Category Archive

dress shopping

floral embroidered wedding dress on offbeat bride alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

How to buy an Etsy wedding dress: 4 tips to avoid getting scammed

For years, people relied on sites like eBay for their ecommerce needs, but over the last decade, Etsy has emerged as the place where most Offbeat Bride readers do their online shopping. Understandably, many are still skeptical about purchasing a wedding dress online, so here are a few tips and tricks on how to successfully get your own Etsy wedding dress.

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Find out how Borrowed By Design is like the AirBnB of wedding dresses!

Ready to have everything you know about wedding dress shopping get completely blown out of the water? Our sponsor Borrowed by Design is an online community set up to rent formal wear between members. It’s like the AirBnB of fancy dresses!

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Body-positive bridal: What if I look stunning and I accept myself for who I really am?

You know how sometimes there’s nothing in the fridge, or in the closet, or on the radio? That’s how I felt like my own clothes weren’t fitting. The zipper zipped and the button buttoned, but the person in the mirror looked ill-fit, wrongly-dressed, confused, and fraudulent.

bridal suit alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Bridal suit shopping because I’m a combo platter of femininity and masculine traits

I tried on a couple of the dresses and felt more uncomfortable than I have felt since the fifth grade, when I allowed a girl to put makeup on my face for the first time. I saw the beauty in it — it just didn’t feel right. Why did I want to wear a dress? All I could think about was my desire not to fulfill a stereotype that I actually fit into — the dress/pants lesbian wedding. Was that worth the discomfort that I knew I would encounter on what is supposed to be the best day of my life? NO. Time to look for a new plan.

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…

finding wedding undergarments when youre small with huge boobs alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Tiny back, big rack: How to find wedding undergarments when you’re small with huge boobs

Let’s talk about boobs! I’m a 32DD, which means I am a petite chick with a mighty big rack. Wedding dress shopping was all about the boobs for me. I had to find a dress that either supported the big gals comfortably and flatteringly on its own, OR I had to find a dress that could work with some major undergarment action. Yup, I’ve learned a lot of tricks shopping for the rare and elusive “big rack, small back” support systems in my time. Let’s talk about our options…