Category Archive

industry insiders

The Offbeat Wed community includes hundreds of inclusive wedding industry pros who are all working to change the cynical, exploitative nature of the mainstream Wedding Industrial Complex. We invite our awesome offbeat vendor friends to share their industry insider tips with us and our readers — together we can change the wedding industry to be more inclusive, more offbeat, and more awesome! (If you’re an offbeat vendor, let’s get you in here!)

New photography pricing advice as seen on @offbeatbride #photography

What new photographers NEED to know about photography pricing

The sky isn’t falling and the photography industry doesn’t need another “price justification” blog post to share with clients. Yes, owning a photography business is tough. Owning any business is tough. Especially “fun” businesses. I still have hard days, weeks, and months. There is more competition than ever, yes. There are also lots of photographers who have successful businesses… based on solid business principles. Mike Allebach is here to keep it real with new photographers about their photography pricing.

The REAL questions for wedding photographers as seen on @offbeatbride #weddingphotography #weddingadvice

The real questions you should be asking your wedding photographer (and reasons to RUN!)

Want to know the best questions for wedding photographers that will get you the answers you actually need to make an informed decision about who to hire to capture the most beautiful shots of your wedding day? Rebecca Ellison is an [heart link="http://vendors.offbeatwed.com/listing/rebecca-ellison-photography"]awesome wedding photographer[/heart] who knows a thing or two about what makes you look good and the day look AWESOME. Let’s real talk some Q&A.

Wedding music stress-fest? A DJ's advice on minimizing music stress as seen on @offbeatbride

Wedding music drama-fest? A DJ’s advice on minimizing music stress

After helping over 100 couples curate the music for their weddings, I’ve just about seen it all, including elaborate choreographed Disney princess dance medleys, uncles doing the worm, belly dancers, a Mariah Carey ceremony processional, and even a Backstreet Boys karaoke battle. I’ve worked with couples who’ve kept things easy going and simple, achieved elegant and traditional decadence, or have had full-blown raging parties and everything in between. No matter the overall goal for your wedding, here’s a little wisdom I’ve extracted from being a part of these very special events.

The Reverend D WON'T ask who's giving you away: tales from a feminist officiant

Tales from a feminist officiant: why I refuse to ask who’s giving you away

I am often asked about what I won’t do for a wedding. My response is usually that I have no pride and no shame, so it isn’t an issue, but once or twice I had to think it over. The first time, I was asked to wear nude lipstick. It doesn’t sound too horrifying until you read about it here. This begs the question: what won’t I do?