Mel & Mark’s Rule Britannia Rock n Roll Wedding

Kat

November 17, 2010

I've got another authentic Rock n Roll couple for you today...and by authentic I mean actual readers of Rock n Roll Bride. My favourite weddings to feature are those of couples who actually read and loved Rock n Roll Bride throughout their wedding planning. It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside! Melanie & Nick, who were lucky enough to find their photographer's McKinley-Rodgers Photography via a feature on this here blog, got married Burgh House followed by a rule britannia style reception at The Britannia Pub in London. Mel's dress was a really family heirloom made by her Great Great Aunt a couple of years before WWII and also worn by her Great Aunt and Grandmother at their own weddings. With this vintage classic gown she accessorised with Mark's Grandmother's engagement ring, earrings from Tatty Devine and a "yes" necklace from Zoe and Morgan.

Sarah & Pete’s Classy Vintage-Inspired Wedding

Kat

November 17, 2010

Sarah & Pete's classy, vintage-inspired wedding took place at Stoke Newington Town Hall and The Tab Centre, Shoreditch. The bride, who originally didn't even want a wedding dress wore a gorgeous Temperley number that she found in Bicester Village outlet mall just outside of Oxford. "I don't really like wedding dresses!" she told me. "I was nearly going to buy a nice party dress in a bright colour after trying on quite a few wedding dresses which were just 'ok'. I then spotted this one in Bicester. It is quite vintagey in style but still flattering (and not tiny weeny sizes like a lot of original vintage dresses!)" With this she wore a hair piece by Jenny Packham and vintage Gina shoes from Urban Outfitters.

Laurel and Ryan’s Handcrafted, Alice-Bright, Alice in Wonderland Wedding Shoot

Kat

November 17, 2010

Laurel and Ryan's DIY wedding took place in Ryan's parent's back garden. I utterly adore the acid neon brights fused with an Alice in Wonderland theme, all of which was created by the bride & groom themselves. They bought the cupcakes from a grocery store and created all of the flower centrepieces themselves, again from store bought flowers.

Sammy & Ian’s Modern Romantic London Wedding

Kat

November 16, 2010

Sammy & Ian went for a quirky, modern and London theme for their Soho wedding. Being a costume designer, the bride made her own dress based on the late 50's early 60's silhouette of tight and knee length, with a bit of Vivienne Westwood influence. "It was made from red silk Dupion, and the corset was white duchess satin with red silk ribbon stripes sewn on top," she explained. Sammy also designed Ian's unusual and fabulous suit which was made out of venetian wool and was based on a 1960's design.

Michelle & Chris’ October Elopement

Kat

November 16, 2010

10.10.10 was the date for Michelle & Chris' perfect elopement. The pair, who didn't want a big wedding, headed out to Immaculata University, Malvern, PA with their photographer Simmone Von Sydney and her boyfriend Micheal. The four of them set up the beautiful ceremony and post-wedding photo shoot.

Leigh & Brian’s Incredible Cemetery Wedding

Kat

November 16, 2010

I featured Leigh & Brian's ridiculously awesome engagement shoot back in June - you'll remember it, it was the one with the bed in a river! So, you can imagine my excitement when their photographer Hollie sent me the couple's recent wedding - they got married in a cemetery! The bride is a writer herself and so she wrote me a bit of an essay on their amazing wedding. It's ace though so I wanted to share all her thoughts here with you. "Oh my lord, where to even begin? It was all just awesome, and our friends, family, and planners really thought of everything, from the "'Till Death Do They Part", Day of the Dead-themed engagement party, to the tombstone-shaped chocolates my mom made for our out-of-town guests," she began. "We had such a great time, and I think everyone really enjoyed our crazy cemetery wedding."

Free Wedding Photography Contest Winners – Gaelyn & John’s English Country Picnic with a Mexican Flair

Kat

November 15, 2010

I have been waiting over a year to see Gaelyn & John's wedding - a year! Long term readers of Rock n Roll Bride may recognise this couple as the lucky pair who won free wedding photography by Love me Do Photography from a contest I ran back in October 2009. It was one of the closest contests I've ever ran but needless to say, I know these two totally deserved to win! And now I get to share their awesome wedding photographs with you today. EXCITED!

The Rock n Roll Bride Venue Guide – Manchester

Kat

November 13, 2010

Following the popularity of the first The Rock n Roll Bride Venue Guide, written by wedding planner and stylist Mary Herrington of Forever & Ever Events, I was keen to ask her if she'd be willing to do a bit of travelling for us and do some venue guides for the rest of the country. This month, Mary visited Manchester to bring you her reviews of the most kick ass venues for your Rock n Roll wedding! Following the great response to my first venue post on London’s Rock n Roll reception venues, I now take you up north to Manchester, where the city and surrounding areas offer a truly eclectic mix of inspiring venues for a Rock n Roll wedding. As I did in my London venues post, my approach here is to recommend a variety of venues across the spectrum of budgets and aesthetics, from very cool historical architecture to vintage modern interior design to contemporary and modern dance halls. Remember that no matter where you have your wedding, if you put your personal stamp on it, the venue will come alive.

Sheila & Austin’s Small & Intimate Peacock Themed Destination Wedding

Kat

November 12, 2010

Mis-matched jewel tones and a peacock theme were the order of the day for Sheila & Austin's small and intimate wedding. The couple found the planning of their destination wedding in St. Petersburg difficult and enlisted the help of the bride's Mother with all the organisations but really put their hearts and souls into creating the prefect wedding.

Photography Friday – Kat & Gareth = ♥

Kat

November 12, 2010

This is a bit of a cheat on my part this week as I didn't actually take this photo myself. My friend Emma Case came to visit us this week and while she was here we did an impromptu photo shoot in our garden and bedroom. I can't wait to see and share the rest, but to whet your appetite, here's a sneak peek of what's to come really soon! How sexy is my husband?!?

Lauren & Tim’s DIY, Budget-Friendly Seaside Wedding

Kat

November 12, 2010

"We both decided that although we wanted our wedding to be amazing, we weren't going to spend a stupid amount of money on it," explained bride Lauren when I asked her about her big day. "We weren't prepared to pay more just because it was labelled as a "wedding product". Plus, most of the wedding-related stuff that's available isn't really "us". I bypassed the usual wedding dress shops and went straight to the high street, and found everything exactly as I wanted at a price I was willing to pay. Tim wore a suit he already had from Next because none of the hire places had slim fitting suits. We wanted invitations with skulls and studs and splattery writing but didn't want to pay a professional to design and make them for us, so I did it."

Thursday Treats – 11th November 2010

Kat

November 11, 2010

♥ Christy + Kyle's gorgeous yellow wedding ♥ Renee + Randy’s Fashionable Wedding ♥ Halloween Goth Wedding - thanks for the mention La Carmina!

Zack & Alene’s Nerdy Board Game Wedding

Kat

November 11, 2010

Zack & Alene wanted a casual, fun and nerdy wedding - something that was perfect for them. "We knew all along that we didn’t want to do a traditional dinner and dancing wedding, and there was never a chance of there being a church ceremony (neither of us has ever attended a church service outside of weddings and funerals)," the couple explained. "We settled on an afternoon of games and hors d’oeuvres because we’re both nerdy, think appetizers are exciting, and I like to go to bed early. It’s not our proudest tradition, but Zack and I go to my parents’ house most Saturday evenings and play games with them – it’s one of the highlights of my week, and we always have fun, so we decided to extend that feeling to our guests. The reception space was filled with couches and ottomans, and then we had a few little tables brought in – it was laidback and jolly, and the games gave even people who didn’t know anyone else something to talk about and bond over."

Jennifer & Dave’s Heavily Tattooed, Utterly Punk Rock Engagement Sesh.

Kat

November 11, 2010

I actually have no words...how awesome are Jennifer & Dave?! The tattoo shop owning groom and his punk rock bride got hitched in October so I hope to follow this up with their kick ass, heavily tattooed wedding asap!

Josephine & Radney’s Eclectic, Vintage & DIY Wedding

Kat

November 10, 2010

I am so EXCITED about sharing Josephine & Radney's wedding today! I first met Filipino photographer Josephine Sicad when she submitted some of her own photographic work for features on Rock n Roll Bride and I was instantly smitten with her vintage aesthetic and beautiful and genuine portrayals of true love! So when she told me that she herself was getting married, I literally couldn't wait to see the results....and I DIE at how fabulous they are!

Dottie About Dots ~ Dottie & JP’s Polka Dot Themed Bash

Kat

November 10, 2010

Dottie is dottie (!?!) about...erm...dots so that's exactly the theme she wanted to go for in her wedding! She and JP were married at Christ the King Church in CA followed by a polka dot themed wedding at Elements Venue at the Ice House. The bride (real name Amanda) wore a gorgeous Mori Lee dress, customised with a polka dot sash (and a polka dot garter!) which matched JP's tie, made by Elmmies. The polka dot theme continued into the cake, the linens and even the groom's socks!

Rennie & Joe’s Vintage Styling with a Quirky Edge

Kat

November 10, 2010

Rennie & Joe are the coolest. The couple, who have known each other for 19 years and were first loves, still felt marriage was important to them even after all that time. "Most would think that it must be boring to marry after such a long time and that we might just be going through the motions," Rennie told me. "On the contrary, our decision to marry was not because we felt we "had to" - we decided to marry after all this time because we are more madly in love than ever and still best friends. We created our ceremony around our wishes to deepen our commitment to each other and profess our love in the presence of those who are most important to us."

A Cinderella Themed Rockstar Wedding

Kat

November 9, 2010

Heather & Jonathan’s Arthouse Café Wedding

Kat

November 9, 2010

Heather & Jonathan got married at Southampton Civic Centre, followed by a reception at The Art House Gallery Café. They chose this venue as it's ethos ran true with them and the style of wedding they wanted. "The Art House Gallery Café is a volunteer run, multi-disciplinary arts venue and café in the heart of Southampton’s evolving cultural quarter. We are a welcoming, vibrant and quirky community space serving delicious, organic food and drink in inspiring surroundings" they say. They also only served vegetarian food which suited the couple perfectly.

Danielle & Carl’s Incredibly Gorgeous Red & White Vintage Wedding

Kat

November 8, 2010

I am a little bit over excited about featuring Danielle & Carl's vintage wedding today. As soon as I laid eyes on her amazing dress I knew this wedding was going to be incredible... and you know what? I was right! The couple, who met at school, got married in June at St Peter's Church in Doddington, Lincolnshire. A 1950's vintage theme was really important to the couple as it really reflected their everyday style. "Having been to a few 'traditional' weddings, as soon as we started to plan our wedding, we knew that we wanted to do things differently," Danielle told me. "We wanted every part of our wedding to be personal to us, and be able to show our personalities. We didn't just want to do something because it was the way people usually do things at weddings, we wanted to put our stamp on it. We both love all things vintage, particularly the era of the 50's and 60's, after all, our first car was a 1969 Volkswagen Beetle. For this reason, having a vintage rock 'n' roll 50's style wedding just seemed to come naturally to us. Our inspiration came out of our love not only for the 50's fashion, but the music and the whole lifestyle. Having a dancing vicar was not something we planned but that was an added bonus!"