Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Outdoors

A Crafty & Fish-Themed Wedding on the Banks of Loch Fyne: Claire & Doug

Kat

July 21, 2011

Unlike in England, in Scotland you can legally be married in an outside ceremony. The photos of this part of Claire & Doug's day in particular made me fall in love with this wedding. The celebrations were held at Inver Cottage Restaurant on the banks of Loch Fyne. Claire explains, "We went on our first family holiday to Strachur last year and when we stumbled upon Inver Cottage Restaurant on the banks of Loch Fyne we fell in love with it. We love all things seafood. It was during this holiday with our 9 month old daughter, Maggie, that Doug proposed. Directly across from Inver Cottage at the ruins of the old castle Lauchlan. The only place for our wedding ceremony was at Inver Cottage. We both hated the idea of a formal wedding but wanted to share the day with close family and friends and do it in a personal and well thought out way."
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Marcus & Simone’s Laid Back, Country Vintage Wedding

Kat

July 7, 2011

Marcus & Simone used some of my favourite wedding suppliers for their barn wedding in Gloucestershire, including Joanna Brown for photography, Fur Coat No Knickers for the dress and Severin of The Hepburn Collection for the bride's hair. I love this! "I got a little frustrated at how little choice there is when it comes to creating an individual wedding, especially as I didn't have that long to plan it (5 months)," the bride told me. "I found it easier to not refer to magazines and traditional wedding websites and preferred to take inspiration from Etsy.com, blogs such as Rock n Roll Bride and to go with my own ideas. I think it's easy to get sucked into the wedding machine and things can become too fussy. My ethos was to try and keep it classic, stylish and simple."
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Loretta & Andy’s Backyard BBQ Wedding

Kat

June 22, 2011

"I would describe our wedding as a bit country barn ho-down, a bit backyard BBQ and a sprinkling of vintage," newlywed Loretta. "We've always been a bit Rock n Roll. We met over a shared love of music and spent the first three years of our relationship going to gigs together. Our first date after our son was born was going to see Midlake at the Prince of Wales. Andy's other true love is his Martin guitar. Our inspiration came from drives through the country, we always stop when we find a great old ramshackle barn and take photos. Some of our favourite gigs have been in places like Meeniyan at the old Town Hall. It's in places like these that bucket loads of inspiration can be found. You mix pretty fabrics and detailing with rusty old sheds and and fields of grass and hay and it's a match made in heaven."
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Elizabeth & Simon’s Homemade Vintage Tea Party Wedding

Kat

June 17, 2011

Elizabeth & Simon's crafty vintage tea party wedding was a DIY effort and the beautiful touches and attention to detail really shows. The couple put a lot of themselves into their day and the bride especially homemade a lot of their wedding details. "Over several months I purchased vintage china and glass wear from various charity shops and Pannier Markets," she told me. "This was used as the crockery for the tea party and because we've managed to collect some really nice pieces and a substantial amount, we’re keen to start a small vintage crockery hire service after our wedding."
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Peace & Love – Allie & Bo’s 1970’s Bohemian Wedding

Kat

June 13, 2011

There are some weddings I see that are just so adorably gorgeous that I squeal a little bit with delight when I'm allowed to share them with you...and this baby needs to be shared! I just know you're going to adore it as much as I do. Allie & Bo's wedding had a distinctive 1970's hippy vibe - an era that they live and love in their everyday lives. The bohemian, DIY details make this day simply perfect for them. As bride Allie explains, "I like to consider myself a modern day hippie with a bohemian bent. I wanted something sort of whimsical and vintage for my wedding. I grew up with stories from my grandmother of the passions of the hippie movement of the late 60’s and early 70’s. She encouraged me to be original and taught me an appreciation of nature and an independent sense of style. Bo and I love to hike and camp and we eat locally grown food, so it was important for us to plan an environmentally friendly wedding."
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Jonathan & Zoe’s Wedding Festival

Kat

June 3, 2011

For their 'Wedstival' (wedding festival!), Jonathan & Zoe threw traditions completely out of the window and planned the wedding that they wanted. As the bride told me, "Having been together for a (very!) long time we really wanted to steer away from a traditional wedding and do something that completely reflected us as a couple – we love the outdoor life, our Airedale terriers, our family and music festivals. Thus we came up with the idea of our “Wedstival” – a weekend that saw pretty much all 150 guests camping at the farm (in a mix of tents, VW campers, caravans and even a 36 foot luxury RV!!). We took massive inspiration from our amazing venue, York Maze. It meant we could literally have everyone and their dog there! The kids enjoyed two adventure playgrounds, an animal farm, a jumping pillow and go kart track. All eleven dogs had their own special dog park and to top it all off we had a three table casino and the most amazing live band!"
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Laura & Rich’s Eco-Friendly & DIY Two-Day Wedding Celebration

Kat

May 31, 2011

Laura & Rich's classic English themed wedding had some super quirky and personal touches. The couple werelegally married at Merton Register Office, London and a few days later had an outdoor blessing ceremony and their reception at Tilford Institute, Surrey. "People were confused as to why we had two days, but why not?" Laura told me. "I wore my dress twice. I was driven in a posh car twice. The first day with my dad, nervous; the second with my new husband, brimming with excitement at seeing my friends! I'd recommend spreading out the love to anyone."
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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?
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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).
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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!"
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Ali & Mike’s Simple but Effective Wedding

Kat

March 22, 2011

I was sent Ali & Mike's wedding video by their videographer Ryan Hinman, which I immediately fell in love with...so much so that I had to know more about the couple behind it and so asked Ryan if I could share their whole wedding story - photographs and all. Luckily he was more than thrilled to oblige. The happy couple were wed at Red Butte Garden in Utah. Their ceremony was held in The Fragrance Garden and the reception in The Orangerie. Ali told me all about their day, "We really wanted the entire day to reflect our personalities and style, so we tried to add our own personal touches wherever we could. We served some of our favorite snacks at the reception, french fries, gelato cones and even had a self serve popcorn cart. We had a photo booth set up all night printing one copy for the guests to keep and one copy for our scrapbook that they could sign."
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Kirsten & David’s Folk Wedding

Kat

February 28, 2011

Kirsten and David's beautifully folky, Cape Town wedding is the pure essence of why I love my Rock n Roll Brides. Pretty much their whole wedding was crafted from either second-hand or vintage items, and the majority of the details were hand-made. They had home-made pie instead of a wedding cake and they put together all the centrepieces and flowers (bouquets & bridesmaid's headbands) themselves. "We pretty much made all the decor, even the tablecloths and runners," Kirsten told me. "We had so many friends helping us the month before and went a bit overboard with ideas, but it was so much fun! We also made sure (almost completely) that we had finished everything we wanted to do before the last week so that we could spend some good time with all our friends, and made it a big celebration." Kirsten wore a second-hand dress that a friend gave her with leather Oxfords on her feet. All of the jewellery she wore was found at various markets and antique stores. For David's outfit, he went and picked out his own material at a fabric shop with his friends and then they all drove to Mexico (David is from San Diego) and found a cheap tailor to make his suit! "Of course he left this to the week before he moved to South Africa," Kirsten laughed, "so he only got to see if it fit him the week of the wedding! Mexicans can tailor good!"
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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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Pheigi & Kiichiro’s Japanese/Scottish Fusion Wedding

Kat

January 19, 2011

Just wow. Like seriously, wow. That's pretty much all I said for 5 minutes when Pheigi & Kiichiro's Japanese/Scottish fusion wedding hit my inbox this week. I almost don't know where to begin telling their epic wedding story, luckily for me the bride explained it a lot better than I ever could. The couple actually had two weddings - the first in Japan in July 2009 and the second (pictured) in Scotland in September 2010. "My new Hubby and I actually got married in Japan (where we live) in 2009. We went to the city office and signed lots of forms to update my alien registration card, change his official address and get hitched. Which one of those forms was actually my marriage certificate I still don't know. I wore my mothers 1970's full length purple embroidered waistcoat over my purple cord flares and after we went to the crazy Japanese arcade on our street and had photos taken in the hello kitty photo booth. Much fun yet somewhat lacking in romance. We thus decided to come home to Scotland and have another celebration with my family, which we did in September. Planning my wedding from Japan was hard to say the least, especially as I wanted something a little different from the norm, and the whole thing became more of a disappointment as I spent hours trawling through ugly dresses, bland invites and over the top bling, until a good friend with similar problems directed me to your site. From then on I visited your site nearly every other day to remind myself that there were options other than white wedding package A, B or C and so in turn I am sending you my wedding in hope that it may help other brides in the UK realise the same and give them a wee break from the monotony of the wedding industry. I hope you like."
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Alex & Adam’s Simple, Nerdy & Rocking Shindig

Kat

January 3, 2011

British born Alex met Adam years ago whilst working at Woolworth's. She was studying journalism and he was a checkout boy by day, rock star by night! They went their separate ways for a few forgotten years before realising at a Jet gig that they were better off together. "We are the total yin and yang couple who jigsaw together in a strange and puzzling way which somehow works," they explained. "Fiery Alex and passive Adam! Our wedding was a mashup of our two personalities which resulted in a simple, nerdy, unrefined yet rocking shindig."
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Brandi & Chris’ Rustic Western Wedding

Kat

December 20, 2010

Brandi & Chris' DIY wedding has a rustic western theme. The day took place at Temecula Farmhouse in California, a venue that really reflected their theme idea perfectly. The couple and their families worked hard on their DIY elements to create a day that was perfect for them. Chris' Father did all the flowers and centrepieces. I love how they used cowboy boots as vases, what a unique idea to tie the theme together! Brandi's Mother made the cake and her Godfather got ordained so he could officiate the emotional ceremony which took place outside the farmhouse.
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Sharon & Mike’s Massachusetts Woodland Wedding

Kat

December 17, 2010

Sharon & Mike woodland wedding was held at Owl Moon Farm in The Berkshires, MA in September. Both the bride and groom wore vintage clothes and even Sharon’s engagement ring was made from the cast of a vintage ring. Sharon told me all about their day, starting with why they decided to get married in Massachusetts, “We live in California, and when our state revoked the right for homosexuals to marry, it really angered and upset me. I believe that any two people who are in love should be able to legally (and socially) commit themselves to each other.
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