DIY

Hannah & Tom’s Shabby Chic, English Charm Wedding

Kat

May 5, 2011

Hannah & Tom's shabby chic, English country garden wedding had so many adorable details that I simply couldn't turn down the opportunity to feature it. I love how the term 'Rock n Roll' can be applied to so many different styles of weddings don't you? 'Rock n Roll' is an all encompassing love of expressing yourself and your individual quirks though your wedding (well, and real life too!) Anyway, mini-morning lecture over, let's get on with sharing all these beautiful touches shall we?

That 70’s Show – A Retro Flower-Child Bridal Shoot

Kat

May 4, 2011

The 1970's are well and truly BACK. I don't know about you but I'm seeing the styling of this decade everywhere at the moment - from the rails of the high street to the lookbooks of the high end. Even kitsch 70's décor is back in vogue (apparently...not sure about the whole avocado bathroom thing making a comeback ...) So needless to say, I didn't expect it to be long until someone brought this iconic styling into a bridal shoot. Photographer Catherine of Lily & Frank Photography and florist Steph from Fairy Nuff Flowers worked together to bring this concept together. They set out their goals from the outset as they were keen to make this shoot stand out from the crowd. They wanted the flowers to take centre stage to the styling, to echo the 'flower-child' movement of the 70's I'd suppose, so they make a conscious decision not to use any jewellery or hair accessories on the models. They were also very keen to make it a retro style, rather than the oh-s0-popular vintage styling of the moment - therefore bold pops of colour and strong statement pieces moved to the forefront. Finally, an obvious British feel was imperative as was a vibe of laid-back, fun and alternative-ness.

Hitchfest 2011 – Britt & Mike’s “Re-Do” Vegas Wedding

Kat

May 3, 2011

You remember The Bowie Bride and her ridiculously awesome 'Hitchfest 2010' wedding right? Well I have news...and news that shows that even the most meticulously planned/detail-heavy/totally killer weddings can...erm...sometimes go wrong. Britt emailed me this week to tell me all about the drama! "Basically we were told that the wedding we spent over a year planning and pouring our collective heart and soul into, didn't count. Not one bit. We were, at first, very shocked and devastated. Our wedding day was oh-so-special and unique and was such a personal expression of our love that upon hearing this news, made it seem all for not. We knew we were married in our heart of hearts, but legally, our marriage wasn't legal." "This is what happened... we think: Our officiant was supposed to mail our marriage paperwork back after everyone put down all the appropriate signatures. For whatever reason, this step did not occur. So when we went to go order a copy of the marriage certificate, the state told us that we are not legally married and that it was too late to send them the original paperwork from our July 31st nuptials. Cut to us letting out a collective sigh mixed with a resounding, 'F*ck' and a couple of 'What do we do now's?' We knew we had to get ourselves married. Again. But how? We had considered heading down to the courthouse and doing it quick 'n dirty style, but that didn't seem fun enough or crazy enough for a couple like us. I mean, we started the dance party at our 'first' wedding with a group shot of tequila. If a calm and quiet courthouse certainly wasn't our vibe then, it sure as hell wasn't going to be our vibe now."

Charlotte & Chris’ Bush Hall, Gig Wedding

Kat

May 2, 2011

Charlotte is the genius and super lovely lady behind Restoration Cake - my favourite cake maker - FACT. She is also someone I consider to be a friend so when she told me she was marrying Chris in March I was so excited. Unfortunately I was unable to attend as it fell on the same day as Emma Case's wedding, but luckily for me (and you!) Charlotte was still really excited to let me share her day with on my blog...and before you ask, yes she did make her own cake! The couple threw themselves wholeheartedly into planning their big day and groom Chris was particularly enthusiastic. Charlotte made me laugh when she would tell me that throughout their planning Chris would constantly email her links to things he liked on Rock n Roll Bride! Charlotte & Chris were never going to have a traditional wedding. Both really into music, a gig wedding at the iconic Bush Hall in London was the perfect idea for them! "We had known for ages that we wanted to get married but could never quite figure out how to do it in a way that was right for us," Charlotte told me."We knew that we did not want the whole traditional nine yards but could not reconcile the idea of a Vegas elopement leaving behind all of our family and friends. In the Summer of 2010, we went to a gig at Bush Hall and fell in love with the venue. We decided that our Wedding would be a gig, with our friends’ bands playing, and a massive party. We booked the venue before we told anyone that we had decided to get married!"

Kei & Wilson’s Three-Day ‘Camp Kasal’ Island Wedding

Kat

April 28, 2011

Kei & Wilson three-day wedding which they affectionately dubbed 'CAMP KASAL' (Kasal is the Filipino word for wedding.) On the first day the couple welcomed their guests, who all stayed over at their venue, and they had an intimate "Welcome to Negros" (Welcome to the Island) evening dinner. They served local delicacies such as batchoy (noodles), inasal (grilled chicken), kadios (A local stew) and apan apan (sauteed leaves). The wedding ceremony took place the following morning and was followed by a tree planting, a traditional breakfast and fun activities. At lunch the guests were treated to a "Boodle Fight" (a military style of eating where guests sit on long tables and the food is served on top of the banana leaves) lunch roasted pig, grilled fresh fish, steamed veggies and ensalada (salad with tomatoes and salted eggs).

A Super Cool Britanna Shoot

Kat

April 28, 2011

So the big day is tomorrow. As I've said previously, I'm not doing a huge homage to the royal wedding on the blog (there's enough royal wedding fever elsewhere thank you very much!) however this shoot, inspired by the event, really caught my eye this week. I love it for it's slight sex pistols/1970's punk edge.Cool Britannia indeed! The shoot took place in Regent's Park, London last week. Bride Noelle hand made her vintage-inspired floaty dress. "We decided to do this cherish the dress shoot with a Great British theme, just in time to celebrate the royal wedding," photographer Rebecca told me. "We also tied in a fairytale them as the royal wedding is set to be a true British fairytale. Noelle also brought along her pet Pug percy for the shoot, who was just adorable and loved rolling around on the British flag."

A Quintessentially British (slightly) Royal Tea Party

Kat

April 26, 2011

The royal wedding is kind of a big deal...people worldwide are gearing up for the 'show' and even London has gone all patriotic for once. Union Jack flats hang above Regent St and pretty much every shop window is littered with red, white and blue tat. I however, am not so excited about the whole thing. I'm not adverse to two people falling in love and getting married...far from it in fact. I'm more than a little bit thrilled that William and Kate are getting married. I love marriage and I couldn't be happier for them! However it's the media charade that surrounds the whole thing that kills me...and the fact that, as someone that works in the wedding industry, this is supposed to be some 'once in a lifetime experience' for me...and seriously, if you'd been sent as many irrelevant royal wedding-related press released as I have, you'd be pretty over it too. Yaaaawn. Most un-Rock n Roll wedding ever. Fact.

Jessica & Jason’s Halloween & Horror Wedding

Kat

April 25, 2011

Jessica & Jason were married at Grand Island Mansion in Sacramento. They both adore horror and so their Halloween themed wedding was held on the 30th October. Their home is decorated with Halloween decorations all year long including a life size pirate that talks when you walk by him (!) so they actually brought a lot of items from their home to decorate the venue. They played Phantom of the Opera as the bride walked down the aisle and the majority of their guests dressed up for the reception party!

Ilka & Mars’ Early 20th Century-Inspired Wedding

Kat

April 21, 2011

"Circa 1991, and like most 9 year old girls at the time, my dream wedding typically consisted of getting married in a castle, having a horse-drawn carriage at midnight and saying 'I Do' to Jason Priestly. So fast-forward 20 years...our castle was in busy Tooting Broadway, wedged in between a Mecca Bingo Hall and a McDonalds, with a KFC conveniently across the road. Our horse-drawn carriage was a local taxi, well beyond midnight. And Jason Priestly? He got bumped for my love and best friend, Mars. It was completely perfect for us. Sad to say, Brandon had been banished to the Peach Pit forever." I love Ilka & Mars already. How about you? Mar's proposed at the airport, just before Ilka was about to fly home to Australia, with her Grandmother's engagement ring. She explained, "So after a couple of years of living together and rarely talking 'seriously' about getting married, I was waiting in the busy security line at Heathrow, about to spend 3 weeks back home in Australia for a Christmas apart, when Mars popped the question. After unknowingly foiling an attempted romantic proposal during a holiday in New York a few months earlier, it was a perfect chance to catch me unawares while I was unsuccessfully trying to stuff the contents of my entire handbag into a tiny clear zip-lock bag, and rush off to board the plane. It was simple and just perfect. After a quick, teary goodbye and my grandmother's beautiful engagement ring now firmly on my finger, I was herded through security and onto the plane. Needless to say, the next 24hours consisted of me taking full advantage of the onboard trolley service, trying to come to terms with what had just happened!"

Sandra & Colin’s Budget, DIY, Bicycle Ride Wedding

Kat

April 20, 2011

Sandra & Colin's were married on 10.10.10 at The Franklin House, a private mansion in Tucson, Az. Their wedding was a super budget affair and 99% DIY. The couple did it their way and Sandra even had her dog walk her down the aisle (after some family disagreements.) "Our wedding was 99% D.I.Y. and very low budget," the bride told me. "We did get our wedding cake as a gift made by Busy B's Bakery. Colin designed all the programs and invitations and printed them at Vistaprint. We used all biodegradable bamboo utensils (that were wrapped with recycled fabric napkins I made) and sugar cane plates we found online pretty inexpensive Green Party Goods. At the time I was teaching a recycled art class in a middle school. For one of the classes I had the students decorate the plates with edible markers."

Linsey & Wes’ Totally Rock n Roll Wedding

Kat

April 19, 2011

Linsey & Wes found their photographer Jessica Monnich through a feature on Rock n Roll Bride (yeeey!) so it's only right that it's come full circle and I now get to share their awesome wedding too. The wedding took place in February at Mercury Hall in Austin, Texas beginning with a beautiful ceremony in the gardens. "I was not a traditional bride in any sense (even down to the short dress), so I just kept looking for things that felt like us," bride Linsey told me. "We were always going after more of a feeling than a look, which made it hard, but in the end the feeling was achieved and everything just fell into place thanks to awesome friends and family. It was challenging with everyone else's opinions and being told things have to be done a certain way, but we threw that out the window a long time ago. Working on a budget that we put together from the beginning, we were also able to get more creative and decide what were the most important things for us on that day - friends/ family felt loved for and had fun and that we were able to enjoy ourselves."

Laura & Ian’s Hollywood Glamour Wedding

Kat

April 19, 2011

Three week's ago photographer Annamarie Stepney was in Reading (where I live) so she popped by to say hello...to my cats. Yeah people never come to see me any more, it's all about the internet sensations that are Henry & Rachel! Anyway, as we walked Henry round the back garden on his lead (I kid you not) she was telling me all about the wedding she was shooting the next day....at my wedding venue...well in actual fact, what should have been my wedding venue. You see, as soon as Gareth & I got engaged, I knew I wanted to have our wedding at The Forbury Hotel. It's an amazing venue and I wanted it. Bad. But sad face for us, it was already booked on our day. However I am really excited to see how Laura & Ian's Rock n Roll wedding turned out at the venue that should have been mine!

Hannah & Carlos’ Full Moon, Movie-Themed Fancy Dress Wedding

Kat

April 15, 2011

Hannah & Carlos' full moon/supermoon/autumn equinox/fancy dress/movie themed wedding rocks my world. I'm kind of blown away by the whole thing! The couple put so much love and attention in creating their perfect wedding that I didn't want to miss one detail...so, over to the bride... "We had a fancy dress wedding, the theme being movies. A big part of Carlos and my time together has been spent watching movies...we love them! We've shared many hours snuggled up together, going on journeys through film."

Christina & Sybrina LGBT-Friendly Wedding

Kat

April 13, 2011

Christina & Sybrina were married in their own back garden in Vegas. Christina wore a beautiful dress by Ouma Clothing and Sybrina wore a sharp suit. The couple are pretty active in their local LGBT community and so wanted to use their connections to do it 'right' and create a wedding that was perfect for them and their friends.

Elbie & Derek’s Opulent & Eclectic DIY Wedding

Kat

April 12, 2011

I love Elbie... love love love! She is the hair & make up genius behind many of my photo shoots, including the Mad Hatter Beach Shoot, the Tattoo Revolution magazine shoot and my rainbow hair for the Big Fat Wedding Blogger's Photo Shoot! Elbie is one hell of a cool chick, so when I heard the she was getting married in South Africa this March I pretty much laid claim to blogging her wedding before she'd even had the chance to tell me anything about it!

Mary & Sam’s Private Bay Wedding

Kat

April 12, 2011

Mary & Sam were married in a private bay in Picton, New Zealand. Their biggest challenge for their wedding was that they lovingly (and painstakingly) restored a 70 foot boat to transport their guests from the ceremony site to their reception at Herzog Winery! "Working to restore a non-functioning 70-foot launch so we could transport our guests was... well, it was Rock n Roll in fact that we had no sleep, too much to do, and had to call in our amazing family to bail us out! We tried to forget about the industry noise around weddings and instead focused on the fact it's just the thing that happens before you're married, so let's have a party focused on love instead."

Alena & Geoff’s Circus-Themed Costume Party Wedding

Kat

April 11, 2011

Alena & Geoff were married at The Granada Theatre in Santa Barbara. Their fancy dress, circus themed day was certainly a show-stopper, especially as the majority of their guests really got into the swing of it and made a real effort with their outfits. "We invited our guests to dress up, and that made them fully participate in all aspects of the circus/carnival wedding," they told me. "We had 2 guests as 'door clowns' who checked people in, gave them clown noses and flags. We had a popcorn man in the lobby of the ceremony giving out popcorn bags. We borrowed huge circus banners from other friends and used them to decorate for the reception."

Vanessa & Brian’s Bicycle Themed Wedding

Kat

April 7, 2011

Vanessa & Brian's DIY wedding has a vintage bicycle theme because cycling was what brought them together. The day was held at Simpson House, Kansas City and started with an intimate ceremony on the gardens. Vanessa walked down the aisle to "I Will" by the Beatles, performed acoustically by a local couple. After the kiss, everyone rang bells that were placed on their chairs. They also decorated their venue in a way personal to them. Wheat was an important decorative element as Vanessa's Dad was a wheat farmer and passed away when she was young. She even has a tattoo of wheat on her arm in memory of him.

A Vintage Great British Seaside Shoot

Kat

April 7, 2011

This beautiful and creative photo shoot was put together by the ladies behind Dottie Creations and Dottie Photography. It was inspired by their love of the great British seaside. Mandy & Zoe, the ladies behind both companies, styled, crafted and photographed the whole shoot themselves. They made all the awesome signage, the beautiful table decorations and the even the biscuits.

Jaclyn & Joseph’s Rock Star Wedding

Kat

April 6, 2011

Jaclyn & Joseph's Californian wedding was certainly one with rock star credentials. With colours like bright pink, lime green, gold & cream all mashed together, the result was sure to be a spectacular one. "My inspiration was to create a fairy tale wedding with and Alice in Wonderland twist", explained Jaclyn. I" wanted both elements of shabby chic and edgy to blend together. It came together beautifully. Our wedding was breathtaking. All of the details like the cake, flowers, craft tables and accessories made this wedding become extra stylish. The food was a priority for me too and I think it had a rock star element as well. We served a late night snack bar for our guests as well as a candy bar for take home favors. Each of these elements made our wedding unique and memorable. We had funky furniture for our reception that we rented from Blue Print Studios. This furniture was bold and bright and created a rock star feel for the reception. A one of the best ideas that our guests loved was our photo booth. It was the highlight of the late evening. Our photo booth company had so many awesome accessories for people who wanted to get funky. From boas to beer glasses it was awesome. I wish we could do it all over again!"

Newer

1 ...92 93 94 95 96 ...116

Older