A Rustic Wedding with Personal Touches: Emily & George

Kat

December 15, 2011

Emily & George's rustic autumnal wedding was sent to me by Carina and Nadine of Love Me Do Photography and I simply fell in love with all the personal touches. The bride wore two dresses, the first, her Mother's wedding dress from 1977, and the second, a vintage-inspired short number by Avioanni. She also wore vintage jewellery. "The necklace I wore in the church was the same one that my Mom wore on her wedding and it was my Great Grandmother's (my Mom's Grandmother)," the bride wrote. "The earrings I wore in the church were the ones my Grandmother (my Dad's Mom) wore on her wedding and were given to her by my Grandfather. That was an amazing discovery. The jewelry I wore at the reception was also my Grandmothers but a little more modern looking. My aunt, Kathy, was amazing and loaned me most of the jewelry and told me some great stories along the way."

A Portland Glam Goth Grunge Shoot: Carmen & Solomon

Kat

December 15, 2011

This photo shoot and film landed on my desk a few weeks ago and I was immediately intrigued. I recognised the 'groom' as being Solomon Trimble, whole played a warewolf in the first Twilight movie and wanted to know more about the ideas behind this styled shoot. Real life couple Carmen & Solomon modeled for this glam/goth/grunge inspired project.

Yoshi, Final Fantasy & A Bride with Green Hair: Esther & Andy

Kat

December 14, 2011

An Intimate Wedding of Just 16 Guests: Jasmine & Piers

Kat

December 14, 2011

Jasmine & Piers had only 16 guests for their intimate wedding which meant they were able to have a really relaxed and personal celebration. "We wanted it to be simple and pretty, and most of all...relaxed," the bride told me. "We didn't really have a theme, but if I had to pick a work to describe it, I say Love. Everything involved in the day are things (or people) we love. Piers had his Father as his best man, which was very sweet. One of my very dear friends, and her boyfriend, from NYC spent the morning with me, helping me get prepared. During the ceremony, our friends and family sat in a circle around us in the "Lady Chapel" of All Saints West Dulwich. It was exactly what we invisioned and felt so special. We all had so much fun. I don't think either of us have ever smiled that much in one day!! It was perfect."

Giant Teacups, A Homemade Bouncy Castle & Elvis – A DIY Wedding to the Extreme!: Caroline & Stuart

Kat

December 13, 2011

Caroline & Stuart were married at St. Annes Church in Littleworth Common, Burnham. They held their reception in a field right opposite the church. Their wedding was a super creative affair with them making and styling the whole thing themselves, they even renovated some giant funfair teacups!

A Farm & Festival Wedding: Roisin & Paul

Kat

December 12, 2011

Roisin & Paul's Somerset wedding makes me ache for those long Summer days again. The Apple Orchard at Brook Farm played host to their August nuptials - a celebration of love, life and all things good. The couple opted for a humanist ceremony led by Alison Orchard, "She was so crucial to the success of the ceremony, which was such an emotional and wonderful experience," the bride told me. "I think lots of people thought it might have a been a hippy-dippy, tree-hugging, fingers down-your-throat service, but instead found it was a lovely and romantic experience. We wrote our vows and kept them quite similar to the traditional ones. We sang, 'A little Help from My Freinds' by the Beatles and I cried all the way through it."

DIY Tutorial: No-Sew Felt Gift Envelopes by Princess Lasertron

Kat

December 10, 2011

As someone who pretty much sucks at all things crafty, I was super excited when this no-sew-super-cute-but-super-simple DIY tutorial landed in my inbox from my Sister From Another Mister, Megan of Princess Lasertron. Even I could make these babies! Wouldn't these just be the cutest way to wrap your Christmas gifts this year?

A Vintage Nautical Wedding: Liz & Tom

Kat

December 8, 2011

Liz & Tom injected a subtle nautical theme into their October wedding. "In our first few years as a couple I used to call Tom the one-armed fish man," Liz laughed. "Our venue was The Bull Hotel in Bridport, a harbour market town, and we both want a scrimshaw anchor tattoo (haven't done it yet but the plan is to have one for Christmas). So we flooded our wedding with vintage nautical touches and plenty of rum. Rock n Roll Bride was the only wedding blog that I read as I planned my wedding. It was from reading what other Rock n Roll Brides had done for their big day that we had the confidence to go our own way."

A Rockabilly, Psychobilly Wedding: Claire & Lee

Kat

December 8, 2011

I love weddings like Claire & Lee's. Not just because the rockabilly theme is awesome, but because they put their heart and soul(s) into creating a wedding that reflects how they are in everyday life. "We’re both very much in to the whole rockabilly and psychobilly scenes and have been for quite some time, so it only seemed natural to extend this to our wedding day," Claire told me. "One thing we set out to do from the very beginning was to make our wedding day for us. It seems all too often that people try and tailor their wedding day around their family and other guests, where as for ourselves we tailored it around us and guests had to fit in; which they did wonderfully."

A Psych-Folk-Horror Themed Wedding: Ali & Dan

Kat

December 7, 2011

Ali & Dan, who won free wedding photography with Laura Babb through a feature on this little wedding blog of mine, were married in November. With Dan being Scottish, they originally thought about having their wedding in the far North of the country (the area where he's from) but it turned out the logistics were impossible. However they luckily found their perfect venue in Folly Farm, Bristol. "We trawled around plenty of places with the help of the internet, and even booked another venue at one point - but when we found Folly Farm we knew it was the right spot," Ali told me. "We completely lucked out with the weather on the day, it was hard to believe it was November – but as we fell for Folly Farm’s vantage point and woodland walks on a dreich February morning, we knew it would be beautiful no matter what. We will shortly be leaving the UK to spend a few years working in Philadelphia, so the wedding also gave us a chance to say goodbye to our closest friends and family."

A Rustic-Glam French Wedding: Daniel & Caroline

Kat

December 7, 2011

Daniel & Caroline were married in Chateau Puits es Pratx in Ginestas, in the south-west of France. The gorgeous surroundings provided the perfect backdrop to their rustic wedding. "The Chateau is only a few miles from Dan's dad's house in a nearby town, so it is an area of France we have visited often and know well," the bride told me. "We knew from the off that we wanted our friends to help us celebrate our wedding in this beautiful place and the Chateau fitted our requirements perfectly - cottages on site, and a self-contained venue for a long weekend of fun! We wanted the weekend to feel like a party in a stunning venue, with good company, great food and endless wine. Simple!"

An Origami Wedding: Ceri & Terry

Kat

December 7, 2011

Ceri & Terry didn't really plan to have a theme for their November wedding, however once they started with the origami they found it hard to stop! Ceri told me all about their beautiful wedding, "When we first started planning the wedding, we were determined to do our best to be relaxed about the whole thing. We decided that, if we could find the right venue then even if everything else went wrong, we'd be ok - we could turn up in jeans and order pizza, if necessary, as long as we could get all our loved ones in the right place. After a couple of months of looking, we found it: Great Wilbraham Hall Barn. It was perfect - big enough for our guests, fairly isolated, licensed for weddings (we wanted everything in the same place), ideal for the winter months with lots of warmth and character, and within 30 minutes drive of Terry's grandparents."

A Vintage Festival Wedding…in the Rain!: Natasha & Charlie

Kat

December 5, 2011

Natasha & Charlie are the kind of couple that wedding photographers dream of - creative, unique in their inspiration and totally in love. The bride told me all about their vintage festival wedding. It may have rained for their outdoor ceremony, but it certainly didn't damper their spirits! "Even though I had prayed for months for sun on our wedding day, it still rained! I thought that this would ruin the day as everything we had planned involved being outside – including the ceremony. Just before we were due to go down, the wedding organiser at Maunsel House said that it was raining and tried to convince me to move everything inside. But I couldn’t bare the thought of not getting married under the beautiful bandstand as this had been my dream from the start – so I made everyone stand outside with umbrellas! It actually turned out really well and everybody loved it – the pictures of everyone with umbrellas looked great as well!"

A DIY Thrift Store Explosion: James & Renee

Kat

December 5, 2011

James & Renee's eclectic thrift store explosion of a wedding was a real DIY effort from the couple and their friends & family. The bride, who couldn't stand the thought of a "boring, traditional wedding" explained her vision to me, "I could not stand the idea of a boring traditional wedding and reception with only two colors & every table was the same so I did everything my way. No one understood my vision until we set up the morning of the wedding & it all came together."

A Rolling Stones Rock n Roll Circus: Nicola & David

Kat

December 1, 2011

Nicola & David were married on Halloween weekend in The Hospitium in York (England's most haunted city apparently!) The venue is in the middle of the Museum Gardens and in the shadow of the ruins of St. Mary’s Abbey. The unusual setting was the perfect backdrop for their Rolling Stone Circus wedding. Nicola explained, "We’re both massive Rolling Stones fans so we wanted to have the same type of feel as The Rolling Stones Rock n Roll Circus. Slightly carnival like with a serious nod to music. We drew the line at stilt walkers, jugglers and such, though I did very much want a peacock and an elephant. Surprisingly there are no ‘hire a peacock’ websites. Even less chance with the elephant."

A Pretty Vintage Islington Wedding: Cecilia & Robert

Kat

December 1, 2011

Cecilia & Robert's pretty London wedding took place at Union Chapel and Union Hall, Islington. "At first we had to decide where to have our wedding as I'm from Italy and Robert London," Cecilia wrote to me. "We soon realised that London was the perfect place, as it’s where we've chosen to live and where we definitely wanted to start our life as a family. We started looking at a few venues, but they all looked a bit impersonal and soulless to us, we definitely wanted somewhere that would have a meaning for us and our relationship. And so that’s how we “stumbled” upon the Union Chapel. Rob had been there several times to see gigs, and we had been together to see a very special acoustic performance by Editors. Many people think it’s not an actual church, but it actually is – and it made perfect sense to us to get married there!" "We were also delighted to find out that – apart from the main auditorium - they have several spaces for hire that can be used for all sorts of events. The Upper Hall fitted the bill perfectly, as it’s a completely blank canvas that we would be able to personalize according to our own taste."

Rock n Roll Bride on BBC2’s See Hear Programme Today at 1pm

Kat

November 30, 2011

Just a quick reminder to let you all know that I'll be on BBC 2 today at 1pm in their See Hear special programme about deaf people in the arts. Gareth & I took part in this shoot with deaf wedding photographer Ashton Jean-Pierre who they are profiling for the show. I hope we make the cut!

A DIY 1940’s Carnival Wedding: Marcie & Rich

Kat

November 29, 2011

Marcie & Rich's Nerdy DIY wedding was inspired by the things they love. The couple love to hang out at home with cat and dog playing video or board games and reading so the wedding theme kind of stemmed from these ideas. "I think our inspiration for doing things the way we did was that we didn't want the same old same old", Marcie told me. "We've both been to tons of weddings where the details were essentially the same but for a few differences. People tend to do the long church ceremony with the long gown that you would never want to wear again and make a bunch of stuff for the guests that they will never use or even want just because you saw that tiny beer stein in a craft store and thought it was perfect cause you like beer. We wanted people to have fun all the way through, including ourselves! We would much rather have a swinging party and get married in the middle of it than the other way around."

An Undead Steampunk Wedding: Renee & Ian

Kat

November 28, 2011

So where do I begin trying to explain the awesomeness of Renee & Ian's undead steampunk wedding? I think maybe the title gives away just how amazing this wedding is going to be doesn't it? The couple were married at Catalyst, a private live/work artist community in Chicago. "We actually had to 'audition' for the space," Renee told me. "The members have a delicate relationship with the community and can't risk any trouble. We had to prove to them over several months that we talented and responsible enough to be able to use their space. We had to foster a personal relationship with them before they would even consider us. It was tedious, but worth it in the end. We gained some more wonderful friends for our already stellar collection, and the space allowed us freedom that traditional venues could not (like staying until 6am and coming back later in the week to help clean up)."

Elbie’s Bridal Shoot in Regent’s Park

Kat

November 28, 2011

Many of you will know who Elbie van Eeden is. She's my hair & make up artist of choice, I utterly love her and use her for pretty much all my shoots now! Elbie was married earlier this year in South Africa (I featured the wedding here) and when she returned to the UK, photographer Natalie J Watts asked her if she'd like to do a bridal shoot with her.