Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

DIY

Quay & Jory’s DIY, Maui Wedding

Kat

February 28, 2011

Quay & Jory were married under a giant tree, on the beach in Maui, Hawaii. "The wedding was very non traditional," photographer Molly Marie told me. "It was a gay wedding, almost everything was DIY, both girls love tattoos, and planned the entire wedding themselves. The wedding was not for anyone else but them, pure love. However they knew family wouldn't be able to attend easily as they are from Eau Claire, WI, so photography was a very important part of the wedding to them."
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Rock n Roll Bride Prize Winners – Ashley & Ray’s Old School Glamour Wedding

Kat

February 25, 2011

The eagle-eyed amongst you might remember Ashley & Ray. Ashley was the lucky Rock n Roll Bride reader that won all that lovely booty for filling out my reader's survey over the Summer. Needless to say I was pretty excited to then see how it was all used in their wedding! The couple were married in January and had their photographs taken by friend of the blog Kim Hawkins. The venue they chose was The Mayfair Hotel in London and their theme was old school glamour. Ashley was keen to tell me all about their big day and I'm thilled to share it with you here - espcially as a lot of the suppliers they used are my friends!
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Amy & Manny’s Morocc’ n Roll Backyard Wedding

Kat

February 24, 2011

Amy & Manny were married in the bride's parent's back garden which they decorated themselves in an eclectic and fabulously 'them' style. " I actually didn't really intend for my wedding to be all Rock n Roll, and it turned out that way anyway," explained the bride. "It was kind of Moroccan/Rock n Roll... a Morocc' n Roll style! I think the fact that it was a Rock n Roll wedding without trying... that makes it ROCK N ROLL! Plus the awesome leopard party booth couch, the fact that my Dad plus the groom & all the groomsmen wore chucks..."
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“The Pirate & The Stripper got Married” – Ed & Torie’s Quirky London Wedding

Kat

February 24, 2011

When Ed & Torie's beautiful wedding landed in my inbox last week, I was immediately drawn to the bride's beautiful ensemble - in particular her stunning vintage dress from my favourite girls, Fur Coat No Knickers. The couple were married in November at The Trafalgar Tavern, Greenwich, London and Torie was keen to tell me all about their quirky and fabulous wedding day, "On November 20th 2010 I got to marry my best friend, my pirate, Ed. Ed and I met 4 and a half years ago through his workmate / my flatmate at a pirate fancy dress party at our house – hence the nickname. Ed turned up, breathed fire (seriously) and then mysteriously left. As it turned out his appendix had burst and he went home and then to A&E. After recovering we got in touch and the rest, as they say is history."
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Kelly & John’s Simple & Home-Grown Wedding

Kat

February 23, 2011

"Basically our tastes tend towards simplicity and we’re blessed to be surrounded by loving, creative people who helped the wedding feel very ‘us.’ ...very down-home, cornfields & college towns... us" explained newlywed's Kelly & John when I asked them about their wedding inspiration. The couple were married at St. Patrick Church, Urbana, IL. "We grew up in neighboring suburbs, went to undergrad together, and then Kelly moved to the city for a grant while John continued studying at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign," they continued. "As our future home, at least for a few years, Urbana was perfect for the wedding. Central Illinois was far enough from home to be out of the often over-commercialized urban wedding market, yet close enough for our family to make a day trip. Plus, we really liked the Irish influence at St. Patrick, a small, beautiful church in our neighbourhood." Following the service, the wedding party headed to their reception at Silvercreek Restaurant, the couple's favourite restaurant. The chef prepared three richly paired dinners from some of their favourite seasonal food
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Peri & Ryan’s Snow-Drama Wedding!

Kat

February 22, 2011

Spring may be on it's way (apparently!) but I'm still lusting over the prettiness of snowy winter weddings...although would you believe, there was actually some snow in parts of the UK this weekend!? Ridiculous. There was quite a bit of snow-induced drama surrounding Peri & Ryan's wedding. The ceremony was supposed to start at 3pm, but due to the weather the bride didn't arrive until 5pm. Also, a lot of guests couldn't make the day for the same reason and after the ceremony they couldn't physically get from the church to their reception because of the snow dump and road closures. However a lovely local pub opened their doors to the couple and provided an impromptu reception to remember! I have to say, from these gorgeous shots by Shell de Mar I'd like to think they made the best of it (and I personally LOVE the pub venue - what great 'art' on the walls!) "I can’t really say I am really a quirky person because I’m not but I have always liked to be a bit different in the way I dress," explained the bride. "Nothing to crazy but just not like most of my friends, I don’t do brands and If I like something I will wear it! I love all things vintage and always have done! When we were planning I had originally wanted a vintage bunting, candy floss, ice cream type wedding in May but Ryan bless him couldn’t get his head around it so when he said how about a winter I thought it sounded lovely. However I still really wanted all the polka dot and vintage feel to it, so instead of doing the traditional long dress and winter colours we went for red and white colours
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My Punky Valentine

Kat

February 22, 2011

This shoot was organised by photographer Jennifer Whalen who wanted to showcase a different style of valentine's shoot (note: I know valentine's was over a week ago, but I loved the punky style of these images so much I still had to still share them!) The idea was to show a gorgeous alternative girl celebrating the day by causing a bit of chaos and enjoying her own company with wine and chocolates...something you wouldn't normally see when looking for ideas of inspiration for the international day of love! However it's this point of difference that made me love the shoot in the first place.
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Jennie & Mark’s Country Casual Wedding

Kat

February 18, 2011

Jennie & Mark's country casual wedding took place at St. Andrew's Church, Prestwold and Quorn Village Hall in Leicestershire in January. Jennie found her perfect dress at a boutique that was closing down so she got it for a great price. The couple gave their guests the loose dress code of 'country casual' for the men and 'tea dresses' for the ladies. I've heard both sides of the story when it comes to asking guests to dress to fit a theme, but I do think the overall result is quite a beautiful one! The majority of the reception décor was a DIY effort. Jennie had spent the week before decorating with birdcages, wild flowers, chinese lanterns, paper chains, handmade cushions and vintage knick-knacks which she'd collected herself (Jennie is now hiring out her beautiful collection to other brides, if you are interested in hiring any of the items for your own wedding, be sure to drop Jennie an email to jennie.preece@monsterenergy.com)
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Jemima & Jacko’s Genuine Vintage Wedding

Kat

February 17, 2011

Jemima & Jacko's vintage wedding took place in Australia in January. They wanted to create a wedding that was a true reflection of them as a couple and the vintage theme just fitted! "We started out wanting to have a feel that was uniquely ourselves. We wanted to do things differently but didn’t know how to go about it. In the end, we chose everything by our own taste and the whole vintage/antique theme just fell into place purely by accident," Jemima told me. The bride wore a genuine vintage dress and jewellery which she was gifted by a friend who owns a vintage store after she'd modelled for her. Her reception dress was by Fleur Wood. Jemima's bridesmaid also wore a vintage dress from Ruby Lane and to keep the theme going, the couple made all their invitations using a vintage typewriter on hondmade paper, "Time consuming but really a joy to type up. Also cost effective" Jemima concluded.
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Jazelyn & Darren’s Modern Vintage London Wedding

Kat

February 17, 2011

Jazelyn & Darren's modern vintage wedding took place in London in November. Their inspiration came from the fact that they are a young city couple, who somehow fell in love in London through chance. "He's originally from Nottingham, England and I'm from the other side of the pond in Seattle, WA USA," explained Jazelyn. "Our invitations had a London skyline and the top of it read: "Northern Lad and West Coast Lady". Darren bought my engagement ring from Bentley and Skinner. And it's a beautiful old-cut platinum solitaire from the 1920's. Very vintage and unique. So that really was the start. We wanted a wedding that was very "us". We planned it ourselves, down to every detail. Even the guest book... We wrote down personal questions on index cards and had friends answer them (ex: where do you see us in 10 years? what's your favorite memory of us?) We wanted a mix of vintage and modern, mix of British and American, because that is us!"
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Sarah & Barrett’s Glamorous Pin Up Inspired Wedding

Kat

February 16, 2011

Sarah's bridal shoot was super kick ass so I'm more than a little excited to be sharing her wedding today too. She married Barrett at Barr Mansion, Austin. She explained, "As for location, as I said several times, I didn't want to be in the middle of a field with a bunch of grass and trees because that just isn't me! I love cities and urban living and wanted my photos to reflect my love for those quirky little places you find around Austin." "I loved the recycling plant idea with those huge piles of twisted metal! My inspiration for my entire wedding look just came from my love for pin up girl looks along with the very intense desire to not look at my wedding photos in 20 years and say "Oh my gosh! What was I thinking wearing that ______ (insert crazy, over trendy item here)!" I truly wanted a look that was me, just prettier!"
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Katelyn & Scott’s Glamorous Great Gatsby Wedding

Kat

February 16, 2011

"The Great Gatsby was my inspiration (minus the abundance of alcohol and affairs!)" bride Katelyn told me. "Our style for our wedding was very glamorous, but not without that 1920's quirk. I like to think my style is quirky too, so this was perfect for our wedding day. Plus, I love fashion and culture from the past! Now, I could never justify spending as much money on a party as Jay Gatsby, but I still wanted my reception to be as unique and fun. So, I replaced stuffy details like flowers with more lively ideas like bright peacock feathers, and I picked a beautiful venue (that happened to be brimming with vintage touches!) where everyone would feel at home - The Guild House, Bakersfield, CA."
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Renae & Albert’s Rained-Off but Perfect DIY Wedding

Kat

February 15, 2011

Renae & Albert were married on 10.10.10 in Australia. Their 5 minute ceremony took place on Renae's parent's porch and their reception was held in a renovented old pub in Caboolture Historical Village, Australia. They were supposed to be married at a secluded park and creek at Rocksberg but due to torrential rains, it got flooded so had to be moved. "We could not even get to the suburb let alone the park," Renae told me. "Many tears were had the day before the wedding but my parents stepped up and offered their place. They actually had a friend’s wedding there the day before ours."
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How To…Dress Your Flowergirls (the Rock n Roll Way)

Kat

February 12, 2011

Hi Kat, Thank you thank you thank you for your amazing website! We're getting married in August on a farm in Derbyshire and I have got so many wonderful ideas from your site! We are currently DIY-ing bunting and lanterns with many other things on the way! Our budget isn't grand by any stretch of the imagination but the site has made it possible to know our wedding can still be very us and very unique without the massive price tag! The theme is village fete - country- vintage ish! Hay bales, bunting, lanterns, wild flowers mis match china, vintage marquees etc! My other half has a vintage 3 piece tweed, I have a 1950's lace fishtail gown that I love and can't wait to wear! The bridesmaids are Vivien of Holloway but I'm so stuck with flower girls... Have you ever come across vintage style flower girl dresses? Everything seems so puffy and bridesmaidy (technical terms) and its not really right for the rest of it! Any ideas would be most appreciated! Keep up the good work, you're an inspiration! Nichola
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Emmaline & Guy’s Two-Day Cross Country Wedding

Kat

February 11, 2011

Emmaline & Guy had a 2 day wedding – the first, a modern urban ceremony, which took place in London at The Soho Hotel and the second, a more classic and countryside reception, at Gayhurst House, Milton Keynes. “We had contemplated getting married close to where we live in London, but Gayhurst was too much of a beautiful location to miss out on, so I think this made us love our civil ceremony at Soho House even more”, explained Emmaline. “Since the hotel opened we have spent many evenings there with friends and because of my job in PR I have been to lots of private screenings in the cinema there too. With just our parents and ourselves, we had a really special day, carrying out all the legalities of the marriage before Guy and I boarded a flight to Dubai for a 5 day 'mini-moon', making sure we had time to relax in the sun just before the big day.”
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