Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

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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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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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Ali & Mike’s Simple but Effective Wedding

Kat

March 22, 2011

I was sent Ali & Mike's wedding video by their videographer Ryan Hinman, which I immediately fell in love with...so much so that I had to know more about the couple behind it and so asked Ryan if I could share their whole wedding story - photographs and all. Luckily he was more than thrilled to oblige. The happy couple were wed at Red Butte Garden in Utah. Their ceremony was held in The Fragrance Garden and the reception in The Orangerie. Ali told me all about their day, "We really wanted the entire day to reflect our personalities and style, so we tried to add our own personal touches wherever we could. We served some of our favorite snacks at the reception, french fries, gelato cones and even had a self serve popcorn cart. We had a photo booth set up all night printing one copy for the guests to keep and one copy for our scrapbook that they could sign."
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A Sneak Peek – Emma & Pete got Married…and it was AWESOME!

Kat

March 20, 2011

It's a bit unconventional for me to do two posts on a Sunday, but I just had to pop by and share a few sneak peeks of where I was last night. Emma & Pete got married! The whole wedding was a surprise. We were invited under false pretences (it was also Emma's 30th Birthday) Half way through the night, the couple disappeared, got changed (Emma into a stunning vintage dress from Fur Coat No Knickers) and got married right in front of us. I cried like an actual baby. I can't wait to see the rest of the professional photos from Steve Gerrard & Joanna Brown, but for now...
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Marco & Corinne’s Global Folk Art, Home-Spun Wedding

Kat

March 16, 2011

When I received the initial submission email from photographer Pat Dy, dubbing this as his 'coolest ever wedding' I had high expectations...and you know what I'm going to say here don't you?...I certainly wasn't disappointed! Marco & Corinne's home-spun DIY wedding was a real labour of love. The wedding took place at the Groom's parents house and they crafted their wedding mostly from items they already owned. Everything from their outfits to the flowers arrangement were hand made by the couple themselves or a close friend or family member. This created something totally unique and personal. "Our theme was global folk art," Corinne told me. "We just used mostly what we already have lying around our house. We wanted that all the elements were everything we both love. So much heart was put in by family and friends during the 2 months preparation of the wedding. My Mom even handpainted the 150 stones as favours."
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Tiffany & Brandon – Embracing the Fun

Kat

March 16, 2011

"We wanted to get pictures that captured our personalities," bride-to-be Tiffany told me. "We began calling around photographers in Orlando and almost all of the photographers that I loved were way over budget. I was very upset, and had to come up with a plan. Since I was a student photographer at one point of my life, I loved having models/couples/babies doing photos for my portfolio, and I usually didn’t charge as much as professionals. So, I posted advertisements at the local art schools and craigslist looking for a student photographer who would like to do our wedding. I received an email from Nick Suivski, student at the University of Central Florida and savior of my wedding."
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Briana & George’s Antique Wedding

Kat

March 15, 2011

"I like to question everything, so if something at a wedding doesn't have a specific purpose it was out," began the bride Briana. "We didn't have a guestbook, or a garter toss, or a bouquet, or a cake, or a chicken dance...My husband and I both love vintage stuff. We're both silly, dumpster-diving artist types. We would have just eloped, because the idea of a wedding seemed both superfluous and expensive, but we both love a good party! It was a compromise. If I had more than 4 months to plan it and lived in town, I would have handmade everything myself and incorporated tons of quirky details...but it was perfect just the way it was."
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Anna Lee & Jeremy’s Vintage-Inspired DIY Wedding

Kat

March 15, 2011

Anna Lee & Jeremy were engaged and married within 3 1/2 months. After Anna Lee moved away to teach in Rwanda, the couple realised they couldn't live without each other and set a wedding date before she'd even come back. Even though they we're technically already engaged, when Anna Lee returned after 10 months, Jeremy proposed properly and did so in the car park of their favourite restaurant because he couldn't wait one second longer! Anna Lee told me all about their vintage-inspired DIY wedding. "I think I would describe our wedding as DIY vintage and it wouldn’t have been possible to put together a wedding on a budget in 3 months without the help of my awesome family and friends. The only "vendors" we hired were the DJ and photographer. I hit up every craft store, thrift shop, and dollar store in the area. My Mom, sister, and I made everything: the invitations and programs, bridesmaid’s bouquets, boutonnieres, and decorations. I created the mothers wrist corsages out of fabric hair pieces from Forever21. The only flowers used were babies breath, purchased from a local grocery store. Instead of large floral arrangements at the reception, I bought manzanita branches online, spray painted them black, and attached tissue paper flowers and moss. A local landscaping nursery let us borrow two small trees we set up inside to soften the reception hall area. We saved a ton of money on flowers this way!"
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Millet & Hendrick’s Hand Picked, DIY Wedding

Kat

March 10, 2011

Millet & Hendrick's wedding was held at Sonya's Garden Country Bed & Breakfast, Tagaytay City, Philippines. With a sister who's a wedding planner and events stylist, the bride (who is a fashion stylist herself!) was certainly in good hands when it came to creating the perfect day for her and her fiancé. "I followed my instincts and searched all the details," the bride told me when I asked for her main inspiration. "We didn't spend much, but the overall effect was satisfactory to me and my husband. The guests went wild when they were advised that they can take home the centrepieces!"
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Autumn & Kevin’s Romantic Vintage Valentine’s Wedding

Kat

February 28, 2011

Autumn & Kevin were married the day before Valentine's Day so of course their wedding had to be a full on romantic affair. The bride is a self-confessed Valentine's addict and so the theme was not only perfect for the fact that it was a wedding (aww love!) but because it was themed around the celebration she loves so much. The wedding took place at the bride's Mother's house which was not only the ideal setting for their colour scheme of red and white, but made the day a lot easier for Autumn's Grandmother who also lived in the house with her. It was very important to the couple to have her there. Autumn explained, "I wanted to have the wedding at my Mom's because it would be easiest for my Grandma since she lives there too. Plus my Mom's living room is red and white, with wood floors and a fireplace, which was my ideal setting. I knew from the beginning I wanted to have a vintage Valentine's day wedding. It's my favourite holiday and I already had tons of vintage Valentines. After christmas I transform my white retro christmas tree into a Valentines day tree and I wanted to incorporate that. A lot of the other decor was found at craft stores, or hand made by my Mom. We also incorporated a lot of personal items, like my antique cameras, and Kevin's model airplanes that he had built. We featured a wall of photos with us as kids, and as a couple."
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Quay & Jory’s DIY, Maui Wedding

Kat

February 28, 2011

Quay & Jory were married under a giant tree, on the beach in Maui, Hawaii. "The wedding was very non traditional," photographer Molly Marie told me. "It was a gay wedding, almost everything was DIY, both girls love tattoos, and planned the entire wedding themselves. The wedding was not for anyone else but them, pure love. However they knew family wouldn't be able to attend easily as they are from Eau Claire, WI, so photography was a very important part of the wedding to them."
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Rock n Roll Bride Prize Winners – Ashley & Ray’s Old School Glamour Wedding

Kat

February 25, 2011

The eagle-eyed amongst you might remember Ashley & Ray. Ashley was the lucky Rock n Roll Bride reader that won all that lovely booty for filling out my reader's survey over the Summer. Needless to say I was pretty excited to then see how it was all used in their wedding! The couple were married in January and had their photographs taken by friend of the blog Kim Hawkins. The venue they chose was The Mayfair Hotel in London and their theme was old school glamour. Ashley was keen to tell me all about their big day and I'm thilled to share it with you here - espcially as a lot of the suppliers they used are my friends!
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