Hiking, Tweed & a Roaring Log Fire: Ciaran & Ellen

Kat

Andy Wardle

March 7, 2013

Ciaran & Ellen's wedding was a far removed from a traditional wedding as possible. The bride didn't wear a white dress, she wore a tweed suit; they didn't have bridesmaids or groomsmen, they had their dogs; they didn't have a fancy vintage car, the went for a hike. The ceremony was held at The Woolpack Inn in Cumbria in February and was followed by a low key and intimate meal for their few attendees. A few months later they had a larger gathering in their own back garden for the rest of their friends and family.

Budget Bohemian Wedding in Ireland: Rebeka & Gerard

Kat

Pawel Bebenca

February 27, 2013

Intimate Wapping Project Wedding: Kelly & Toby

Kat

Joanna Millington

February 26, 2013

I'm not an expert of the history of weddings, but when you think about it, many wedding traditions are really quite odd. A tiered cake, putting your best friends in ill-fitting in matching dresses, an awkward dance in front of everyone you know, throwing a bouquet flowers at people's heads... odd.

Low Key Youth Hotel Wedding: Kit & Caz

Kat

Anna Hardy

February 20, 2013

Wedding bloggers like to throw phrases like 'laid back', 'low key' and 'budget-friendly' around like their going out of fashion. But when it comes to a wedding like Kit & Caz's, which took place in a youth hostel in the Peak District, there really are no other words. Their wedding was beautiful, utterly personal and a true reflection of the way they celebrate their love. No mess, no fuss, no pomp and circumstance and no pointless traditions. Oh no, this wedding was unpretentiousness personified. I love it.

DIY Wedding in Victoria Baths: Fiona & Jonny

Kat

Emma Case

February 19, 2013

Unique wedding venues can be hard to come across in the UK, but Fiona & Jonny weren't going to take that lying down. They knew they wanted a memorable space for their union and so selected Victoria Baths in Manchester. "Victoria Baths is an Edwardian swimming baths (which is no longer used as baths, now a restoration project and arts/community venue)", wrote Fiona. "It was originally three big pools. Two of them remain and are empty – we got married in the deep end of the biggest one and had our reception on top of the other! It was boarded over with a sprung dance floor in the fifties (my granddad used to teach ballroom dancing in that room). The remaining smaller pool and the rest of building, which is pretty vast, was left for people to wander around and explore."

Low Key Portland Elopement: Tyler & Revonna

Kat

In Essence

February 15, 2013

An intimate park ceremony, a trip to a cupcakery and a wedding that's an unpretentious as they get. With just $4000, Tyler & Revonna were wed at Council Crest Park in Portland, OR with just their two best friends in attendance. Their low key 'reception' was at Jake’s Grill, a local restaurant which they both love. The bride even made her own wedding dress, headpiece and the dress that her bridesmaid wore.

Eccentric, Whimsical & Eclectic Homespun Wedding: Erik & Caitlin

Kat

Sharalee Prang

February 11, 2013

I didn't think people like this existed in real life. When I first laid eyes on Erik & Caitlin's wedding images I was convinced it was a styled shoot with models. This couldn't be an actual wedding, surely? But I was wrong and my heart whooped with joy. The wedding took place in September at the bride's parent's home. The entire wedding cost less than $5000. (I know! As if it wasn't amazing enough already, right?!) Caitlin designed her own dress (which was made by the mother of the groom and ended up costing only $190, including the veil!), wore $20 shoes (which she customised) and her floral headpiece was made by one of her bridesmaids an hour before the ceremony. The cakes were homemade, the flowers were grown and collected by friends and family and the invitations were hand painted and wax sealed by the bride. All the catering was done by the mother of the bride and the bride's brother Matt acted as bartender. As you can probably imagine the couple also decorated the entire space themselves.

An $800 Fiesta Elopement: Carla & Nicholas

Kat

White Rabbit Studios

February 8, 2013

Yep, you read that right - Carla & Nicholas spent just $800 on their intimate fiesta elopement. In fact I had to double check they didn't mean $8000 when I received their submission and that it wasn't just a typo! The elopement took place on 28th December at Madison County Courthouse. After they got engaged, the couple immediately started planning a big wedding, but after some time decided to instead elope the weekend after Christmas. All their family was in town for the holidays so it meant they could all be there to celebrate with a big family meal afterwards. The bride's sister-in-law, Melanie, secretly hired wedding photographer Ashley Vaughn of White Rabbit Studios as a gift to capture their day. Everything else came in under the $800 budget.

Reclaimed & Revisited DIY Wedding: Josh & Scott

Kat

Adam Lowe

February 5, 2013

Before I even saw these photographs I knew I wanted to blog this wedding. Wedding photographer, Adam Lowe, described the event to me as 'a mega super awesome gay punk dude wedding' and I instantly knew it would be amazing... and oh boy how right I was! Josh & Scott were married in October at 400 West Rich, a 100,000 sq foot warehouse in Columbus, Ohio. They did pretty much everything themselves and spent just $3000 making their wedding perfect. "We met through a gay social networking and just got to talking", they began. "About three months later we were taking turns visiting each other and three months after that Josh moved to Columbus. Josh is a huge Disney fan and we planned a trip to Disney and Scotty ordered an engagement ring. He proposed to Josh in front of Cinderella's Castle."

Rustic Californian Park Wedding: Casey & Caitlin

Kat

Ryan Daley

January 21, 2013

Casey & Caitlin were married at Dos Picos Park in Ramona, CA. They wanted their wedding to be laid back, fun, but most of all very 'them'. "My inspiration was to keep things very us", began the bride. "Well actually, our theme was 100% Caitlin, with a splash of Casey thrown in here and there! I have been to weddings that are gorgeous and looked at hundreds on blogs and in magazines when looking for inspiration for our wedding. I have liked many of the things I've seen, but none of them were really right."

Central Park Pizza & Backyard BBQ Wedding: Jared & Nakia

Kat

June Cochran

January 18, 2013

What could be more fun than a backyard BBQ, a ceremony in Central Park and a pizza party?! Well that's exactly what Jared & Nakia chose to do for their New York wedding. Unusually though, this couple opted for their casual BBQ reception to take place the night before their ceremony, in the groom's brother's back garden. Then the following day, after the ceremony, they went off - just the two of them - for portraits and pizza!

Pretty Pastel DIY Wedding: Joey & Mike

Kat

Lisa Jane

January 14, 2013

I'm definitely not only of those girly girls. I favour a bold and modern aesthetic over pretty pastels any day. But Joey & Mike's wedding slayed me when it landed in my inbox recently. And 'pretty' is really the only word I can use to best describe what I saw.

DIY Mexican Themed Wedding with Vintage Touches: Mat & Anna

Kat

Haywood Jones

January 10, 2013

Mat & Anna didn't have a huge budget for their November wedding, but that didn't mean they did things by half! Oh no, this thrifty couple made as much as they possibly could themselves and managed to pull their gorgeous wedding off for just £5000. Oh and they also planned the entire thing in under four months! Wonder-couple or what!?!?

Scare-Fest Wedding & Searching for ‘The One’: Sarah & Colin

Kat

December 19, 2012

For their October wedding at Whittington Castle and Wattlesborough Village Hall, Sarah & Colin wanted a scare-fest. Halloween, pumpkins, zombies & vintage circus horror were their inspirations. "When you first start to plan a wedding you are given strict instructions by every bride you know to research research research. You read magazines, you trawl through websites, you create a scrapbook of what you think your wedding should be", wrote newlywed Sarah. "I had 2 ½ years to plan my big day, and no matter what I saw I just didn't feel like it could be part of our day! Everything was so beautiful, classic, elegant... and so not us! I am mad about vintage but after heading to a vintage wedding fair I had started to lose hope. It was all too twee, too perfect. I am a rummage in the hay bales listing to The Coasters kinda vintage and it just wasn't there for me. Then after seeing a lady flying round the fair with pink hair, I was informed of Rock n Roll Bride by my friend Ffion and my world was changed! I saw couples who broke convention, who played their wedding their way and weren't afraid to let the world see their personalities through their big day!"

Icelandic Elopement: Dean & Lindsay

Kat

December 17, 2012

With all the detail and theme obsessions that come with the wedding blogging territory, sometimes it's just really awesome to get a super simple and fuss-free wedding in my inbox. So when Dean & Lindsay's Icelandic elopement was sent my way, I couldn't wait to feature it. I've said it before and undoubtedly I'll say it again, but honestly, this is what it's all about people - two people in love saying "I will love you forever". Spending just $1200, Dean & Lindsay flew to Iceland from the US and were married at Solfar (Sun Voyager) a sculpture located by Sæbraut, by the sea in the centre of Reykjavík

Woodland Hideaway Wedding: Becci & David

Kat

December 11, 2012

After a romantic proposal that involved a treasure hunt around London, culminating in the bride being led to Greenwich Park where her groom proposed with a hamper of treats under the Royal Observatory, Becci & David were married at Wise Wedding Venue, a woodland hideaway in Kent.

A Homemade Star Wars & Lego Wedding for Geeks: Jennie & Jon

Kat

December 10, 2012

With just £5000 to spend, Jennie & Jon we're able to pull of their homemade and geeky wedding with a little bit of imagination and a lot of elbow grease! The ceremony took place at Emmanuel's Church in Sidlow and the reception was hosted at the bride's mother's house. "We knew that when we decided to get married we would have to do it our own way and make it very individual", explained the bride. "We are both complete geeks and children at heart with a love for Star Wars and Lego, so how could it not be fun? We definitely didn't want a wedding that could have been anybody else's. All our friends live so far away and we only get together once or twice a year so we also wanted it to be very relaxed that we could just spend time with each other. We wanted to do as much as we could ourselves and scoured eBay and car boot sales for cheaper items."

Tattoos & Toadstools: Toni & Colin

Kat

December 7, 2012

Tattoos, tears and a seriously cute couple. Toni & Colin's wedding is what my dreams are made of. These guys are THE perfect Rock n Roll couple and they're wedding slays me. Plus they had Sassy of Assassynation as their wedding photographer so they instantly go way up in the cool stakes with me! The wedding was held at The Quay, Musselburgh, on 10th November. "Colin and I met online what feels like a life time ago but wasn't all that long ago in the grand scheme of things", Toni began. "We spoke for a month or so online and then he made plans to come over from Northern Ireland to visit me in Edinburgh. 'I'll come for the weekend,' he said. Well, he arrived and he's yet to leave! We've lived together from day one and, including the night before the wedding, we are yet to spend one single night apart. It's a good job he makes me laugh as much as he does!"

Ethical Wedding at Home: Feng & David

Kat

December 6, 2012

Simple weddings are often the best, and for Feng & David, doing something low-key and ethical was important. So they had a super tiny civil ceremony with only their closest friends and family in attendance, and hosted the reception at their own house! Yes, Feng put on an apron and served all the food herself! "Our wedding budget was £1500, but we went over this with our photographer and our rings", began the bride. "Our rings were pretty expensive as they were custom made using fair-trade gold, recycled gold & conflict-free gems by Amanda Li Hope. We were married at Oxford Registry Office and our reception was in our tiny house in East Oxford."

A French Resturant Wedding: Kat & Ton

Kat

November 29, 2012

Being massive foodies, Kat & Ton knew that serving a fantastic meal was high on their list of wedding day priorities. So for their reception venue they selected their favourite French restaurant in Brisbane, Montrachet. "In my opinion Montrachet is the best French restaurant in the city, and has been a family favourite for years", Kat told me. "Feeding our families and friends good food and wine was very important to us. The staff, both kitchen and front of house, made sure the night was perfect with superb food and exceptional service."