Oh man, you guys.

This is happening: we are now exactly one month out from kickoff of our nationwide Lovesick Expo tour - our gay-friendly, guy-friendly, actually-super-fun wedding expos.

The first 2015 Lovesick Expo will be January 4th in Brooklyn, and I've bought my plane tickets, and am getting freaking excited.

We have Offbeat Bride staff flying around the country for all eight shows, and we're super excited to meet (and by "meet" we mean "hug and share our flask with") as many of you as possible.

How excited? SO EXCITED that I've got a 50% coupon for 700 of you to come!

Let's do this.

This is Lovesick's fifth year of defying the wedding mainstream with a wedding expo that is actually inclusive, actually fun, and actually awesome. (How inclusive? So inclusive that before the doors open, we remind vendors to check their assumptions about heterosexuality, cisgender identity, or even monogamy.) As one attendee last year said:

Anyone who's not sure about bringing their partners, you should totally do it. Lovesick Expos are so inclusive of anyone and easy compared to a 'normal' bridal fair, it made our discussions about planning and what to do next a walk in the park. It was definitely a "aha!" moment for my partner when he realised our wedding didn't have to be matching bridal parties, Venetian hour, and ice swans (although I really wanted the last, sadly the venue wasn't quite set up for it).

Every Lovesick Expo features just the right number of awesome wedding vendors (30-45 hand-curated businesses, just enough to be varied but not overwhelming), live bands and DJs (Boston's Lovesick last year totally turned into a dance party), performances (sexy smarty burlesque dancers! our favorite circus weirdos! more!), and booze. Did we mention the booze? This is not a convention center expo where you wander blearily under fluorescent lights. This is more like a loft party where you grab a drink, chat with creative vendors who do super cool shit, then enjoy some entertainment, and maybe even win some stuff.

Yeah, win some stuff! Most of the Lovesick expos also feature thousands of dollars worth of giveaways and raffles - last year an offbeat couple won a photo shoot in Paris! Plus, the Raffle money is donated to Human Rights Campaign's marriage equality efforts.

(If you're a wedding vendor, you should know that the vendor booths are almost all booked up in all cities. If you want to get in on these good times, get in touch right away! And yes, vendors who are in the Offbeat Bride vendor guide totally get a discount. Get on that shit.)

Now, here's a funny thing about the Lovesick Expos: these events are so much fun that they've basically become defacto Offbeat Empire reader meet-ups. Offbeat Bride Tribe members meet each other! Offbeat Home & Life readers get to meet Offbeat Empire editors! Vendors who aren't able to get booths come to network with other vendors. As one Offbeat Bride Tribe member who attended last year said:

I AM SO COMING TO BOSTON AGAIN THIS YEAR.

(Screw the fact our wedding is in March and we're almost done planning - that was one HELL of a party and I'm coming just to hang out and drink. I mean.....no. Definitely drink. Will drag friends with.)

We've created a discount code good for 50% off tickets to the first 100 people who use it, in each city... well, except Brooklyn, because the venue's ticketing platform can't deal with coupons. Sorry, Brooklyn Still, that's 700 Offbeat Bride readers getting a special half-off discount... if you don't delay. With the coupon, this is essentially a $5 Offbeat Empire party packed with booze, boobs, and live music. Yes, it's a wedding expo... but it's also a great party!

How to get your half-off ticket:
1) Go to LovesickExpo.com and select your city in the menu bar
2) Click "Buy Tickets"
3) Choose number of tickets and enter your payment information.
4) Enter promotional codeOFFBEAT2015 before you confirm your purchase.

Get tickets!