Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Kat

‘No Rules, Just Right’ – Amanda & Tyson’s Party Hard Weekend Wedding

Kat

May 19, 2011

Ut oh...new wedding obsession heading your way. Seriously, Amanda & Tyson's wedding is what dreams are made of and I'm so excited to share the full thing, in all it's colourful glory on these pages. Some of you might know Tyson. He is the genius behind this site, and a pin up artist (I actually found his site myself when I was searching for tattoo inspiration.) So needless to say, with such a creative groom, this wedding was always going to be bad ass. The wedding was held at Highland Falls in Blairsville, GA. Amanda's stunning green dress was by Teri Jon and she wore it with Jessica Simpson shoes which she added peacock clips from The Headband Shoppe on Etsy to tie in with the theme. She also used the decorative shoulder strap of the dress as her headpiece which gave her a really unique look.
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Rachel & Nicky’s Punk Luxe Andaz Wedding

Kat

May 19, 2011

Rachel & Nicky were married at the super swanky Andaz Hotel in London. The bride read Rock n Roll Bride throughout her planning and I'm oh-so-excited to see some of my favourite touches throughout this wedding (that cake? effing awesome!) "Nic and I have been immersed in music since we were young, we have both grown up listening to punk and hardcore and a massive spattering of Bruce Springsteen!" the bride told me. "We wanted to make sure that our day really represented this. From invitations that featured Springteen lyrics, tables named after Springsteen songs from Born to Run to Badlands. I wanted to make sure that the day was a total celebration and that everyone was smiling all the way through. I walked down the aisle to 'Bring Me Sunshine' sung by Morecambe and Wise, just stopping short of doing the walk/dance that goes with it, which raised a laugh out of everyone attending and we left the ceremony to Springsteens 'Two Hearts'."
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Under the Spotlight – Plan the Destination Wedding of Your Dreams with Sandals & Martha Stewart Weddings

Kat

May 18, 2011

I've got a slightly different kind of post for you today, sponsored by Sandals and Martha Stewart Weddings. I have to say, I got pretty darn excited when I received the call from these industry giants wanting to work with little old me! Sandals have put together a series of three videos, following the story of a couple getting married in Jamaica using their service. The incredible Martha Stewart Weddings are working alongside them to style the weddings of their lucky clients too. The companies were keen for me to be the lucky blog to share these fabulously made videos and I have to say my mind has certainly been changed as to what a 'package destination wedding' can really be. Doesn't the whole wedding looks just totally divine? The couple were able to escape from it all and plan the intimate wedding they wanted - just for them - and that dear reader, is what being Rock n Roll is all about!
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Isobel & Dave’s Vintage-Inspired Budget Wedding

Kat

May 18, 2011

Isobel & Dave's incredible vintage-inspired budget wedding gives me butterflies! I am so excited about sharing all the beautiful personal touches that they put into their day. The whole wedding is a testament to the fact that you don't need to spend a fortune to have your perfect wedding. "The two things we had in our heads from the start were; that we didn't have a very big budget and that we wanted our wedding to reflect us," Isobel told me. "We started by approaching it as a really big party where we’d just happen to get married. The important things for us were that our favourite people were there, our favourite music was playing, and everyone would have fun! We aren’t particularly conventional and there was never any question of following rules or doing things because we ‘should’. I didn't buy a single bridal magazine or visit any bridal shops during the whole process! Rock n Roll Bride and DIY Bride were my only ‘go to’ blogs for inspiration and ideas! We just did things because we wanted to (if we could afford it)! With the little touches – the badges, the teapots as vases, teacups full of sweets, the birdcage for cards and messages, the photo booth (definitely a Rock n Roll Bride idea-steal!), and the bunting – I think we created a wedding that was fun, unique, and best of all, exactly what we’d imagined."
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A Country Barn Glam Styled Shoot

Kat

May 18, 2011

"Always in search of new ideas and cool, unique locations with a story, I was thrilled to explore one of the very last working farms in Chelsea, Quebec, Canada for my inspiration shoot," writes photographer Anne-Marie Bouchard. "I wanted character and grit for a session that would showcase something a bit different with an edge to inspire the modern Rock n Roll Bride. The work horses were a perfect fit to the true natural, rustic feel and a tattooed bride in a soft flowing Vera Wang gown with wild dark flowers just felt so right, opposites do attract after all!"
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Under the Spotlight – Yestercake

Kat

May 17, 2011

Launched by cake designer Sarah Spangle in January 2011, Leeds based Yestercake pride themselves on their high quality bespoke service. "The idea of Yestercake was born when I got married in November 2009 and found, like many other aspects of the wedding industry, there wasn’t much scope to get a cake that wasn't off- the-peg" Sarah told me. "Like with all other aspects of our wedding we didn’t just want to pick something out that didn’t really reflect us. In the end I decided to go down the DIY route. It had mixed results (!) but it reconfirmed to me how baking was one of my greatest passions and inspired me to take the plunge to retrain in cake decoration and design and to build upon the idea of starting my own business."
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Caleb & Eliza’s Beautiful Handmade, Vintage Wedding

Kat

May 17, 2011

I have been loving the photography and videos of photographic team For You Love Me for a while now, so I'm super excited to finally share one of their weddings on Rock n Roll Bride...and believe me, it's a beaut. Caleb & Eliza beautiful hand-made, vintage wedding is what wedding dreams are made of. The ceremony took place at Wheatland Presbyterian Church, Lancaster PA, followed by a reception at The Iris Club. Eliza wore a genuine vintage wedding dress that had belonged to her Grandmother. She had worn it for her own wedding in 1952. Eliza even hand-made her headpiece from the fabric of the matching jacket that came with it. She added a brooch from Designed by Jane to complete he bridal look. Her bridesmaids also wore brooches from Designed by Jane. The bridesmaids were asked to choose their own dresses and shoes, and were just given the task of getting something that was 'greyish and knee length.'
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Jenni & Neil’s Eclectic DIY Wedding

Kat

May 17, 2011

"I read something on a wedding blog during my planning, which I clinged onto for my own sanity," bride Jenni wrote, "It said not to worry about decorations etc matching, if you like what you have, in the end it will all go together. This was my mantra for our wedding and it worked. We didn’t have a theme and I didn’t really have a plan or a colour scheme. I operated like a magpie, picking up inspiration where I found it and with the help of my husband and our friends it worked for us!"
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Arnold & Melissa’s Festive Old World Carnival Wedding

Kat

May 16, 2011

Hold onto your knickers ladies (and gents!) because Arnold & Melissa's South African wedding is gonna make you squeal with delight. "We wanted to keep the wedding personal, real and down to earth," the bride told me. "I am a wedding photographer myself, so I've been to so many weddings that the last thing I wanted was a traditional wedding. We love the outdoors and being out in nature, so we wanted the wedding to be outside, but also in a natural setting. We went to look at Beloftebos and immediately knew it was the right venue."
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Shelby & Bliss’ Sailor Jerry, Tattoo Parlour Shoot

Kat

May 16, 2011

Shelby & Bliss wanted their engagement shoot to take place in a tattoo parlour because Bliss is tattoo mad! "The inspiration for the shoot came mostly from Bliss's amazing tattoos," Shelby told me. "The tattoo parlor we shot in is where he gets his tattoo's done. When I was in there with him we thought how cool it would be to do our engagment session in the parlor. We love the "Sailor Jerry" feel of the shop and decided to capture that between the two of us. Our photographer Jeremiah did an amazing job capturing it all! We love him and we love the pictures!"
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A Johanna Johnson Bride – Belinda & Joel’s Rainy Australian Wedding

Kat

May 13, 2011

Belinda & Joel's wedding is exciting to me for a number of reasons. Not only was it sent over by one of my favourite dress designers, Johanna Johnson (Belinda's dress and headband were by the designer) but the wedding was shot by photographer Marcus Bell, who has just been included in the top 10 photographers in the world by American Photo Magazine (alongside a load of other Rock n Roll Bride favourites including Jonas Peterson, The Image is Found and Our Labor of Love.) So needless to say, this wedding is a crash! bang! smack-you-between-the-eyes-with-awesomeness of a wedding. "Once I found my beautiful Johanna Johnson dress the inspiration came from there!" the bride told me. "I didn’t want to be a traditional bride with the big dress and veil or have my bridesmaids in all the same dress, I wanted the wedding to be unique and individual – to be me."
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Post-it Notes – Top Tips for your Wedding Planning & Business – 13th May 2011

Kat

May 13, 2011

On your wedding day the teeny tiny details really won't put any bearing on how much you enjoy yourself...or your future happiness. So what if your colours don't exactly match or your flowers wilt a little? What matters is that you're getting married (yeeey!) Planner, Kelly, agrees with me, "Remember the bigger picture. As much as the small details may seem important while planning the wedding, try and take a step back every now and again and remember why you are getting married. You can get so caught up with colour swatches and guest lists that you can often forget the whole reason why you are marring each other. Make sure you create date nights where you don’t talk about the wedding at all."
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Thursday Treats – 12th May 2011

Kat

May 12, 2011

So this week I went to the Mark Niemierko Academy to talk to the students all about wedding blogs. It was super fun and I can't wait to share the video (eeek!) of the event with you all soon. I definitely think I'm getting more confident at public speaking and it's actually something I'm starting to enjoy! I'm also in the process of working on my branding a bit more. The look of the blog will stay the same but my media pack and all that 'behind the scenes' stuff needed updating to bring it all into line. I am SO EXCITED with how it's looking. If you're a wedding supplier interested in advertising on the blog, drop me an email and I'll shoot you one over as soon as it's ready. My 'Approved Rockstar Vendor' badge has also been updated. It looks hot right? If you've been featured on the blog, we've worked together or you sponsor the site and would like to get your mitts on one of these pretty little badges to adorn your own website/blog/forhead, please drop me an email and I'll shoot the high res version right over.
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Sarina & Wayne’s “Spectacular! Spectacular!” Rock n Roll meets Moulin Rouge Wedding

Kat

May 12, 2011

Sarina & Wayne were married on their own estate in Denmark, West Australia, where they farm large crayfish (lobster!) Their gardens made the perfect setting for their ceremony and Moulin Rouge inspired after party. Sarina wore a dress by Collensione which she rocked up herself by adding a vest by Dada & Co. The bride also designed and made the junior bridesmaid's dress from black satin. She also gave it a black bustle of tulle at the back to really give it a Rock n Roll edge. Her adult bridesmaid wore a dress by Wheels & Doll Baby.
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Vintage Wedding Dresses at Dragonfly Dress Design

Kat

May 12, 2011

Dragonfly Dress Design is an independent Glasgow-based dress studio, specialising in vintage wedding dresses and bespoke bridalwear. This shoot was set up to promote some of their latest vintage wedding dresses. "We take a different approach to weddings," shop owner Lisa told me. "You won’t find any champagne flutes, harassed shop assistants or queues for the changing room here. Instead, we’ll help you get the dress you really want, either by customising one of our unique vintage pieces, or creating it for you from scratch. We believe that every woman should have the wedding dress of her dreams, no matter how large or small her budget.Our vintage wedding dresses range in price from £195 - £575."
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