I can’t quite believe we’ve reached a whole decade of Rock n Roll Bride in print! What started as a blog to document my own wedding (back in 2008!) evolved into a yearly print annual, then was taken over by a major publishing company while we launched the bi-monthly version. I quickly realised I liked being my own boss too much though so that didn’t last long – I’m proud to say this has been a self-funded, self-published, completely independent magazine since mid-2015!

Since then, we’ve published over 600 real wedding stories, done somewhere in the region of 50 photo shoots, and the magazine has been shipped to 58 different counties!

It’s been so fun to look back at all our past covers, BTS photos and Instagram posts, to see our evolution. Some of the standout moments include being asked to appear on TV, launching Rock n Roll Bride Live, and shooting international editorials. I even wrote a book. But of course, there have been challenges too.

Despite the ups and downs, one thing has always remained constant: our commitment to publishing wedding inspiration and advice which makes our readers feel seen and understood. Weddings are amazing, and being engaged is an incredible time, but it can also sometimes feel alienating and overwhelming. My one constant wish is that Rock n Roll Bride makes you feel less like an outsider in what can still be a very unwelcoming, heteronormative, fatphobic and elitist world.

In my very first editor’s letter, published all the way back in January 2015, I wrote. “I wish there had been something like this available on the newsstands when I was engaged, it would have made planning our wedding a lot less daunting. My team and I pride ourselves on our passion for helping couples plan the wedding that they really want. It’s not about how much you spend, and it’s not about pleasing other people. The most important things are you, your love, and having a wedding that truly represents you both.”

So, whether you’re working in the industry, have been reading us for years, or have just got engaged and this is your very first issue, I am so incredibly grateful that you’re (still) here. Although so much as shifted in my life, my business and the world in the past decade, that’s one thing that will definitely never change.

You can grab a copy of our ten year anniversary edition here!