The festive period is one of the most popular times of year for engagements, so I figured that the first day of a new year was the perfect opportunity to take some time to say a big fat “HELLO!” to any new readers. Even if you’ve been reading for a while, maybe you’ll learn something that you didn’t before!

Hi, I’m Kat!

…and I run this blog and accompanying print magazine (more on that below) alongside my ever-suffering husband, Gareth. My days are mostly filled with writing and organising content, liaising with advertisers and answering around 60 billion emails! I also spend the majority of my time in sweatpants which makes me irrefutably happy.

Gareth, on the other hand, does the behind the scenes operational stuff. From all the techy website things to dealing with the printing and distributing of the mag, he’s definitely less public-facing than I am but he is the backbone of the business. I couldn’t do it without him!

We work from our two-bedroom home in Reading, UK where we live with our babies, Henry and Rachel, the most gorgeous Maine Coon kitties you ever will see! Rock n Roll Bride has been going since 2007 and has been both of our full time jobs since 2011. I still love it so much and I never, ever want to do anything else!

Blog Schedule

The blog is updated every single day of the week, usually twice Monday – Friday. The majority of the content I share is real weddings because they’re just what you guys love seeing the most! And I get it, when I was planning my wedding (way back in 2007-8) perving over other people’s weddings was how I got most of my ideas too.

In between all those envy-inducing weddings I also share the odd bridal photo shoot and engagement session and I try to write as many advice pieces as I possibly can. So if you ever have any wedding planning woes or dilemmas, don’t hesitate to drop me an email. I may well turn it into a blog post in future.

If you are newly engaged then these are some past articles that should help you get started with your wedding planning. You’re very welcome!

Wedding planning advice for the newly engaged
Alternative engagement ring ideas
20 unique engagement rings for under £500
How to plan a wedding

The magazine!

Rock n Roll Bride print magazine was launched this time last year (wow, where has the time gone?) It’s a bi-monthly publication and you can currently buy it in WhSmiths, Sainsbury’s and some small, independent newsagents. We hope to add new stockists as time goes on too. Alternatively you can order one online or subscribe via our shop page. We ship worldwide and postage to the UK is FREE. Issue 6 hits the newstands on January 7th!

The private Facebook community

Something else I launched in the last year was the private Rock n Roll Bride Facebook group. Its a closed group, meaning you have to be a member to see the posts (so you don’t need to worry about your fiancé seeing your wedding dress or your mother in law seeing you moaning about her – look, sometimes you just need to offload!) but anyone can join. There is strictly no advertising allowed either so I promise you won’t just be bombarded with wedding suppliers trying to pimp their products.

If you’d like to connect with like-minded babes, chat about all things wedding, get and share advice and make some awesome new friends then sign up today. It is a very friendly group so don’t be shy, your 4,500 new best friends await you!

2016 Plans

2016 is going to be an enormous year for Rock n Roll Bride. Not only is my new veil collection in collaboration with Crown and Glory launching on Monday 4th January, but I’m working on some other super exciting design collabs which will be revealed in due time.

I am also so thrilled to be partnering with The National Wedding Show for their spring shows in February and March. At each show (Manchester, London and Birmingham) there will be a dedicated area called The Rock n Roll Bride Collection for alternative wedding suppliers! I will be at every show too and I would love to see you there. For more information or to buy tickets, simply head over to their website. If you have your own wedding business and would be interested in exhibiting, simply email sales@nationalweddingshow.co.uk or call 0207 772 8455.

So there we have it. That’s Rock n Roll Bride. Welcome! If you are brand new to the site, don’t be shy – sit down with a cuppa, a giant wedge of sinful cake (I promise there will be no new year diet bullshit here – EVER) and enjoy!

If you’d like to follow, chat, stalk (delete as appropriate) me on social media too my user name is @RocknRollBride everywhere. Why not head over to my Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest right now?

Finally, when you do get married, be sure to send me a submission afterwards. It is my readers who ultimately make the blog and magazine utterly amazing. I can’t wait to hear from you and see how your wedding turns out.

Happy browsing and happy New Year!