Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

DIY

A London Mod Wedding: Maddy & Victor

Kat

July 13, 2012

I seem to be featuring a lot of weddings with pub receptions at the moment but I love the idea and the fact that they are a cost effective venue option. However the thing I love about the particular pub weddings that I share is my readers. Even with similar venues the weddings couldn't be more different from each other! Take Mandy & Victor's mod-esque wedding for example... "Our reception was at Clissold Arms in North London", Mandy began. "The ceremony was at St Michael's Church in Highgate and Victor wanted a good exit from the church and journey to the pub. Whilst we discussed leaving in a Delorium and re-enacting a scene from Back to the Future, there just wasn't the budget! But Victor is a huge fan of scooters, and had the idea of leaving with an entourage of vespas following us was born. So we gave the local scooter club, New Originals North London Scooter Club, a call and they were more than happy to help!"
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A Village Hall, DIY & A Beautiful Bride with Dreadlocks: Gavin & Hollie

Kat

July 10, 2012

I don't see enough brides with dreadlocks. Where are you hiding my dreadlock wielding readers?! My sister and her boyfriend have them (his are down past his waist!) and I find them very intriguing and totally beautiful... So you can imagine my exuberance when Gavin & Hollie's wedding landed on my lap. "My good friends Gav and Hol got married in April", wrote wedding photographer Anna Clarke. "They are a beautiful and too-cool-for-school couple who had a yellow and green wedding. They did everything themselves including all the printed stuff, going to the flower market to get the flowers, decorating the village hall etc etc. I just love all the colours and Hollie's dreads piled into a big beehive. Her shoes are amaze-balls too..."
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A Laid Back Camden Wedding: Gemma & Liam

Kat

July 9, 2012

Recently I've been getting so many weddings in my inbox where the couple describe their wedding theme as 'laidback'. This makes me very happy indeed. I think a lot of couples stress so much about having the perfect magazine or blog worthy wedding that they forget about actually enjoying the whole process! Well not my readers... you guys know where it's at! Gemma & Liam's Camden wedding couldn't have been more gorgeous. The relaxed vibe of the venues they chose, and their quirky and fun fashion choices made this wedding stand out from the crowd. "The whole wedding was a very laidback affair, from organisation through to the actual day," Gemma told me. "I didn’t even write a to do list until 2 weeks before the big day and I’m not sure if I even used it!"
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A Long Weekend Wedding at Cliff Barns: Nic & Will

Kat

July 9, 2012

Nic & Will hired the gorgeous Cliff Barns in Norfolk for the entire weekend (and then some!) for their wedding. The venue sleeps 20 and with family coming from far and wide they decided having the space from the Thursday to the Tuesday would make for a nice mini break for everybody with a wedding thrown in to boot! "We decided to make a long weekend of it, and invited our family (from NZ, NYC, Canada) over to stay in the house with us for 4 days", Nic told me. "It gave everyone a chance to get to know each other and meant that we didn’t feel like we had to squeeze all our 'hellos' into one day."
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A Homemade Festival Wedding: Anna & Jonny

Kat

July 6, 2012

"Although there were some traditional elements to our wedding, we wanted to keep the day as informal as possible," began newlywed Anna. "We wanted a traditional wedding ceremony, but for the reception we just wanted to create a space for our friends and family to enjoy themselves. We had music all day, put out games and a fancy dress box, and left a jar of moustaches on the bar. The fancy dress box was well-used and our wedding became the chaotic festival-party we always wanted!"
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A Maryland Farm Wedding: Jamie & McKenzie

Kat

July 6, 2012

Too gorgeous for words...like literally. I just stared and stared at these amazing photos for (what seemed like) hours before I found the words to start writing this article. There really is something utterly breathtaking about this wedding and Lydia Jane's images that captured it. I'm thrilled to be able to share it with you today so please forgive my gushing... Jamie & McKenzie were married at home. They love their lifestyle on their farm, living alongside the sheep and chickens, so a homespun wedding was really the only option. The couple have a hugely supportive family who all helped out to make the wedding what it was.
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A Pretty Pastel Cinema Wedding: Lynn & Nick

Kat

July 5, 2012

I need weddings like this is my life right now. Yes need. I hate to jump on the 'British summer, what summer?' bandwagon but jeez Louise where is the sunshine Blighty?! I do not approve. What I do approve of however is little rays of joy like Lynn & Nick's wedding crash landing into my inbox. Sunshine! Rainbows! Pastel pretty things! This baby has them all... The wedding was held at an old movie theatre in San Diego. When the couple couldn't find a wedding venue they loved, Nick suggested this place. It really allowed them to let their creativity run wild and include things that were special to them.
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Star Wars, Video Games & A Geek Chic Themed Wedding: Jane & Neil

Kat

July 5, 2012

Facebook loves these guys. How do I know? Well because I sneak peeked a photo of them (with the focus on Jane's epic Terry Fox wedding dress) and people went crazy for it. Cue the most 'liked' wedding photograph on my facebook page ever. 430 (and counting) likes to be precisie. Mind. Blown. So needless to say, I'm assuming there's a lot of Rock n Roll Bride's out there eagerly awaiting seeing the rest of this wedding... and just when you thought it couldn't get any better I have 3 words for you. Star. Wars. Theme. And yes.. they we're married on May 4th. Contained yourself? Then I'll begin...
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A Laid Back DIY Wedding at The Tin Tabernacle: Jen & Michael

Kat

July 4, 2012

The East Sussex wedding of Jen & Michael had a gorgeous laid back vibe. The day started with a moving ceremony at Lewes Register Office, and ended with a rockin' reception at The Tin Tabernacle, an amazing teal green building on the outskirts of Barcombe Village. The space is a large area with high ceilings, wooden floors and white washed walls. The building was originally built as a chapel and it proved to be the perfect backdrop for this couple's quirky wedding. "Our venue was so amazing!" Jen began. "They were kind of vague and just left us to it, which was exactly what we wanted. I never wanted some stylish affair that we’d handed over to professionals – in fact the only professional we hired was our photographer Lee, who was amazing. He’s wonderfully warm and kind and fun, and his photos are absolutely stunning. I knew as soon as I’d met him that we had to have him there. At his insistence we even photographed the 50 or so handmade sock puppets in a variety of artistic poses. We had to try not to wet ourselves laughing."
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A White on White & Paper Themed Filipino Wedding: Nino & Marie

Kat

July 3, 2012

I'm often blown away by the creativity and genius of my readers' weddings... but there are really only very few that stop me in my tracks. The fact that my blog attracts so many international readers blows my mind at the best of times, but when they're there, in my inbox, saying to me "You featuring my wedding would make my day! And my week! and my month! Haha!" Yeah... you really have to stop and think, "whoa, this is kinda a big deal."
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A Nature-Loving Palm Springs Wedding: Kelly & Ken

Kat

July 2, 2012

Ahh Palm Springs... one day I will be in you. But for now, I'll have to make do with lusting over Kelly & Ken's incredible wedding. Is everyone in Palm Springs as effortlessly cool as these two? The wedding was held on the Bob Melk Estate, a privately owned home. "Ken and I met and bonded because of music", Kelly told me. "We fell in love through creating music together, so it’s a huge part of our whole story. One of our favorite songs 'Albatross' by Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac. It has followed us through our courtship and became our processional song."
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A Crazy Carnival Wedding: Dustin & Tara

Kat

July 2, 2012

Well who doesn't love a carnival? Exactly... no one. Hence why I'm super excited to share Dustin & Tara's epic adaption of a traditional carnival theme into a totally non-traditional wedding. The couple were married at home. They transformed their own backyard into the perfect carnival setting. They had a kissing booth 'altar', a bouncy castle for the kids (and big kids), a bell ringer, a snow cone machine, a popcorn machine and a photo booth! There was a paddling pool filled with rubber ducks and big carnival-style posters for everyone to take home with them. Carnival-style round lights were strung all around the garden and big wooden picnic benches, bales of hay and over 200 balloons decorated the space. They served old fashioned sodas and grilled hot dogs with tons of beer and cocktails. Even most of the guests dressed up to fit in with the theme. "We had a lion, a lion tamer, a ring master, someone on stilts and a ton of top hats and mustaches", Tara explained.
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A Spaghetti Western, Day of the Dead & Frida Kahlo Inspired Wedding: Jess & Martin

Kat

June 28, 2012

Jess & Martin's quirky wedding fills my heart with glee. It seems that these days, it's not the wedding details I'm falling in love with (although seeing the pretty/cute/alternative/awesome ideas that people come up with is ace) but the people behind them. How can you not fall in love with these two? "We wanted a relaxed, quirky and easy going wedding that was easy for most people to get to, so set it close to where we lived in Stoke Newington", Jess told me. "We love the funky yet friendly atmosphere of this area and are passionate about where we live."
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A Quirky New South Wales Wedding: Nat & Michael

Kat

June 27, 2012

The New South Wales wedding of Nat & Michael was full of quirky touches - starting with the bride's awesome pink & blue locks and 1930s wedding dress of course! "We really wanted to keep our wedding cool, calm and casual without missing out of a bit of glam and class!" the bride told me. "We stuck with the motto 'Our day, our way' and tried to make sure that it was just a bunch of fun for everyone. I was the boss of planning, but that didn't mean that Michael wasn't represented- I've been to plenty of weddings where it feels like the groom didn't get his say and we talked everything over and came to a consensus. Really the whole planning process was a breeze because I stayed really calm about everything and just let things happen naturally. There was only one 'freak out' moment in the whole year and a half we were engaged and that was about the boy's suits, they very nearly ended up without any because we had a hard time finding something that suited everyone. Everything just fell in to place, and I think it was because we didn't get our heart too set on anything and just went with the flow."
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A Handmade Countryside Wedding: Elaine & Drew

Kat

June 26, 2012

The cute countryside retreat of The Barn at Timberlake Farms was the perfect venue for laid back Elaine & Drew. They started their day with a traditional Greek Orthodox ceremony and ended with a dance contest! "We wanted to be comfortable, and we wanted our guest to be comfortable too", wrote Elaine. "We tried to do that while still honoring the importance of the day, and the formal nature of the ceremony being performed in the Greek Church. Our aim was to create a picnic-feel, but with tables and chairs. And we weren't afraid to cut the traditional wedding elements like tossing the bouquet or renting a limo. Instead, we held a very serious dance contest complete with engraved trophies. And, we got a free car wash on the way to the reception!"
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