Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

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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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Mo & Chris’ 1940’s Styled, State Park Wedding

Kat

December 14, 2010

Mo & Chris wedding insipration came from the 1940's and the fact that Chris is an old Ska kid. The bride explained, "For our clothes we decided we wanted a vintage feel. Chris wanted to stay away from tuxedos and suits and being an old ska kid at heart he wanted to have a vintage swingers kind of style. He gave the groomsmen their flat caps as a gift, they all picked their own colors, and he wore a black fedora with a feather in it. He told them to get grey shirts and black pants. The suspenders were my favorite part."
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Michelle & Sterling’s DIY Aussie Bush Wedding

Kat

December 3, 2010

Michelle & Sterling were married at St Barnabas church, in the middle of the Aussie bush. Their reception that followed took place at Upper Landowne Community Hall. Michelle's parents had been married at the same church and hall 35 years ago so it was really special to them to also be married here. The importance of involving their families was continued throughout the planning process. "My mum and Grandmother did so much work ," said Michelle. "Mum organised all the catering which was done by the local church that my Grandmother belongs to and all of the table cloths, linen napkins were hand crocheted by my Grandma. My sister made the guest book sign and we all decorated the hall and set the tables and did the flower arranging in 30 silver tea pots that I bought over time from eBay ! They looked awesome and totally fitted with the romantic, quirky theme. We even found a home for the 80 massive paper tissue pom poms we made."
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Jess & Rob’s Hip-Nouveau-Country-Handle-Bar-Moustache-Rayban-Sunglasses-with-a-Dash-of-Vintage-Perfection Wedding!

Kat

December 2, 2010

Jess & Rob got married "under a lone tree in a field" in a cermony that was perfectly related to the things that they adore. "They really do live a dreamy life," their photographer's Emmy & Aaron told me. "Jess is a lover of horses and what better life than to run Foxstone Stables at Glenora Farm and also to live right above the stable with 300 acres of Vancouver Island's Cowichan Valley paradise. They even have their own natural spring swimming pond, meadows with lone trees, and gorgeousness everywhere you look!" Needless to say, their home provided the perfect location for the wedding.
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Sugar & Spice & All Things Nice – New Wedding Trends for 2011

Kat

November 26, 2010

If there's one thing that makes a wedding blogger's heart go a-flutter, it's lots of lovely details - gorgeous ideas that you, dear reader, can sneakily steal for your own weddings. So, when I was sent this utterly gorgeous rustic/Rock n Roll (who says the two can't merge!?) it took me all of about 30 seconds to say yes to featuring it. Moustache cookies (and shoes!), cute typography, mis-matched bunting, multi coloured florals a-plenty and a cake covered in different coloured bow ties (seriously dying over here.) Oh yes, this blogger certainly approves!
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Ruth & Oliver’s Rustic Orchard Wedding

Kat

November 23, 2010

I utterly adore Ruth & Oliver's beautiful orchard wedding! In fact as soon as photographer Abbye told me about the details I knew I'd be loving it. "When I first met up with Ruth to talk about her wedding she brought along a huge glass jam jar. After talking over details Ruth pulled out the jar and told me "I know this might sound strange, but I just want to have jam jars everywhere..." to others it might have sounded strange, but I totally got what she was going for."
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Cassie & Loc’s Multicultural, DIY Wedding

Kat

November 22, 2010

I actually featured a link to Cassie & Loc's gorgeous wedding in Thursday Treats two weeks ago as I'll be honest, with most of photographer Jonas Peterson's weddings, I figured one of the big daddy American blogs would have snapped it up to feature instantly (this dude's work is in high demand!) So you can imagine my surprise and excitement when I received an email from the bride to not only tell me I'd made her day by linking to her wedding, but that she was a huge Rock n Roll Bride fan and that she'd love for me to feature them. Score!
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