Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Budget Friendly

A Picnic Wedding: Alex & Denise

Kat

April 23, 2012

The inspiration for Alex & Denise's Brighton wedding was for it to be "just like a big picnic". They used local suppliers (including the caterers who used local produce and supplied locally produced champagne) where possible and DIY'ed the rest! "Our inspiration was for it to be like a big picnic - although without having to sit on the floor!" Denise told me. "I found mini picnic baskets that were used as the centrepiece on each table. These were filled with chutney, pickles and breadsticks. We wanted the wedding to be really relaxed – I've always disliked formal situations. I also wanted there to be lots of colour. For the meal we had a blanket set up on the floor for any children that got bored of the adults. We also did a play area with a wigwam, dress up box and colouring books. Although on the day they mainly opted for running around the field like lunatics."
Read more...

DIY Tutorial: Twine Wrapped Letters

Kat

April 14, 2012

Hi there fellow RocknRollers! Some of you may already know me from www.cabinetsofcuriosity.co.uk but for those that don't, I thought I'd share some pearls of wisdom with you. My name is Holly and my business Cabinets of Curiosity which specialises in eclectic, event styling including handmade stationery & decorations. Kat featured my own wedding which took place last October and there were a lot of people asking about the twine wrapped letters on my guest book table. So, I thought I'd make a little tutorial for those of you out there who would like to have a go! If you would like some initials or lettering for your big day but don't have the creative fingers, please email my site with your requirements! Big thanks to Kat and thanks for looking!
Read more...

A DIY Church Hall Wedding: Zoe & Richard

Kat

April 11, 2012

Sometimes I see a wedding and I literally can't wait to learn more about it and (hopefully if the photographer and couple agree) write it up to share it with you lot too. Luckily for me, in this instance both parties were more than thrilled to share this wedding with us today, particularly because newlyweds Zoe & Richard found wedding photographer Joanna Millington on this very wedding blog. Hurrah! Their DIY, family-central wedding was held at Christ Church in St Albans. "When we were first engaged I asked Richard if he knew where he wanted to get married," Zoe explained. "He said he didn’t want to get married anywhere but Christ Church St Albans. It was my childhood church on the estate where I grew up and where Richard and I went to school. We knew it wasn’t exactly the idyllic wedding venue – a flat-roofed, slightly tired and drab looking carpeted church with very green curtains – but it was home. We had our reception in the same place. Luckily they had just built a shiny new hall attached to the old church building, which was very handy. No one (apart from us) had to venture out into the rain!"
Read more...

A Low Key, Family-Centric Wedding with a Bowling After Party: Daniel & Zara

Kat

April 5, 2012

Daniel & Zara wanted a really low key wedding that focussed on family, friends, celebration and laughter. The ceremony was held at Camden Town Hall (where the bride's parents were married 35 years earlier). The reception kicked off with drinks at The Gilbert Scott or Cider Tap (the guests went to either or both!) and finally Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes. "Over several bottles of wine on holiday last summer we drew up lists of things we did and didn't want as part of the day," Zara told me "Over-formality was a big no-no and fun was a big yes! We fell in love with the Kingpin Suite at Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes as soon as we saw it so that became our after party venue. It was as close as we could get to running off to Vegas without sacrificing having our friends and families there. Dan and I are both terrible at bowling, but he did propose outside a bowling alley (with a ring in a packet of hula hoops) just before we went in for a game - so it all seemed to fit into place. We managed to keep the reception venue a secret from guests until they turned up. No-one had a clue and it was brilliant for Dan and I to greet people with massive surprised smiles on their faces."
Read more...

A ‘US Meets UK’ Rock n Roll Wedding: Aaron & Melanie

Kat

April 3, 2012

This is unadulterated Rock n Roll Bride gold and I'm thrilled to share it with you today. The couple, who met in San Francisco while Melanie was there on holiday, were married at the end of January at Old Marylebone Town Hall, London. "We met whilst out dancing at a rockabilly club called the Jay n Bee, and whilst there was instant attraction, I was only on a two week holiday so nothing really happened," Melanie told me. "However, I returned to the USA a few months later for Las Vegas and a three month stay in San Francisco, and that's when we started dating. We continued travelling between San Francisco and London, and got engaged on our 8 month anniversary (which was also Christmas Eve) whilst out dancing at the Southbank Centre in London. We had originally planned to get married in SF, but one sunny day last October, we were laying in the garden here in London, and I said to Aaron 'We should get married in London...in January!' and so we planned our wedding in just over three and a half months!"
Read more...

A Leap Day Wedding Planned in Just 10 Days: Jennifer & Michael

Kat

April 2, 2012

Jennifer & Michael were married in The Candy Factory, a warehouse in Lancaster PA, on February 29th this year. They picked the venue as Jennifer loves the space (she's a model and has shot there a few times). They also planned their wedding in...wait for it...TEN DAYS! Jennifer told me all about it, "Our wedding was planned in under 10 days. I went to my seamstress with a 7 day window, and the desire for a 50s style, tea length wedding dress and she pulled through. The venue is one of my favorite shooting spots as I am very fond of putting pretty things in old, ugly places. This spot just matched us so well. Even though there was no lighting or heat, my husband fixed all that with his all-knowing sensibility. We picked a very rainy day, so the roof leaked horribly and we had buckets everywhere, but I guarantee no one will forget this wedding!"
Read more...

DIY Tutorial: Cameo Necklace

Kat

March 31, 2012

I may be biased but this cameo necklace DIY Tutorial from Cat Moley of DIY blog Cut Out and Keep may be my favourite ever! if you're of a crafty persuasion and fancy making some personalised wedding jewellery or gifts (how cute would these be for bridemaids?) then you're going to get very excited indeed about this one... Of course you don't have to make your necklace of me (!) or with my logo but I'm sure this tutorial will inspire you to come up with your own designs. You could maybe out each bridesmaid's name in place of the Rock n Roll Bride logo?
Read more...

A Casual London Wedding with a Bride in Yellow Tights: Annick & Robert

Kat

March 28, 2012

Any bride that rocks yellow tights and teal shoes on her wedding day is instantly awesome. Are we in agreement? When Annick & Robert's London wedding landed in my inbox from wedding photographer Marshal Gray, I literally couldn't wait to share it with you! The whole wedding was planning in just 6 weeks. The ceremony took place at Sutton House, and after an emotional service the couple walked to London Fields for a hotdog lunch and some portraits. "On the way we met a friend who was coming to the evening event," Annick told me. "It was a wonderful walk to really reflect on the day and our personal journey. We use to live near London Fields so the walk had real emotional significance to us."
Read more...

DIY Tutorial: Photo Booth Chalkboard Speech Bubbles

Kat

March 24, 2012

Hello Kat & Rock n Roll Bride readers, I’m Rebecca Douglas of www.rebeccadouglas.co.uk a Kent based wedding and lifestyle photographer who loves working with people and making and creating beautiful things! When I’m not shooting and doing photography related stuff I love to get a make on with all sorts of materials. I really loved the images that I was seeing from wedding photo booths and so wanted to develop these blackboard speech bubbles for guests to write messages on while in photo booths at weddings.
Read more...

A Budget-Friendly Wedding Planned in just Four Months: Terry & Elle

Kat

March 22, 2012

For Terry & Elle their wedding wasn't about a big show or how much money they could spend. After a health scare in October 2011 they decided they wanted to get married quickly so planned the whole thing in just 4 months. They wanted a wedding that represented them and didn't cost a bomb. As the bride explains, "We held a wedding for 90 guests, including bridal party plus all bridal attire, wedding rings the works for under 15,000 AUD (that's about £10,000) - the average Australian wedding is $36,000 - do it all yourself and be resourceful and you can achieve wonders!"
Read more...

A DIY Brazilian Wedding: Marcela & Paulo

Kat

March 15, 2012

Marcela & Paulo's Brazilian wedding was a real DIY labour of love as their wedding photographers Frankie + Marília explained, "This bride is a nurse and very busy but she still somehow managed to find time to do everything for their wedding herself. She worked with a dressmaker that her family has worked with for years to come up with her perfect dress. It seems like everyone that has seen these pictures has fallen absolutely in love with it too!"
Read more...

A Relaxed Southern Wedding: Anton & Megan

Kat

March 13, 2012

I'm so excited to share the incredible warehouse wedding of Anton & Megan with you today. I just know you're going to love it! It's simple, beautiful and just the kind of celebration I'd love to be invited too! "Anton and I have been dating since my senior year of high school," Megan wrote to me. "We met in February 2006 at a show his band O'brother played. Neither of us expected to be those people that are highschool sweethearts but now we both feel really lucky to have found each other so soon. We can enjoy being young and married - something that doesn't seem so common anymore - as we grow old together."
Read more...

DIY Tutorial: Yummy & Easy Peanut Butter Cups Recipe

Kat

March 10, 2012

Hi! My name is Natty. I love making things, baking things and if I am honest, eating things. I turned my passion for design, craft and cooking into creating beautiful bespoke dessert tables. I love seeing the reaction from couples who see their table for the first time, it never gets old. Today I wanted to share with the readers of Rock n Roll Bride one of my favourite treats. I think they'd make great homemade wedding favours!
Read more...

DIY Tutorial: Origami Animals {Part One}

Kat

March 3, 2012

I've got something a little different in terms of a DIY tutorial today. Ceri & Terry's origami themed wedding was so popular (in fact so much so that I think a national wedding magazine picked it up afterwards as well!) when I blogged it that I asked Ceri if she wouldn't mind sharing some of origami tips and ideas with us. She's gone above and beyond what I expected of her and has not only put together some basic origami tips but has created three individual animal tutorials plus two extra tutorials of ways to encorperate your creatures into your wedding day (to be posted later today).
Read more...