Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Kat

Lucy & Andy’s Budget-Friendly, “Let’s Do It Our Way” Wedding

Kat

April 1, 2011

This beautiful, vintage-inspired wedding came about after Lucy proposed to Andy on a trip to London. "I took Andy away to Tower Bridge London, to stay in a 5 star hotel on Valentines Day 2010," the bride told me. "He kept saying,'You're not going to propose are you?'. I said 'No of course not, don't be silly'. Then as we were walking back to the hotel under the bridge by the dolphin statue, I placed a ring box shaped like an orange in his hand. He looked at it and said 'What's this?' with a scared look on his face. And I said 'Open it', then 'Will you marry me?'. The colour drained from his face, I cried, he said 'Oh, I was planning to propose to you, and I started saving for a ring, and what is everyone going to say?' I just said, 'Look, I have saved you the bother of saving your money for months and months. Let do this our way'."
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Post-it Notes – Top Tips for your Wedding Planning & Business – 1st April 2011

Kat

April 1, 2011

Happy April Fools Day everyone! Have you spotted any of the obligatory 'April Fools' style news reports or anything yet? Well something that won't make you a fool (omg that was the most terrible pun ever but I kinda wanted to get it out of my system...) is if you check out today's Post-It Notes tips & tricks. I've also been loving the readers who have been sending me actual photos of my tips on real life Post-Its. That's kind awesome! Feel free to link to your own photos in the comments.
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Chi Chi Revolver’s Tattooed Bridal Shoot

Kat

March 31, 2011

"I was really inspired reading the winning entry to your Knot Couture dress competition recently," photographer Bethan of Haywood Jones Photography told me. "It was hard to picture how it would feel to be made so uncomfortable in a shop who were clearly disapproving of you, thinking we live in a properly modern society (!) until it happened to me last weekend (not because I have beautiful body art sadly, but much more because I was dressed a bit scruffily and went into a very posh art shop. They actually got another member of security to stand in the shop while me and my friend walked around!!) It suddenly became clear that you really can't judge a book by its cover and that even though the *mainstream* wedding industry is becoming more accepting of the *alternative* side of peoples wedding creativity and gorgeousness, there are still many blinkered people out there who wont look past stereotypes and make you feel less than worthy of their attention."
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Emma & Pete’s “Enchantment Under the Sea Dance” & A Big Fat Surprise Wedding

Kat

March 30, 2011

I honestly don't know where to begin describing Emma & Pete's wedding to you all. From the reaction to just the sneak peek post (epic) that I put up last week, I know pretty much the whole of blog-land has been eagerly awaiting to see this wedding too and so I'm pretty flipping honoured that not only was I invited (and let into the secret that it was a surprise wedding!) but that Emma & Pete have allowed me to share it with you all. I have the best job in the world.
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A Fast Food Adventure

Kat

March 30, 2011

I don't feature a whole load of engagement or couple shoots on the blog, preferring to share all the incredible real weddings I get sent instead. However sometimes, just sometimes, a session stands out so much that I'd be mad not to share it. Remember the bunny suit session I featured recently? Or the awesome wolf-head shoot? (also by Love Me Do Photography) Yeah, things like that are what rock my boat, not vintage picnics and balloons and cupcakes...not that they aren't cute as hell, but I just don't get very excited about shoots styled that way anymore. You see them everywhere and they've kind of been done to death huh? ...and really, let's be honest, what does a shoot like that really tell us about the couple as individuals? Diddly-squat that's what. Anyway mini-rant over (!) I was sent Kim & Matt's photo shoot by the fabulous Carina & Amanda of Love Me Do Photography and lets' be honest, any couple that are happy to dress up as fast food are freakin' awesome in my book. "We wanted to have fun with this," Carina told me. "Both of us felt like we've been seeing a lot of the same images show up in wedding photos; trends and whatnot. We know it's hard to look at other people's wedding photographs and not get influenced by them, but we really wanted to take things as far away from all of that and really go outside the box. We wanted to show that we can make a joke, be ironic, and still be artistic."
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Under The Spotlight – Doodlelove

Kat

March 29, 2011

What is it with girls and stationery? I love it. I think its the fact of owning something simple, but beautiful and personal - something you can actually hold in your hand in all it's prettiness (as weird as that sounds!) So needless to say I love love love getting emails from wedding stationery designers. The guys that contact me are always such a creative bunch and it's really awesome to see first hand, and then share with you, what they can do.
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Jess & Brian’s Backyard Holga Wedding

Kat

March 29, 2011

I spied Jess & Brian's wedding, shot almost entirely on Holga, on one of my regular scouts around Flickr. I was not only blown away but the stunning photography by Laura Burlton (who doesn't love a bit of Holga magic?) but the actual wedding itself, and all the love and attention to detail that the couple put into it made it super duper Rock n Roll worthy. "I didn’t want the standard cheesy wedding photographs," Jess explained when I asked about her decision to have her wedding shot on a toy camera. "I am a photographer myself and I have a love affair with my Holga. I went searching for a photographer who shared the same love, but also did weddings. No easy task! I found Laura Burlton though and she’s won quite a few awards with her Holga work. And joy, she also does weddings! My parents and I are both happy now and I love the way the Holga shots perfectly portray the feeling of the day."
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Leah & Peter’s Red + Black Rockabilly Wedding

Kat

March 29, 2011

Leah & Peter had a red & black themed rockabilly wedding. They kept the fact that they had got married earlier in the day a surprise from a lot of their guests but made sure all the most important people were in attendance...including their two (very well dressed!) pugs. "We were never officially engaged (Peter bought my my black pug Ziggy instead of an engagement ring!) we just always knew we would get married and with both of us turning 30 in June 2010 was as good a reason as any," Leah told me. !We never wanted to be the kind of people who let the real reason for getting married to be overshadowed by stressing about table placings etc so we focused on what would make us have a good time at the party and turned the tables so people were leaving with things that we had bought!"
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Alternative & Non-Strapless Wedding Dress Ideas for a Rock n Roll Bride

Kat

March 28, 2011

Hi Kat, I have a question about wedding dresses and I am super curious if you could help me out. My friend is getting married and she is having a really difficult time finding a dress. I mentioned to her how frustrated I would be if I were her because it feels like 95% of wedding gowns are "tube top" style. I find this incredibly weird considering MOST of my girlfriends hate their arms, yet all of them ended up wearing a tube top dress for their wedding. My friend flipped out (in a good way) when I said that because she said that is exactly the problem she is running into. My question is....do you know of ANYYYYY websites/blogs/companies that sell UNIQUE, FUN DRESSES THAT are short, long, medium length, has sleeves, off the shoulder style.............JUST DIFFERENT! I feel like if I can help her find the perfect dress then the universe will be friendly to me when it's my turn....and helping her is SO MUCH FUN :) Love, Deanna
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Amanda & David’s Stonehenge Handfasting Wedding

Kat

March 28, 2011

Photographer Penny McKinley-Rodgers told me about Amanda & David's Stonehenge handfasting wedding when I met her a few weeks ago. Quite apart from the location, one of the main things that really made me fall in love with this wedding was that the couple got married at 8am and had an actual wedding breakfast - pancakes and all! I am so excited to share this one with you today because Amanda & David really did do things their own way, making them perfect for Rock n Roll Bride! "Our wedding was incredibly informal but was honestly the nicest most relaxed and meaningful wedding" the bride told me. "We also only invited 20 people, who were all our nearest and dearest and that made it utterly special. We both wish we could bottle the day and go back and live it again whenever we wanted as it finished too soon."
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A Sunday Kind of Love – Photo Night Live

Kat

March 27, 2011

This week I was asked to take part in Photo Night Live, a weekly web show all about photography (duh..) and making your business work for you. This week's topic was 'Blogging 101 – Showcasing your life online' and I was interviewed by Ross Dean, alongside emerging photographer Ali Lovegrove, about our experiences. I really hope some of the things I say can help you. Looking back, I do wonder if what I'm saying actually makes any sense (!) but I really do love sharing my knowledge of the medium that I adore so much. You can check out Photo Night Live every Friday from 7pm (GMT). If you would like to be considered for a future show, please drop an email to info@rossdeanphotography.com If you have any further blogging questions then you can always send them my way too, I'm still trying (time depending!) to do regular video blogs myself to answer some of your tricky questions.
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Under the Spotlight – Night Owl Paper Goods

Kat

March 25, 2011

Established in 2004 by graphic designers Jennifer Tatham and Alan Henderson, Night Owl Paper Goods is a company dedicated to creating handmade letterpress cards and eco-chic wooden goodies in a style they like to call 'modern yet folksy.' "We are very fortunate to have created a company and product line that combines everything we love," they told me. "Design + printing + writing + paper + wood + nature + the environment + friends + family. What a hoot!"
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Magpie Vintage Launch The Rose Collection…and I Get on a Horse & Jump on a Trampoline to Celebrate!

Kat

March 25, 2011

I sneak peeked this shoot back in February but I had to wait until now to share the full thing...sorry to keep you all waiting, it was hard for me too! I was asked by Lisa & Tania, the vintage jewellery aficionados behind Magpie Vintage if I'd like to model for their latest campaign - the launch of their brand new clothing line. Needless to say I didn't need much convincing, even when they told me I had to get on a horse!
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Thursday Treats – 24th March 2011

Kat

March 24, 2011

Photography Credit: beautiful bicycle wedding by Rachel Thurston found via Oh happy day First up a little reminder that if you haven't voted for your favourite couple to win free wedding photography with Xanthe Roxburgh to do so now! The contest is super close right now (in fact when I checked it this morning, two of the couples had the exact same number of votes.) Voting close on Sunday and the winners will be announced on Monday. So what else has been going on in blog-land I hear you cry?!
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The Luella’s Boudoir Wedding Fair & My Catwalk Debut!

Kat

March 24, 2011

I almost don't know where to start with writing this post as the whole day is kind of a blur...a fabulous adrenalin-fuelled blur...but a blur none the less. In actual fact, I know you really all just want to see the photos and video (eek!) of me walking the catwalk so shall we just cut to the chase and get straight to it? In actual fact, I know you really all just want to see the photos and video (eek!) of me walking the catwalk so shall we just cut the rambles and get straight onto them? HUGE thanks to Eye Imagine Photos, Eliza Claire Photography & Shell de Mar Photography (check the file names to see who shot which images) for taking these photos for me.
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