Category Archive

Advice

Wedding advice and etiquette can be a weird thing, especially when you’re talking about alternative and offbeat weddings. We pride ourselves on our compassionate focus on constructive, respectful communication and focus on conflict resolution.

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5 ways you can rock your engagement photos AND save the dates

As a wedding photographer I pretty much love engagement sessions — for me, they’re a great way for me to get to know the couple I’m working with and for the couple to get to know me. For couples, they’re a fun way to capture a period in your life that DOESN’T directly involve the wedding — it’s just you and yours, doing your thing. Engagement photos also often serve a second purpose: you can make really amazing save the date cards using the photos from your session. That is, assuming you like the photos in the first place! So how can you make sure you love your engagement photos?

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How much money are you willing to put into your offbeat-ness?

I’ve just started looking around at venue options, and I’m realizing that my dream venue (funky and yes, offbeat) is potentially going to cost us TWICE as much as this more traditional, kinda-boring venue that offers wedding packages. Thinking about this reminded me again that offbeat does NOT necessarily mean less expensive! Then it made me wonder how much other Offbeat Bride readers are willing to spend to pursue their nontraditional visions — versus going lower-budget for a more packaged wedding. Given that many corners of the wedding industry are set up with packages, how do you decide between an easy/low-budget package vs. a more expensive but more authentic offbeat vision?

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Post your Instagram hashtag at your wedding reception

Bobbie and Mario knew a ton of their guests would be using Instagram at their wedding, so they posted a little sign letting everyone know the easiest hashtag to use, making it way easier to collect guest photos after the fact. That’s just one of about a million clever things these guys did at their wedding (wait until you see their wedding arch!)… check out Bobbie & Mario’s family-centric ranch wedding.

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Couple bridal shower games: cute ideas for co-ed wedding showers!

I want a couples wedding shower, and most of the internet just says very vague things like “well then pick games that include men and register for tools,” and that’s not helpful. Besides a “decorate a mug/glass/picture frame/etc.” for the couple station, I can’t think or find other male-friendly games that also include conservative grandma, boozy uncle, best friends, loud aunt, quiet grandpa, etc.