Offbeat Wed

Deep in the Berkeley hills, nine men in black suits stepped out from behind a redwood... and there was a sousaphone. In fact, there was a whole-ass brass band leading a second line parade, complete with kerchiefs waving. Mike and Calyn know how to do it RIGHT.

Calyn's bouquet held its own against all that brass: Burnt orange dahlias, spiked blue thistle, and calla lilies so dark purple they read almost black against her champagne-gold dress. If you want to see the full glory of this redwood wedding, google OFFBEAT WED SECOND LINE WEDDING

Vendor list:
Planning & Production: our vendor member
Caterer:
Dessert:
DJ:
Second Line Brass Band:
Videography:
Veil:
Venue:

Hey, new followers! 👋 I'm Ariel. Some of you know me as the person who's been running Offbeat Wed for almost 20 years, but what you might not know is what that actually looks like day to day right now: I'm on 1:1 calls with wedding vendors, going through their websites and brand messaging, talking through exactly what's working and what isn't.

Offbeat Wed has changed a LOT this year. Still the same values and the same eye for the weird and wonderful weddings I've always loved featuring... but now there's a consulting side, where I get to work closely with my vendor buddies to give them real, specific feedback instead of generic advice they've already read a hundred times. Goth photographer, neurospicy dressmaker, q***r planner, trauma-informed officiants? SAY HI! Y'all are what makes my world go round.

So yeah: hi to my new followers, but also hi the folks who have been here for LITERAL DECADES. Which era of Offbeat Wed or Offbeat Bride do YOU remember?

Photo by Danielle Barnum

A throuple got married in Brooklyn and the vendor list is a masterclass in who actually shows up for q***r poly love ♥️♥️♥️

Robin, Voltaire, and Valentina won a full wedding giveaway from Pride Grows in Brooklyn. They got two months' notice to plan a phenomenal day.

Scroll through and check how gorgeous every single human looked -- the dress code was "as ostentatious as comfortable."

If you're q***r and/or poly and/or hunting for vendors who won't blink at a triad at the altar and three sets of vows, the vendor list below is the shortcut. You can get the full story as told by Robin here: offbeatwed.com/throuple-wedding

Can we talk about blended family weddings when your kids are older -- like teens or even adults? Should a kid walk you down the aisle? Or maybe give toast that makes the whole room cry? What happens when one of your kids wants the spotlight and three totally don't? What do you do when an adult child isn't ready to be happy for you yet or be involved at all?! How do you even start the conversation???

We've got a whole post full of ideas about how (OR IF!) you should involve teens and adult children in your midlife blended family wedding. Just leave a comment with IT'S COMPLICATED! and we'll DM you a link.

Photo by our vendor friend (he/him)

A saxophone found them first 🎷 Before Calyn and Mike even reached the redwoods, New Orleans-style brass band was already in position among the trees, waiting to turn cocktail hour into a second line parade through . This wedding got postponed for a baby and came back louder. Bask in the full story on our blog! You know where to find it, right??

Coordination by Offbeat Wed vendor member

Hey vendor frenz: if you hate AI, are you still being mindful of how your prospective couples are using it?

44% of couples now start their vendor search inside a chatbot. You don't have to EVER touch AI to still show up in those results... but it does mean rethinking how (and where) you get mentioned online.

New post, skeptics very welcome: https://offbeatwed.com/asking-robots/

Where do you land: ignoring it, resisting it on principle, working around it, or already adapting?

Couples are asking robots who to hire, so here's how to get noticed (even if you hate AI) • Offbeat Wed formerly Offbeat Bride A recent industry report found that nearly half of online buyers now start their shopping with a chatbot instead of a search engine. Couples are no exception. This is a big change in how discovery works these days, and why the old advice about SEO and backlinks doesn't cover it anymore. Here's how t...

I just launched the most massive redesign Offbeat Wed has ever had, in almost 20 years of publishing 🤯 Maybe my favorite part is how now you can actually filter wedding vendors by how they identify -- so if you're looking for a nonbinary photographer in your area, YOU CAN FIND THEM.

But really, the entire website has been completely rethought, complete with showing (instead of telling) who we're actually for these days.

(photo by Maya Lovro Photography, one of said nonbinary photographers!)

Let's kick off Pride Month RIGHT! Crystal and Riley fast-tracked their wedding and took the celebration straight to the main stage of Bellingham Pride last year! After getting some scary health news, they decided to plan the whole wedding in just THREE WEEKS 🤯 Get in on the full story and all the q***r joy on our blog today.

VENDORS:
Photography: A+K Photography / .plus.k.photography
Florist: Auntie M's Flowers /
Community Partner: Bellingham Pride /
Reception Venue: Boundary Bay Brewery /
Mid-Parade Stop: Rumors Cabaret

Twenty-five years in publishing so that I could teach vendors how to benefit from AI plagiarizing my website. This is fine 🐶🔥