Wedding in Your Future? Be Yourself! ARIEL MEADOWS STALLING Shows How / Offbeat Bride

Do it your way! Before there was the online phenomenon that is offbeatbride.com, there was the first edition of Ariel Meadow Stallings's wedding memoir: Offbeat Bride: Taffeta-Free Alternatives for Independent Brides.

With the recent economic downturn, brides-to-be are increasingly looking to craft unique celebrations on a budget. The new edition of Offbeat Bride offers 200 pages of inspiration, encouragement, advice, and celebration of aisles less traveled. Seattle writer and web phenomenon Meadow Stallings humorously recounts planning her 2004 “freakfest” wedding, and shares anecdotes and advice from dozens of nontraditional brides from across the United States.

From “The Pressure and the Proposal” all the way to “A Rose by Any Other (Last) Name,” Offbeat Bride is filled with sanity- and budget-saving tips, advice, and stories to reassure even the most out-there, nontraditional bride that she’s downright justified in doing her wedding her way.  Offbeat Bride serves as an inspiration for those who are interested in a vegan buffet, avoiding bouquet tossing, doing away with the elitist guest list, and being a control freak without becoming a Bridezilla. Filled with sidebars, tricks, and planner encouragement to help you figure out your wedding, this book helps couples from the moment the plans begin all the way to answering the question, "So, how's married life?" and everything in between.

A writer and editor for over a decade, Ariel Meadow Stallings has been published in magazines and newspapers including Modern Bride, ReadyMade, and Seattle Weekly. Her work has been featured by the New York Times, Today Show, NPR, and The Guardian. She lives in Seattle with her husband, son, and a small dog. Visit http://offbeatbride.com/

We’ll be shooting a video blog this evening: if you’d like to participate in answering “What is one offbeat thing you’ll be doing on your big day?” we’d love to include you!