Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

DIY

A Geeky, Offbeat, Tea Party, Country Wedding!

Kat

September 28, 2009

Right now, well what can I say that could possibly live up to these? The very lovely Rosalie of the Tea and Whimsy blog booked my buddy David McNeil for her wedding to James last month. She has gone over all the details, budget saving tricks (they only spent about £4000 on the whole thing!) and DIY gems on her site, but I'm just here to share the swoonfest that is these photographs...oh and to draw your attention to her freakin' awesome bouquet! Yes those are real (dyed) roses!
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Thursday Treats – 24th Sept 2009

Kat

September 24, 2009

As you may have noticed I've tweeked the layout of the posts slightly this week. Now, you'll just get one preview image for each article and if you want to see the rest you just need to click 'read the the rest of this entry'. The idea behind it is to not only make the front page look a lot cleaner, but it means the pages will load a lot faster. My hubby/web designer was trying to make me cut down on how many images I posted to compensate for the slow page load time - now that wasn't gonna happen was it!? Apart from that don't forget that the awesome TokyoMade contest is still open. You have until tomorrow to tell me which right if your favourite and why. Come on, you know you want it! That's all I really have to report around Rock n Roll Bride HQ right now..let's see what the rest of blog land has been up to this week shall we?
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Bowled Away

Kat

September 22, 2009

Jessica & Nik had a completely KICK ASS (and that had to be in capitals because I am literally shouting that as I write!) wedding at Northbowl in Philadelphia. The couple, who love all things rockabilly, kitsch and retro - certainly put all of themselves into their freakin' awesome day. This is one of those weddings that is certainly going to do the rounds of Blog-Land so I am honoured that Amanda & Carina have elected Rock n Roll Bride to be the first blog to share them! As artists (Jessica a graphic designer and printmaker and Nik an illustrator) they were certainly the perfect pair to pull off such a stylish gathering. Jessica even made the adorable fawn cake topper to accompany the cupcakes (supplied by Brown Betty) herself! For the frames they scoured TJ Maxx (TKMaxx if you're in the UK like me!) and Michael'sand spray painted them themselves Jessica's dress was from Vivien of Holloway, she made her own red shrug (swoon!) and her hair piece was from House of Telsa on Etsy. Nik wore a suit from J Crew and a wicked tie from Cyberoptix TieLab. These two certainly are doing it for the girls. What a fantastic day! Thanks, as ever to the faaaaabulous Amanda & Carina for sending me the images and info. Love you guys! ps If the photos below aren't enough for you, then be sure to go check out Love Me Do's flickr - super yum! Credit: Love Me Do Photography
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Childhood Sweethearts

Kat

September 20, 2009

I have been looking forward to seeing Hannah & Alex's wedding ever since I saw their school yard engagements and the bridal shoot to be used for their stag/hen/bachelor/ette parties invites. I first spoke to Hannah about 6 months ago when she forwarded me some of the work of her sister and photographer, Kelty and I have been nuts about it every since. I have been lucky enough to become good online friends with Kelty so I was over the moon when she sent me a sneak peek of the wedding photographs after the day.Credit: Steep Street Photography
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DIY Ideas From Off White Weddings

Kat

September 14, 2009

Firstly I wanted to say that Rock n Roll Bride has been nominated for a Blog Award! I'm pretty excited as it's the first one I've ever been considered for. I don't know who nominated me but if it was you thanks so much! I would super duper appreciate it if you took 2 seconds to click this link and vote for me! Secondly behold another new series - oh yes. The very gorgeous Hillary from Off White Wedding contacted me a few weeks ago to see if I would be interested in sharing some of her DIY ideas with you all. After seeing her faaabulous snap station and trifle buffet on The Bride's Cafe there was no way I was going to refuse! Hillary has put together a little tutorial to show you how you can make your very own birdcage veil. I hope you enjoy it!
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Love, Love Me Do…

Kat

September 14, 2009

Courtney & Justin had an eco friendly wedding at The Old Mill in Rose Valley, PA. We were amazed with the subtle natural aesthetic and the charming vintage vibe. It is a historic mill that sits in a rhododendron-lined woodland valley right alongside Ridley Creek the couple explained. For the first 3 months of wedding planning, I scoured the internet looking to purchase for anything wedding related – used dresses, used décor, you name it! I hit the jackpot when a bride from Philadelphia posted an ad on Craigslist selling all the décor used in her “Rustic Vintage” wedding. I bought all of her wedding decorations, including: • Vintage mason jars, antique medicine bottles, and painted metal charger plates used for the table centerpieces. • Green and brown ribbon boards (a DIY project) which were used to hold the place cards • Metal lanterns which our florist used to create an amazing display of artistic genius (see Flowers, below) • Hand crafted table numbers made from framed wooden numbers on a fabric backing I loved the glass and metal and DIY spirit of the décor – it fit our style perfectly, it fit our color scheme perfectly, and it was an eco-friendly reuse of someone else’s wedding items! In fact, we are planning to sell the décor items so that another eco-conscious bride can reuse it all for her own wedding. It’s exciting to think that those items will create happiness for another bride! Courtney's dress was from Adele Wechsler’s line of eco-friendly dresses. Initially she discovered she couldn't afford her perfect dress but lucky for her at Philadelphia's UnBridaled Expo Adele was giving away a gift certificate for one of her dresses and guess who won!? Clearly it was meant to be. The succulents they used were bought from a local garden centre and were put together with moss and flowers collected from various friend's gardens to give a unique and natural look. For all the rest of their eco details, be sure to check outLove Me Do's Blog, (thank you to Amanda & Carina for sharing as usual!) but for now...
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Steampunk Victorian Beach on a Budget

Kat

September 13, 2009

If you want to see some of the most beautiful floral details and centrepieces ever plus some pretty damn stunning beach portraits then you've certainly come to the right place! Meghann & Edwin planned their Steampunk-Victorian-Beach-on a budget wedding with help from all their friends and family - DIY was the name of the game! I am totally in love with all their decor ideas and the beautiful floral details - this wedding proves that you can make anything look bloody amazing if you have the time and patience to do it yourself. They spent only about $200 on flowers and decor and went to The LA Flower Market the day before to get the blooms. Meghann explained:
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Glam Rock

Kat

September 8, 2009

Aww pretty pretty sparkle dress! Faith sure looks rock n roll glam on her wedding day back in April! It's not only the dress that I love - her faux tats are super cute and the peacock feathers instead of a traditional floral bouquet are of course stunning. Her one of a kind, custom dress was designed and made by Marelize from Gingered in South Africa. The gown was based on Jenny Packham's Papillon dress, but being in South Africa getting hold of the origianl proved too difficult so Faith decided to get her own version made. Marelize even spent over 45 hours hand sewing on all the beads on the bodice - wow...Glam rock on! Thanks to Faith for not only sending me her images but for sharing all this fab info - a true Rock n Roll Bride!
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The Wedding Of The Year

Kat

August 27, 2009

I am not the most patient of people and when photographer David McNeil told me about Caroline & Callum's upcoming wedding at the beginning of this year I was already dying to see the results. The couple not only found David through Rock n Roll Bride but Caroline proceeded to tease me with regular email updates on their wedding planning gorgeousness - from her amazing David Fielden dress to her perfect Vivienne Westwood shoes (I loved them so much I even attempted to make my own Rock n Roll Bride version!)
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Quirky, Colourful, Kitsch

Kat

August 25, 2009

I am crazy in love with Tanya & Mark's amazingly colourful DIY wedding! The event took place in Tanya's parent's backyard in Northampton, PA and totally reflected the couple's quirky, colourful, kitschy nature. They really put 100% of themselves into the day. Tanya made the invitations, the felt flowers, the centrepieces and most of the decorations herself and all of the tables were covered with unique vintage fabric sourced from various places throughout the wedding planning. One of my favourite details had got to be the pink flamingos everywhere though! Tanya says she has a slight obsession with John Waters so this detail was a must! Tanya found her and her Bridesmaid's dress from Ebay and her amazing red birdcage veil from Events and Occasions. Her shoes were from Modcloth and her red petticoat was found at Unique Vintage. Thanks to Tanya and Mark for sharing their day and all the gorgeous details with us! Credit: Matt Stanley
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I Love This!

Kat

August 24, 2009

So I saw this wedding on I Love Lolliblog the other day and was instantly smitten. Then when photographer Christine Chang submitted the wedding to me as well I thought 'what the hell' and have decided to break my self-imposed rule of not re-blogging. This wedding is too damn special and too damn rock n roll to pass up! The gorgeous Bride Kristi, who owns her own jewellery company named Diamond Willow designed and DIYed the whole wedding - from the centrepieces to her stunning peacock bouquet, the boutonnieres and her own flower hairpiece. She wore a sample gown designed by Lian Carlo and her Mum altered the neckline and made the train detachable for dancing. The Bridesmaids have got to be some of the most gorgeous I have ever seen, rocking their Betsey Johnson frocks, white platform shoes, babies breath bouquets and personalised 'knuckleduster' rings designed by Kristi herself. Thanks to Christine for sending me these and to I Love Lolliblog for sharing them to begin with! Credit: Christine Chang via I Love Lolliblog
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Worth The Wait

Kat

August 18, 2009

Sometimes a wedding comes along that is so damn fabulous that it's worth the wait for. I was sent an image of the bride trying on her stunning Elizabeth Dye dress by a reader, boy must have been about 6 months ago, and since then I have made it my mission to find more about the wedding, the dress, the girl, the guy and the stunning photography - it's all a bit too delightful for words huh?I am so excited to finally announce that I have the results right here! You are going to be completely gaga over these - I know I am! Ali & Danny were married on the 6th June at Bend, Oregon. The ruffles, the flowers, the cute cute shoes...I just love it all. Who's with me? Credit: Kubota PhotoDesign Inc.
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A Western Vintage Vacation

Kat

August 6, 2009

After posting Jenn & Skip's engagements back in May, I was convinced I would totally love their vintage vacation themed wedding - and I guess I was right. As these exclusive (oh yes) photographs show, their wedding was one seriously themed affair. They went for a western/vintage vacation theme which was helped along by all their friends and family, not only dressing up for the day, but by helping the couple to DIY the lot! Jenn made her own veil and fascinator, the invitations, her bouquet, the boutonnieres, the cake, the decorations and the signs. Skip made his own Groom's cake - a bowling ball and pins - and helped Jenn wherever she needed it! Jenn's sister and maid of honour made all the cute cupcakes and each Bridesmaid maid their own fascinators. The couple decided not to include anybody in their wedding that they didn't know - so they had a friend perform the ceremony and other friends chip in with food, hair and make up. I am obsessed with themed things, so naturally the wedding had to have a theme. Our overall theme was “vintage vacation”. From there we had mini-themes inside the big one. The brides cake and cupcakes were woodland (to go with the mountains). The suggested attire was western. The groomsmen and Dads wore western shirts. The bridesmaids wore headpieces and carried fans, saloon girl style. Both the bride and groom wore cowboy boots (which we already owned)… the groom also had spurs, the hat, the whole shebang! Our favors were vacation & western themed, as well as our decorations, popcorn & candy bar. Insead of dancing, the wedding was rounded off with fun and games including eating doughnuts on a string, two photobooths, a candy and a popcorn bar. Wow! Jenn & Skip I am blown away by your wedding. Thanks so much for sharing it! Credit: Patrick of PWP Studio
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The English Way

Kat

August 4, 2009

In many ways the UK is a very forward thinking, literal place to live. Gay marriage is legal, you can drink at 18 and not attending church every Sunday is generally not frowned upon. However when it comes to wedding legalities, Britain can be a little strict on the rules. You can't, for example, legally marry outdoors. You are only able to wed at an officially consecrated place with an officially appointed person officiating the ceremony. However Lucy and J's dream was to have an outdoor humanist ceremony at Oxon Hoath in Kent, so despite the English weather and the English laws, they did just that (they did of course have to do the legal thing as well.) I am loving the following details about this wedding - Lucy's dress and shrug combo was from Joanne Fleming Design in Brighton, UK and their completely unique rings were designed and made by the couple themselves. Lucy's gorgeous bouquet was from Darling and Wild with the rest of the flowers all being done themselves who visited Covent Garden wholesale flower market to buy the blooms. Their uber cool twist on the traditional boutonnerie were again made by the couple themselves using white peacock feathers, leaves from the grounds of the venue and old buttons are pretty damn gorgeous though right? Ahh England, I still love you.
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