This business has paid a fee to be listed on Offbeat Bride because they feel their products and services are in-line with our philosophies and needs … and we agree. Here's more info about how advertising works on Offbeat Bride.

Mike Olbinski is also featured in our Offbeat Vendors guide!

The moment I found out about Phoenix wedding photographer Mike Olbinski‘s unique hobby, I thought now THIS is a photographer for Offbeat Brides! So if you’re looking for a wedding photographer who welcomes all wedding adventures AND captures stunning photos, then Mike Olbinski is the perfect match for you.

Keep reading to see how Mike turns every shoot into an adventure, somehow managing to make even a sewer look glamorous.

Would you believe that the same photographer that takes dreamy images like this sun-drenched, butt-loving wedding photo, spends his free time STORM CHASING!? My favorite part about his website is the shockingly beautiful mixture of wedding and weather photography — fabric bolts and lighting!

This sense of adventure permeates Mike’s work. Say you’re the kind of couple that thinks, “Hey, let’s jump in that ski lift in our wedding clothes and take photos!” Mike’s the photographer that’s going to go, “Hell yeah, I’m not even going to worry about the fact that I could fall while taking photos and balancing on a dangerous moving chair high up in the sky — let’s do it.” And then rock the adorableness you see pictured above.

Aside from his fearless attitude, my favorite thing about Mike is the unique film-like processing that he does. Somehow he can make wedding portraits taken in some kind of sewer look glamorous, and the grainy film look just adds to the “badass bride and her ladies” feel. And Mike sure loves him some badass brides:

I love Offbeat Brides because theirs is the kind of wedding I want to photograph. I like something different and unique that forces my photography juices to go on hyperdrive.

Got any crazy ideas to get Mike’s creative photography juices going? An engagement shoot in an old airplane museum? Sky diving wedding announcements? A romantic wedding portrait session in the middle of a rain storm? Mike’s based in Phoenix, Arizona, but he’s available to travel anywhere. Get in touch with Mike Olbinksi and unleash your wedding adventure’s photographic potential!

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The season is overflowing with beautiful gowns for brides and bridesmaids!   As usual, there is something for everyone… fluffy ballgown for the princess in you, sleek sheaths for the modern bride, colors and prints for extra fun, and even minis and pants!

Remember, even if you can’t afford a gown by a top designer, use these photos as inspiration for your own dress. Often, a talented dressmaker can remake a gown for a fraction of the cost!

All photos are from Martha Stewart Wedding.

The 4 dresses below have stunning detail on the top, and simple, flattering skirts on the bottom! Gowns by Marchesa.

These gowns by Oscar de la Renta stand out from the crowd, and the outburst of flowers and pastel colors definitely says “spring!”  Patterns and pants, colors and cut-outs– whatever you go for you’re sure to turn heads!

Lots of feminine lace, frills, and bows characterizes Monique Lhuillier’s  line of gowns this season. Long or short, these dresses are all lovely!

We like a little extra cover, and the delicate lace additions on these dresses by Jenny Lee are just perfect for spring!

Looking for something with a bit of old-time glamor? These gowns by Rivini should do the trick nicely!

Vera Wang is going wild in red this season, with lots of interesting shape and texture. From deep maroon to fire-engine red, you’ll make a show-stopping entrance in one of these gowns!

And for something sweet and classic, try one of these gowns by Allure. Each one is prettier than the next!

Want to see more? Martha Stewart Wedding has more gowns from these designers and others!

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When we showcased some spiffy painted heels recently, we didn’t know what else the wedding had in store for us. Then we saw it. And it blew our minds! We asked Emmi-Sabina Forsberg of 2 Brides to allow us to bring this wedding to you guys because, seriously, it is frothy pink awesomeness with cherry blossoms on top.

Tribe member Fichterleen shared these on the Tribe plus a little of why they will have two ceremonies. This one was a Stockholm city hall ceremony to make it legal, but the second will be a blessing ceremony with her bride’s father presiding and an enchanted faery theme! We will want to see those photos too… don’t forget!

I’m squee-ing at their squee-ing!

The previously featured shoes!

An early proposal mentioned getting married under cherry trees and they made it happen!

They DIYed their headbands too.

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The season is overflowing with beautiful gowns for brides and bridesmaids!   As usual, there is something for everyone… fluffy ballgown for the princess in you, sleek sheaths for the modern bride, colors and prints for extra fun, and even minis and pants!

Remember, even if you can’t afford a gown by a top designer, use these photos as inspiration for your own dress. Often, a talented dressmaker can remake a gown for a fraction of the cost!

All photos are from Martha Stewart Wedding.

The 4 dresses below have stunning detail on the top, and simple, flattering skirts on the bottom! Gowns by Marchesa.

These gowns by Oscar de la Renta stand out from the crowd, and the outburst of flowers and pastel colors definitely says “spring!”  Patterns and pants, colors and cut-outs– whatever you go for you’re sure to turn heads!

Lots of feminine lace, frills, and bows characterizes Monique Lhuillier’s  line of gowns this season. Long or short, these dresses are all lovely!

We like a little extra cover, and the delicate lace additions on these dresses by Jenny Lee are just perfect for spring!

Looking for something with a bit of old-time glamor? These gowns by Rivini should do the trick nicely!

Vera Wang is going wild in red this season, with lots of interesting shape and texture. From deep maroon to fire-engine red, you’ll make a show-stopping entrance in one of these gowns!

And for something sweet and classic, try one of these gowns by Allure. Each one is prettier than the next!

Want to see more? Martha Stewart Wedding has more gowns from these designers and others!

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I am confused.

I am confused by the attitude that surrounds weddings and costs and ideas and things. Maybe that’s what makes me offbeat — I have this habit of loving everyone and being insanely optimisic even when it’s probably not warranted. I give second chances. I love and trust until given reason not to. Every new person I meet, and can carry at least a five minute conversation, I say is my new best friend. I write a daily blog about something happy that happened to me that day.

My problem lies in all the intense bitchiness that lives in the wedding world. “My wedding is better than yours because of such-and-such” and all of the things that go into such a feeling.

I was reading a blog where a woman commented that she had a courtroom wedding and blames opulent weddings for the high divorce rate.

Then there are the haters on both sides of the world. My wedding (and marriage) are better than yours because I chose to have a BBQ instead of a five course sit down meal. [At Offbeat Bride, we call this "one-lowsmanship" -Eds] My wedding (and marriage) are better than yours because I paid for three party rooms and the ghost of Louis Armstrong to sing our first song.

Can we all just chill the fuck out and be nice to each other for like… five and a half seconds?

If I was rich, I can’t say that I wouldn’t spend $50,000 on a wedding. I’d like to say I wouldn’t, but ideas change when disposable income does. My beautiful made of honor will be in our less-than-$10,000 celebration and was recently the maid of honor at a $50,000 celebration. They did the whole spiel: Catholic mass ceremony in a church with friends, family, family friends, parent’s business friends, people they’ve never known, country club, five course sit-down meal, uplighting, etc., etc. And you know what?

That wedding? … Absolutely beautiful.

The couple has been together for nearly ten years, and they earned every second of that celebration. Just because they did things differently than me doesn’t make them any better or worse. It’s just different.

We’re all awesome, beautiful, wonderful brides planning celebrations. We’re not all that different — we’re just throwing different parties.

The wedding industrial complex that tells us we need to lose weight, invite people we hate, and buybuybuybuybuy is slightly evil, yes. But it’s not all evil, and the women who don’t read Offbeat Bride are brides too. We all are. We’re all awesome, beautiful, wonderful brides planning celebrations. There are bad apples in every bunch but mostly, we’re not all that different — we’re just throwing different parties.

So I guess my issue is that everyone on every spectrum needs to realize that we can all get along. I promise. We really can. I love your wedding. Whoever you are. I love it. Whether it had all the bells and whistles or was private vows at the top of a mountain. Whether it had a DJ or an iPod. Whether it cost $200 or $200,000. It’s one of most beautiful days in the history of ever. We don’t need to be subtracting from other people’s celebrations to help make ourselves feel better. We can appreciate everything even if it’s nothing we would ever do in a million years.

The girl with the big poofy dress, the fancy dinner, the expensive wine, the 14 bridesmaids? That’s not me. But you know what? Her wedding is going to kick just as much ass as mine will because that’s her celebration. If you can stand in that ceremony and say that the person across from you is the person that you’re supposed to be across from on your wedding day — then nothing else matters.

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The season is overflowing with beautiful gowns for brides and bridesmaids!   As usual, there is something for everyone… fluffy ballgown for the princess in you, sleek sheaths for the modern bride, colors and prints for extra fun, and even minis and pants!

Remember, even if you can’t afford a gown by a top designer, use these photos as inspiration for your own dress. Often, a talented dressmaker can remake a gown for a fraction of the cost!

All photos are from Martha Stewart Wedding.

The 4 dresses below have stunning detail on the top, and simple, flattering skirts on the bottom! Gowns by Marchesa.

These gowns by Oscar de la Renta stand out from the crowd, and the outburst of flowers and pastel colors definitely says “spring!”  Patterns and pants, colors and cut-outs– whatever you go for you’re sure to turn heads!

Lots of feminine lace, frills, and bows characterizes Monique Lhuillier’s  line of gowns this season. Long or short, these dresses are all lovely!

We like a little extra cover, and the delicate lace additions on these dresses by Jenny Lee are just perfect for spring!

Looking for something with a bit of old-time glamor? These gowns by Rivini should do the trick nicely!

Vera Wang is going wild in red this season, with lots of interesting shape and texture. From deep maroon to fire-engine red, you’ll make a show-stopping entrance in one of these gowns!

And for something sweet and classic, try one of these gowns by Allure. Each one is prettier than the next!

Want to see more? Martha Stewart Wedding has more gowns from these designers and others!

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This business has paid a fee to be listed on Offbeat Bride because they feel their products and services are in-line with our philosophies and needs … and we agree. Here's more info about how advertising works on Offbeat Bride.

Even action figures in love choose A La Carte albums!

Since we introduced you to sponsor A La Carte Albums back in November 2010, there have been a few awesome additions to the business that we’re excited to tell you about.

If you recall, A La Carte Albums‘ approach is kind of like album couture — they start with a (free no-obligation) chat about what you want from your wedding album, and then the owner Jane comes up with a number of different options to fit your vision. There’s no fitting your album into template A or template B. (That’s the “à la carte” part of A La Carte!)

Keep reading to see the four ways A La Carte Albums will help you will make the daunting task of creating wedding albums a cinch. (Spoiler alert: one of them their special discount for Offbeat Brides.)

Photo by Lilia Photography

1. Get the styles you want

A La Carte offers a wide range of album options:

• A multitude of vegan/vegetarian cover materials
• Five different kinds of books, from the very traditional matted album to cutting-edge flush albums with metal covers
• And a design-only option for people wanting to use a budget-friendly service like Blurb.com.

2. Keep it within your budget

A La Carte is committed to working with a wide range of budgets, from tight to luxurious. And always working within your chosen budget to get the effect you want, rather than trying to up-sell. As Jane put it, “You’re going to be looking at your wedding album for a long time, I don’t want people to look at it thinking ‘if only I had made extra car payments instead.’”

Photos by Mark Kathurima

3. Fix up your pictures

A La Carte offers more than just album design, they can also fix problem pictures! Yup, from just basic improvements all the way up to major retouches (most popularly, wardrobe malfunction fixes — bending over to cut cake + strapless dress = a little more show than a lady wants.)

Since that feature has become super popular A La Carte has now added the more-a-la-carte “DIY assistance” services for people who need just retouching, or just help editing their hundreds of wedding pictures down to a reasonable number for a book.

4. Save money

OFFBEAT DISCOUNT: A La Carte Albums is still offering their 10% design discount for all customers who mention they found them via Offbeat Bride.

So while there is total creative freedom when you create an A La Carte album, there is also a lot of hand-holding to prevent decision fatigue. So drop ‘em an email and see what you can create together!

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