Category Archive

Real Weddings: Midwest US

There are some people who think offbeat weddings don’t happen in the fly-over states. These people will be surprised. Behold a few of our favorite weddings from the Midwest including Chicago weddings, Iowa weddings, Ohio weddings, Michigan weddings, and more. Submit your wedding for consideration via offbeatwed.com/submissions.

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

A staircase ceremony and live band reception at this Varsity Theater wedding in Minneapolis

Andria and Donna had a theater wedding with TWO killer venues in Minneapolis. They started out with a staircase ceremony(!) at the new LRx Loring and Pharmacy Bar. Then they headed to party at their reception at Varsity Theater, a popular Minneapolis concert venue.

They had a live band (Fred Savage and the Unbeatables!), lights everywhere, and their dessert bar was drool-worthy.

An elegantly goth Friday the 13th wedding with hints of Tim Burton

An elegantly goth Friday the 13th wedding with hints of Tim Burton

Our wedding was a blend of a whole lot of fall, Halloween, goth, Tim Burton-like elements that all worked together in a surprisingly elegant way. We incorporated as much of our ancestral history as we could. We had photos of our passed relatives at both the ceremony and our reception. I wore the bracelet of Daniel's grandmother, I slipped her wedding ring onto my handkerchief, and I read my vows from a bound volume of the poetry written by Daniel's grandfather. It was important to us to share our roots with each other and our families and friends as we became one.

Camp Evermore: an ethereal autumnal wedding adventure

Camp Evermore: an ethereal autumnal wedding adventure

From our initial planning, we had two big goals: a FUN wedding that demonstrated that LOVE is Love. We're from the Midwest and queer weddings are not the norm for our families, but we knew we wanted to plan an experience that was memorable and also helped normalize the beauty of all love. These two goals guided every detail of our autumnal wedding adventure planning.

Cheers to this low-key handmade brewery wedding in Chicago

Cheers to this low-key handmade brewery wedding in Chicago

Both the ceremony and reception were very focused on family — our siblings were standing up with us on our respective sides, and our parents and siblings were at the "head" table (which was located in the middle of the room). We ditched several traditions (cake-cutting, bouquet toss, etc.) that would eat up time so we could get straight to eating and dancing.

Our getaway car was my motorcycle — my husband jumped on the back and held my dress as we rode away with cans sounding the alarm of our nuptials.