way.
“Not an effort to be unique, but an effort to be us”
The New York Times recently ran an article called Your Hand in Marriage, and Offbeat Bride got a nod for our DIY posts. That’s cool, but what really caught my eye was this quote from a bride named Lauren Ireland:
“I felt like there’s such a movement to homogeneous wedding styles with Pinterest and Etsy, which are wonderful tools but do seem to make things seem very similar,” she said.
Her wedding, she added, represented “not an effort to be unique, but an effort to be us.”