Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Balloons

A Diy-Heavy, Cotton Candy-Eating, Vivienne Westwood-Wearing, Jeans-Definitely Allowed, Handmade, Carnival Themed Wedding

Kat

July 3, 2010

Jess & Bryan's is my favourite kind of wedding. I love the fashion, I love the style, I love the amazing diy touches and the whole chilled out and creative vibe of the day. "We really wanted usto be present in everything that was a part of our day" the couple told me. "We tried to make, and do, as much as we could for our wedding. This meant enlisting the help of our talented and wonderful friends and family to make paper cupcake toppers, straw flags, escort cards, wooden signs and much, much more! We all got together the day before the wedding to set up the entire tent and yard and then relaxed with a night of BBQing and laughing.
Read more...

Music, Poetry, Green Balloons & Love

Kat

June 16, 2010

I always wonder, when a photographer gets married, how the hell do they decide who to shoot their own wedding? Well Laura & Dave of Blissed Photo had just this conundrum when they got married recently, but chose the amazing One Love Photo as they knew Heather & Jon would capture it perfectly. Being surrounded by all things wedding in their day to day lives, the couple had seen loads of brilliant ideas (and knew some to avoid!) in their own planning. However they still knew what was important to them, music and poetry, and wanted to make sure this was brought into their day. "Dave plays sax in a few bands, so a trio of his best friends played during cocktail hour, and we hired an amazing funk band, Emerald City Throwdown, that had everybody dancing" Laura told me. " We also wanted everyone to mingle, so we skipped the seating assignment and also had couches (from Bella Rugosa) to make the vibe more casual and open. I'm not really a poet, but I LOVE spoken word poetry, so I asked my 3 favorite poets if they would read at our reception. Everyone went nuts because these poets are some of the best in the world (truly- they constantly travel and compete internationally). I surprised Dave with a poem I wrote, and then he surprised me by having a good friend of his perform a new Pearl Jam song, Just Breathe, for our first dance. "
Read more...

Rustic Retro with a Diy Charm

Kat

May 25, 2010

Fanni & Ben got married in April at Cripps Barn in Gloucestershire. Bored by the usual wedding stuff they found in magazines and at wedding shows, the pair turned to the internet for inspiration and luckily for them stumbled upon not only Rock n Roll Bride but a plethora of amazing ideas via some awesome American wedding blogs. "Back at the drawing board, I found myself scanning an array of American wedding blogs. All of which featured jaw-droppingly gorgeous weddings that looked amazing but had little or no information about weddings in the UK, and then I stumbled across your site!" Fanni told me "From that day on, Rock n Roll Bride truly was a breath of fresh air for me from everything else I had seen out there previously. Your site was reassuring that we didn't have to be confined to the norm or do things a certain way because it was tradition. Our wedding was our day, our way. We wanted our guests to have the best time and not be left thinking that they were just at....'another textbook wedding.' So, with much planning and evenings spent beavering away we managed to pull it all together."
Read more...

Soulmates & Magic

Kat

May 6, 2010

Chihye & Tom's LA engagement speaks volumes of their love. From the simple moments between these two to the beautiful field full of ruby red heart balloons - what's not to love about these? It would appear that photographer Chrissy agrees with me "I don’t know if I have the words to accompany these photos. They truly speak for themselves. A couple so deeply and genuinely in love mixed with God’s beauty creates the most gorgeous moments. Chihye and Tom are another one of my kindful couples, our first meeting lasted hours over Sangria and Cuban food. The longer I do my job the more I believe in soulmates and magic." (and I swear to God I wrote by 'bit' before I even read hers! It must be love...)
Read more...

Ooh La La Oscar De La Renta!

Kat

May 4, 2010

Before I share this wedding I want to let out a little 'squeeeeal' of excitement over bride Sian's Oscar De La Renta number. I actually remember coming across this dress last year sometime on a blog somewhere and being pretty much floored by it's beauty. So when photographer David shared his images from Sian & Dave's London Zoo wedding from Saturday I knew I knew that dress...and I fell in love all over again. Not only that but teamed with the Vivienne Westwood shoes (which I love and have a pair of myself) and it's a match made in Rock n Roll heaven!
Read more...

Sweethearts in South Africa

Kat

April 16, 2010

This is my second South African post within so many days and I'm pretty sure you're gonna dig this one just as much as the last. The lovely Laura actually found photographer Kat Forsyth through a post on Rock n Roll Bride so this session is even a little extra special to me. The Australian bride-to-be will be marrying her South African sweetheart Gustav (who she met in the UK - boy are these guys travelled!) back in Australia later this year and judging from the coolness of this engagement session, I just know their wedding is going to be Rock n Roll Bride worthy!
Read more...

Incredible

Kat

Art of Her

March 12, 2010

We had been planning this shoot for months but just needed the right two people to do it" the guys told me. "As you can see, Adam and Mary were perfect for the shoot. We actually had the wedding dress made for Mary by a local seamstress for $100 (including the cost of the fabric). So, we loaded up and headed to Denison, TX. Our plan was to shoot at the Old Dennison Hotel, but when we got there we found some other amazing places to shoot as well. The town is so weird. It seems like it once was a booming little town (like in the early part of the 1900's), but then as it started to crumble, no one ever fixed it or tore down the old buildings; instead they just built all these modern structures around it. It just feels kind of forgotten, but it was really perfect for our shoot. One of the places we shot was this adorable little 50's diner and malt shop complete with old gas pumps, a juke box, and checkered floors! It's called Peggy Sue's 50's Diner and Ice Cream Parlor. As for the Denison hotel... Supposedly, this hotel burned in 1929 and when it did all of the people who were in it were killed in the fire. I have to say, it was a very creepy. Kind of reminded me of The Shining. Some of the rooms have been remodeled, but many of the rooms are still as they were after the fire. The owner was so sweet to let us use one of the rooms to do the shoot. As you can see in the pictures, the walls are black from the fire and what little furniture that was in the room was definitely old. The cat in some of the picture is an old cat with a glass eye who jumped up on the window sill just in time to be in this series of pictures. Mary was amazing. She has never modeled before but she knew how to position her body and we think she perfectly pulled off the vintage look we were going for (especially considering it was 25 degrees all day and she didn't have a whole lot covering her. All of the clothes (including the furry jacket) and jewelry (with the exception of the wedding dress), we brought from my mom's awesome little boutique called funky at heart boutique (which is in side her gift store called Cheerful Heart Gifts). We always use stuff from her store for our concept shoots! It really goes perfectly with our style. Adam actually brought his own clothes for the shoot. In fact, that's how he dresses on a daily basis. It's almost like they were born in the wrong era. They totally rocked this look...I think because it is a pretty good representation of who they are on a daily basis. I just don't think we could have found better people to do this. As for our inspiration for this shoot... I really wanted to do a shoot that I felt best represented who we are as photographers. I had seen a picture in a magazine one time and loved it and wanted to do something like it but with our own twist on it (hence, the amazing balloon picture that resulted). We basically built the whole shoot around this 30's-40's theme (with the added set from the diner which we just had to do when we found the place). I really love the glamorous look of that era and we really wanted to capture that in this shoot.
Read more...

Anthropologie & Rustic Farm Elegance with a Rock n Roll Twist

Kat

February 15, 2010

Oh squeeeeal! I'm not sure I can say anything more intellectual about Luke & Charis' wedding, in fact I think only 'squeeeal' will cover it. So. Much. Awesome! "This couple was married in a barn at Sharon Rose Farm in Greenville SC" photographer Anna told me "The bride is a hair stylist, the groom is a drummer - so the music and the style was fabulous and original. I thought what was so rock n roll about this wedding was that the bride made surprise stick-on tattoos to replicate her new husband's favorite tattoo on his arm, and all the guests had a mini tattoos during the reception just like the groom!" Charis wore a dress from David's Bridal and she asked her bridesmaids to simply pick their own black dress. When Charis and her bridesmaids walked into the venue someone said, "It looks like an anthropologie catalogue just walked in!" The ceremony and reception were held in a beautiful red renovated horse barn. It was such a nice mix of rustic farm, elegant chandeliers and vintage flare. There were mason jars with wild flowers, and baskets of peanuts on cocktail tables as guests mingled and sipped lemonade before the entering the barn. An old typewriter was used as a to write notes to the bride and groom, and a sweet bird cage to put them in. Just sit back and enjoy these - I know you will! Thanks to Anna for sharing this amazing wedding with us Credit: Anna Naphtali Photography
Read more...

Hell Yeah Balloons are Punk Rock

Kat

February 2, 2010

Anthony & Shealyn were actually not engaged at the time the session took place. However, just a week after the shoot they realized that they just could not live without each other and got engaged! Photographer Sheri told me all about the day: Other than specifying that they'd like incorporate purple balloons (which Anthony brought to Shealyn on their first date) we were left to our own creative devices. I was inspired by their edgy style and chose backdrops that would make them pop. I like the contrast of their hard, black style against the softness of the beach and the lightheartedness of the balloons. We walked back to their apartment and they suggested hopping into the pool... mind you this was early January and cold even by San Diego standards. Thanks to Sheri for sharing these shoot with us...and I have to say I totally love Shealyn's dress which actually came from the Miley Cyrus/Max Azria for Wal-Mart! Rock n Roll indeedy. Credit: Tangerine Tree Photography
Read more...