Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Kat

An Intimate Ohio Wedding: Ashley & Jon

Kat

August 24, 2012

"Jon & I were married on a scorching hot day (temperatures just shy of 100F!) in September of last year in Columbus, Ohio", wrote Ashley. "This was the culmination of a year and a half of UK to USA long distance relationshipping! We met while living and teaching ESL in South Korea 3 years ago, and after 8 months of dating while there decided to keep trying even as we returned to our respective continents. After Korea, I started a master's degree course in Ohio while Jon returned to Brighton and found a job. The year and a half apart was tough but we kept the love alive with lots and lots of Skyping and daily gchats. We got engaged when Jon surprised me by secretly flying to Ohio (an impressive collaboration between himself and one of my best friends/roommate) on February 13th, 2011 with a vintage ring he'd bought at an antique shop in the Brighton Lanes. I was absolutely shocked, believe me!"
Read more...

A Colourful Festival Wedding at Ridge Farm: Layla & Dan

Kat

August 24, 2012

Layla & Daniel were married in Rusper, Sussex in St Mary Magdalene's Church, followed by a festival style wedding at Ridge Farm. I've featured weddings at this iconic wedding venue before - why so iconic you ask? Well the farm has a recording studio where Oasis, Queen (Bohemian Rhapsody was written here!) Roxy Music, Thin Lizzie, Black Sabbath and many many others have recorded albums! AHHHMAZING. "The wedding was all personalised by me & Dan", wrote Layla, "including the wine glasses, the moustaches & lips, the heart decor, the table plan & numbers, the 'LOVE' sign and the bunting. We had a two-day wedding. From the start we knew we didn’t want everything to be over with in just one day! Ridge Farm was the PERFECT venue as we were able to hire it exclusively from Friday to Monday which meant our parents, brothers & sisters, bridesmaids and best men could share the whole time with us. We also had some friends of ours camping on the grounds. Friday was set-up day, with everyone mucking in; Saturday was the wedding; and on Sunday we had about 100 of our guests returning for a Hog Roast, DJ’s and dancing till the wee hours!"
Read more...

Thursday Treats: 23rd August 2012 – The Blogcademy Update & Other Yumminess

Kat

August 23, 2012

Well that was an insane experience. Insane is a good way, but still erring on the side of needing to be committed. So on Monday Gala, Nubby & I unleashed our collective baby on to the world. And we held our breath. We weren't sure how it would go down. We hoped people would be excited and that we'd sell a few spaces but oh boy, I think it's safe to say that none of us expected the reaction that we got. The first space was sold within an hour... then the second... then the third... Within 24 hours we'd sold half the available spaces. Someone from Australia booked in and is flying over especially... then one from the UK... then one from Belgium. OH MY GOD. I'm so pleased to report that we've been blown away by the response so far. We still have a few spaces available so be sure to check out The Blogcademy site for more info. Also, don't forget about our scholarship programme! We're offering one free space to a deserving blogger. For more info on how to enter for your chance to win, head over to the site as well.
Read more...

Running a Business with a Full Time Job

Kat

August 22, 2012

Some of you may already be aware of my story. I've written about it many times before. Gareth has even shared his side of my journey from full time shopping TV producer to full time wedding blogger. While, looking back it may all seem very idealistic and easy, it was far from it. Trying to kick start a business whilst holding down a full time job is hard. There were times when I didn't sleep. There were times when I cried. There were times when I was constantly sick.
Read more...

A Retro Americana Wedding: Ralph & Carly

Kat

August 22, 2012

Ralph & Carly love all things Americana and retro and so the theme for their wedding was easy to decide on. They wanted to incorporate the feeling of driving through America in an open top car - something they love to do in real life. Ralph had even proposed on a road trip through Arizona, one of their favourite places in the USA. "We love Americana and we feel that there is a big difference between what is retro and what is vintage", Carly explained. "We wanted our wedding to be all things that we love. We love nothing more than booking a flight and a car in the US and then exploring, although sometimes we end up in very peculiar places and cannot wait for daylight to arrive so that we can head out! For the most part though it's the way that we have discovered some of our favourite places. Each table was named after a hotel or motel that we have stayed in on our trips, there have been many others but these had the coolest signs."
Read more...

The Blogcademy: New York City!

Kat

August 20, 2012

Isn't it amazing when a plan comes together? In the weeks running up to today's announcement I've been literally seconds away from tweeting my excitement and giving the whole game away. In fact anyone that knows me 'in real life' will be well aware about how rubbish I am at keeping secrets. Like... literally terrible. I actually don't know why anyone would ever tell me anything because I'm the first person to accidentally say "OMG you will never guess what I just heard..." Which is why it has been utter torture for me not to scream this from the rooftops I'M GOING TO NEW YORK AND DOING A TWO DAY BLOGGING WORKSHOP WITH GALA & NUBBY!!!! Phew... that felt goooooooood. You'll have to excuse me for being so damn uncool about it all...
Read more...

An Elopement-Style Ceremony with Friends & Family: Teresa & Russell

Kat

August 20, 2012

"Teresa & Russell’s wedding was like an elopement which included family and close friends", wrote wedding photographer Melina of Lucinda Photography. "They left their East Vancouver home with suitcases packed for their Montreal honeymoon for which they were leaving only a couple of hours after the ceremony! We did some whirlwind portraits in their neighbourhood before heading to Vanier Park to help friends set up some chairs and refreshments. Guests arrived, they were married, the mingled and they left. It was great."
Read more...

Red, Polka Dots & An Ice Cream Van – A Budget-Friendly DIY Wedding: Kelly & Matt

Kat

August 17, 2012

With a budget of just £8500, Kelly & Matt pulled of a wedding that perfectly encapsulated everything about them. From the cute red colour scheme, the DIY details and the relaxed photography, their wedding was one to remember. "We did absolutely everything ourselves for as little money as possible!," began the bride. "We wanted the day to represent us as a couple and to be really personal. We wanted to make it a really relaxed atmosphere and make sure all our guests and we had fun. The theme was slightly retro, with red as the main colour set around black and white polka dots and loads of red love hearts! Everything looked exactly as we had imagined and seeing it all for the first time was one of my favourite parts of the day. All the details looked amazing and we were glad we put so much time and effort into them."
Read more...

An Intimate Australian Wedding & A Bride in Blue: Fiona & Andrew

Kat

August 17, 2012

Fiona & Andrew's DIY wedding in Victoria, Australia was themed around the things they love - vintage items, 1950s styling, cherries, hearts and flowers. They took these ideas as the starting point and built their wedding around them. "We wanted the guests to be able to feel as much a part of the day as possible, hence the small guest list of only 45 and the extended weekend long celebration", began the bride. "We made a lot ourselves. I made a ring cushion from the same fabric as my sash/bolero and a piece of fabric from my mum's wedding dress. We had a ring warming ceremony before I arrived where the cushion was brought around my my 5 year old nephew, Oliver, and guests where asked to send a blessing our way."
Read more...

Thursday Treats: 16th August 2012 – Goings on & Reminders…

Kat

August 16, 2012

Helloooooooooooooo! So today I've hotfooted it down to Brighton for the latest School of Rock blogging workshop. As always I'm cacking it but I know once I meet the lovely group of attendees I'll be fine (here's hoping...) There's so much going down at Rock n Roll Bride HQ (hum... not sure I love this phrase... can we think of a better one?) right now. The magazines have been flying out at a rate of knots and Gareth has basically spent the last 2 weeks surrounded by boxes, shiny pink envelopes, his trust label printer and photos of my face! If you haven't nabbed a copy yet, you still can, and the free worldwide shipping still applies! All the info can be found here. What else? What else? Well Lisa & I have been furiously planning the next Photography Farm, taking place from thr 18th-20th September. If you'd like to learn more or come along, all the info can be found on the Farm website. We also have plans to get one very lucky reader of this blog along as our model for the styled shoot. How cool would that be? Keep your peepers peeled because I'll be letting you know how you can put yourself forward for it in the next few weeks.
Read more...

A Rainy Brazilian Wedding with DIY Details: Cecilia & Luciano

Kat

August 16, 2012

Cecilia & Luciano wanted a simple wedding inspired by their choice of venue, Pousada Estrela D'água, in Trancoso, Brazil. "My inspiration was the wedding venue", explained the bride. "The village of Trancoso, Bahia, is beautiful and simple at the same time. That's what I sought in all my wedding decisions. I did not want anything too pretentious. For the decorations we used photos of family and tablecloths that belonged to our great grandmothers. The decor had a bit of our history and showed a lot of our personality." Cecilia made her own dress from the lace of the veil that her mother-in-law wore when she married. She also designed and made the bridesmaid's dresses. "There was no specific theme to anything really", she continued. "We just tried to do everything as simple as possible."
Read more...