Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Candy Anthony

Creative DIY Wedding in Cornwall

Kat

Mckenzie Brown

June 19, 2015

Heather and Kev’s wedding was full of quirky little DIY touches. They didn't want it to feel too orchestrated though; they just wanted it to feel natural and homemade. "After spending weeks and weeks reading through the brilliant Rock n Roll Bride blog, I decided on a bright theme with a 1950s twist", said Heather. "We wanted to keep things DIY too, with no massive styling required. We wanted it to feel like we’d done everything ourselves and that it was authentically ‘us’."
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Retro, Foodie and Movie Themed Wedding

Kat

Esme Mai

January 27, 2015

Being big foodies, Billy & Laura knew they wanted to serve up an amazing feast at their wedding. But they wanted to do it in their own way, so a Full English Breakfast it was! "Overall we just wanted our wedding to be the best party anyone had ever been to", wrote the bride. "We wanted great food, music and laughter. We definitely wanted our food to be different as we’d attended 8 or 9 weddings the year before and had (albeit very tasty) the same meal over and over."
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DIY Day of the Dead, Lobster and Rabbit-Themed Romantic Garden Party Wedding in London: Kirsty & Steve

Kat

We Heart Pictures

August 5, 2013

When Kirsty and Steve planned to marry they knew they wanted tradition to play no part in it. This started with their surname. Instead of keeping their own names or one of them taking the other's they decided to merge their two names to create a brand new one. So Kirsty Foster and Steve Pate became Mr & Mrs Fate! When it came to capturing their wedding day they wanted photos that were bright, romantic, playful, with a little kooky edge. They found We Heart Pictures through Rock n Roll Bride and couldn't have been happier with their choice! They wedding took place on June 7th at Hoxton Hall, London.
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Hairspray and 1960s Inspired Retro Wedding: Louise & Pete

Kat

This Modern Love

August 1, 2013

Louise and Pete's Belfast manor house wedding was full to bursting with cute, quirky and retro DIY details. The bride wore a polka dot Candy Anthony wedding dress and looked every but the mid-century starlet with her beehive hair do and classically gorgeous make up. "We definitely had a retro themed wedding", Louise explained. "I took inspiration from Hairspray (especially when it came to my hair!) and had a pink polka dot 50s style dress. Pete had a teddy boy-esque suit. We played 60s garage songs during the drinks reception and 60s girl groups afterwards. We asked all our male guests to wear bow ties, which they did, including my 5 month old nephew!"
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Vintage Wedding at the Royal Observatory: Sarah & Paul

Kat

Andrea Ellison

January 23, 2013

Sarah & Paul and were married in September at the royal observatory - Queen's House in Greenwich. They went for a English vintage theme with a twist. It reflected the things they love in their everyday lives. "The wedding theme was English vintage as I am big into my vintage clothing and music so things needed to be pretty but with an eccentric twist", wrote the bride. "I didn't want it to be a Cath Kidston wet dream and neither did I feel that an out-and-out rocking festival would have suited us so we went for something in between! I love typography and so that was instantly worked into our invites and other paper goods (I made the majority using pretty parchment card and downloading fonts from the internet)."
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A Retro Americana Wedding: Ralph & Carly

Kat

August 22, 2012

Ralph & Carly love all things Americana and retro and so the theme for their wedding was easy to decide on. They wanted to incorporate the feeling of driving through America in an open top car - something they love to do in real life. Ralph had even proposed on a road trip through Arizona, one of their favourite places in the USA. "We love Americana and we feel that there is a big difference between what is retro and what is vintage", Carly explained. "We wanted our wedding to be all things that we love. We love nothing more than booking a flight and a car in the US and then exploring, although sometimes we end up in very peculiar places and cannot wait for daylight to arrive so that we can head out! For the most part though it's the way that we have discovered some of our favourite places. Each table was named after a hotel or motel that we have stayed in on our trips, there have been many others but these had the coolest signs."
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A Black & White, Boutique Hotel Wedding: Abbi & Jools

Kat

January 31, 2012

After a cliff top proposal, Abbi & Jools, who met while working at the Cadbury factory, planned their 5* boutique wedding at The Hempel Hotel, London. "Jools and I met 8 years ago, when we both started working for Cadbury. Clearly, having a Cadbury chocolate/sweetie bar at the wedding was obligatory!" Abbi explained. "We got engaged in Australia, on a cliff top on the Great Ocean Road, while sitting on a bench and eating some delicious cake. When Jools said 'I've got a question to ask you', I replied 'Do you want the rest of my cake?' Usually he would have jumped at the opportunity - but instead went down on one knee... to which I responded 'oh my God oh my God oh my God... where shall I put the cake?' I put it on the ground. It was fine. I ate it later."
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An Eclectic & Colourful DIY Wedding: Amy & Andy

Kat

December 20, 2011

As a regular Rock n Roll Bride reader, Amy booked some of my ultimate favourite wedding suppliers for her October wedding to Andy. Annamarie Stepney photographed the day and the bride wore a Candy Anthony wedding dress with the gorgeous 'cherry' Vivienne Westwood/Melissa shoes. She also dressed her lucky bridesmaids in Vivien of Holloway dresses. "We looked at lots of wedding blogs to find a photographer and saw lots of examples of some beautiful and really cool photos but when I saw some of Annamarie’s work on Rock n Roll Bride we just loved them," Amy explained. "After meeting her knew she’d be great. She made the day go really smoothly too so it was a good choice!"
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A Village Fete Meets Tattoo Parlour Wedding: Jess & David

Kat

November 14, 2011

Jess & David were married in All Saints Church in Kirby and they had their reception in the bride's parent's back garden. Jess wore a Candy Anthony Dress, Upper Street shoes (which she designed herself) and Vivienne Westwood jewellery. The lucky couple had Shell De Mar there to capture their day. "We met at school and had been together 12 years when David proposed at sunrise on the beach in Mexico," Jess told me. "Initially I’d been reluctant to get out of bed so early but something told me it might be worth it...and it was!"
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A British Wartime Wedding: Lisa & Ric

Kat

October 5, 2011

After a church ceremony at St Peter's & St Paul's Church in Hampshire, Lisa & Ric had a very British wartime themed wedding at Broad Half Penny Down Cricket Club, Hampshire - the world's oldest cricket club. "Life never goes the way you plan it," the bride wrote. "I always dreamt of finishing uni, finding love, getting married and starting a family. The conventional family - we are not! I am 12 years younger than Ric, and also about 12 inches taller! Ric is frequently away with work and moved me to the south of the country, away from all my friends and family. Oh and how could I forget our 2 year old son - Bear. This was definitely not what I had planned. When Ric finally proposed, I was on cloud 9 and I knew that our wedding day wasn't going to be a 'normal' one. For example - I couldn't decide what engagement ring I liked, so I have three! We also had a best woman instead of a best man, we 'high fived' at the altar instead of the kiss, and our son screamed through most of the ceremony then was racing his toy cars down the aisle with chocolate down his nice white shirt."
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Candy Coloured Cuteness: Lucy & Michael

Kat

August 18, 2011

Lucy & Michael's candy coloured cute-as-hell wedding stole my heart! The pastel colour palate is so fresh and totally perfect for their DIY wedding. Lucy & Michael actually found their photographer, the fabulous Shell De Mar, through an engagement shoot featured on Rock n Roll Bride too so it's really cool that I'm allowed to feature their gorgeous wedding too. "We knew that it was important to have a wedding photographer who understood the style and inspiration for our big day and would capture all of the details we had so painstakingly created," Lucy told me. "We wanted a fun and creative record of our day rather than a set of stuffy portraits. We discovered Shell De Mar when we saw a seaside engagement shoot that was featured on Rock n Roll Bride. We immediately fell in love with her use of light and colour, and the way she captured her couples."
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Regula & Bruno’s Abandoned Fairground Wedding Portraits (Part Three)

Kat

August 10, 2011

So part one was spooky, part two was cute and part three is just...well...a whole other level! Could an abandoned fairground in Belgium possibly be the coolest photo shoot location ever? "The day after our tea party reception we went on a adventure to an abandoned fairground that I used to visit as a child when it was still open," Regula told me. "I suddenly thought about it a few months ago and wondered what had become of it. I have some vivid childhood memories of it. Bruno and I wanted to go there as we love the creepy and romantic forgotten world feeling about it. We have a thing for the strangeness of old fairgrounds and fairs, hence the rock candy and candy apples at our reception. When I told our photographer Sassy of it she was so excited we decided to make a trip together."
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