Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Rockabilly

Bowling Alley Rockabilly Bridal Shoot

Kat

February 26, 2010

This exceptional Rock n Roll style fashion shoot photographed by Jessica Monnich at Highball in Austin Texas hit me right between the eyes. I've fallen in love with the vintage 1950s rockabilly stylings, the gorgeous fashion, the stunning models, the bowling alley setting...well basically how damn cool the whole thing is! I'm so excited to share this shoot and all the people involved with you..you're gonna love it! "We went with a 50's theme. The location was very hip swanky 50's feeling bowling alley on South Lamar in a bowling alley here in Austin Texas called Highball. In keeping with the vintage theme we did a place setting in the color scheme of the shoot using fiestaware which was popular during that time period. We thought Wizard of Oz Pez dispensers would be fun as that was a popular movie during that time. We also had mock cakes made up for the shoot that had a very rockabilly feel to them as well. The "bride" carried a lotus flower surrounded by sweet peas and the "bridesmaids" carried a combination of flowers including pink sweet peas and poppies." Thanks to Jessica and the whole team for sharing these with Rock n Roll Bride Photography Credit: Jessica Monnich Photography Photo assistant: Gerry Hanan of Hanan Exposures
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Sugabilly Bridal

Kat

February 24, 2010

There's a little bit of a story behind the finding of this fabulous shoot and I thought in sharing it's gorgeousness I could also explain how it came to land in my inbox. As many of you know, my husband Gareth is an IT wizz and works from home. As sad as it may be, we love to watch Working Lunch together when I'm not at 'the day job'. One such afternoon there was a feature on Emma Jones of Enterprise Nation who works with 5-9 ers - ie people who are mad like me, work a full time job and run their own business from home too. So Gareth turns to me and says "You should drop her an email" and so I did. Making this connection has been fabulous for me as not only have I been featured on her site, am being used a case study in her upcoming book (hell to the yeah!) but she sends me regular updates on awesome other 5-9 ers that she thinks I need to know. LeKeux Events was one of these companies. As soon as I landed on their website I knew we'd be a perfect match and after speaking to Lyndsey over email it turned out that she already reads my blog! Aaaaanyway, to cut a very long story short (er) I saw this amazing Sugabily bridal shoot on their site and just had to feature it....you're going to go nuts for it! The dress and petticoat were ebay finds, but Lyndsey tells me she swooned over similar things on Vivienne of Holloway (who I ADORE by the way). Enjoy! Thanks to Emma for putting myself and LeKeux Events together and thanks to Lyndsey for sharing these wonderful shots with us today
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Carnival Crazy

Kat

February 7, 2010

Dina & Gary's 1920's vaudeville carnival themed wedding makes me wanna squeal. I wish wish wish we'd done something as fabulous as this when we got hitched. The wedding took place at Asbury Park, New Jersey and the pair really went to town with their theme - from popcorn and candy for the guests, a sideshow performance, goldfish in bowls... in fact everything you might expect to find at a carnival! Dina wore a custom dress (made by a friend) and wore jewellery and carried a candy bouquet made by another friend Melissa Heid. Just. Wow. Thanks to Brandi for sharing this awesome day with us. Woooo!
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Retro Pin Up Valentines Lovelies

Kat

February 6, 2010

With the day of hearts, flowers and lurrrve fast approaching, I have been inundated with Valentine's themed submissions, however this retro/pin up shoot from Jen Will may well be one of my utter favourites. The shoot took place in her own kitchen which was the perfect setting for the baking theme. "This is part of the reason I love my apartment." Jen tells us "It is the coolest apartment ever, and my love for it is part of the reason I have yet to join the adult world of home ownership. It has a bathroom that would probably rent out as a large bedroom in New York City and a classic stove that came straight from the original Be Witched TV show. No matter where I live in the future, I will always love this place. I am so glad I got to document it in such a special way!" I have to agree... and seeing these really makes me want to get my arse in gear and decorate our house! Thanks to Jen for sharing these.
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Let’s Get Mad (Men)

Kat

February 6, 2010

Jenn & Gavin won Ambient Studios' 'Engagement Story Your Way' contest with their unique 60's/Mad Men idea which was fueled by their love of the show, and the style of the era. Photographers Larissa & Trevor told me all about it: Both working within the creative industry the idea of a jumping into the character of a 60's Advertising Executive seemed to be a great fit for this couple. They seemed to enjoy every minute of it and we worked to create photos that not only represented the stark, strong personalities represented on Mad Men, but also their affection for each other. (after all, in the end this fabulous couple is getting married!) The Paddock, an amazing little pub in downtown Toronto was our first location and I have to say, these two ROCKED it! The style of the bar, the classic cocktails, the clothes and Jen's fantastic make-up and hair all came together perfectly. We also spent a bit of time in the Financial District to take advantage of the cityscape as a backdrop as well even though it was quite chilly. All in all, I think all elements came together to create a great contemporary twist on a classic look! Thanks to Larissa & Trevor for sharing this fabulous shoot with us Credit: Ambient Studios
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All Shook Up

Kat

January 29, 2010

Jessica & Ronnie's kitsch Elvis themed wedding was just too damn Rock n Roll to ignore. Stand by for all the juice... First and foremost I would like to just say Kat your blog was definitely a huge source of inspiration through all of my wedding planning! Your excitement for all things wedding is so fantastic to read that even after our big day, I still take a looksey to check out all of the great wedding photography you find! Thanks for doing what you do! It was pretty wild when Tom asked us if he could send you some of our photos, I said "of course I know Rock n Roll Bride, that sounds great!" I totally thought wanting to get married in red was going to have to make me spend a bazillion dollars that we didn't have on getting one made, but I randomly found it at David's Bridal. It was a bridesmaids dress for only $160!! I just had them take off the spaghetti straps that it came with because I thought it gave a more vintage feel to it. My husby's outfit cost more than mine with his special Wingtip Shoes costing almost as much as my dress but it was so worth it because man did he look hot in them! Our wedding consisted of a weekend gathering in San Luis Obispo at The Madonna Inn, which is filled with everything gold and gaudy, its such an amazing place with every room holding a different theme, I really recommend it to all for at least a one night stay! We started the weekend off Friday night bowling with friends and family at Pismo Bowl just right down the road. We wanted our wedding to be for us to spend as much time as we could with everyone and just party, so we had an early afternoon wedding in "The Gay 90's Room" upon the stage, while making our separate entrances, my fiancee's song was "I'm Your Man" by Leonard Cohen, and mine to "You Can Never Hold Back Spring" by Tom Waits, then we had our officiant "50's Young Elvis" (no disrespect intended to older Vegas Elvis, but we just love classic Elvis) who made his entrance by singing "I Got Stung" up the aisle as all of our guests just laughed and clapped along. It was truly a great moment seeing everyone have so much fun with him! Elvis officiated the wedding with fun and singing but also such sincerity about love and how to make it last. Our I do's went something like, "Do you promise to never step on his Blue Suede Shoes?" and "Do you promise to never leave her All Shook Up at the Heartbreak Hotel and Love her Tender?" After the ceremony Elvis handed us the infamous Vegas Elvis Glasses and sang us out to "Burning Love". We of course had to have Elvis' "Fame & Fortune" as our First Dance, hopefully by now your seeing that we're not creepy just HUGE Elvis fans. At the reception each table centerpiece was a different record sleeve from our collection of singers that we love like Johnny Cash, Wanda Jackson, Roy Orbison, B.B King, David Bowie, Elton John and many others, then for the placement cards we had "Mr & Mrs So & So are partying at Elton John's table" and so on. It was such a cheap money saving way to do centerpieces! I totally recommend it! To continue with the theme we had little record napkins that had "Rock & Roll" on them from Party City for next to nothing. For party favors we had our immediate family members and bridal party dedicate songs to us that reminded them of us, and the two of us dedicated songs to each other too, which we made into a CD for all to take home. Everyone came up with such great songs that it made a great compilation that we listen to all the time! We finished off the reception and despite the sprinkles of rain outside, we all headed up to the pool & spa and partied in our bathing suits till the pool closed! Such an awesome day to finally start a new chapter with my best friend in such a fun way and to share it with all of our loved ones that came near and far for a little mini vacation! I definitely recommend all couples to just try and have as much fun with the planning as possible, and don't worry about having to stick to the norm of late afternoon weddings with dinner & dancing, do whatever your heart desires and have an all day long of festivities to enjoy it even longer, because it goes by so fast! Thanks to Tom and of course Jessica & Ronnie for sharing their top tappin' wedding with us
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Thursday Treats – 07th Jan 2010

Kat

January 7, 2010

Hello my dears and welcome to the first Thursday Treats of the new decade! Just as big, just as inspiring and just as fit to bursting with links and fun a-plenty. Let's crack on shall we? ♥ 2010 may only be in it's infancy, but it has so far been a very exciting year for Rock n Roll Bride! Not only was I featured in Cosmopolitan Bride, but I was lucky enough to be asked to model for the infamous Julia Boggio and her Vintage Boudoir series. I braved the snow yesterday and headed up to her Wimbledon studios for a day of fabulous retro hair & make up, styling to die for and to pose and pout my little ass off. I can not wait to share all the details and the photographs, but for now, why not check out my sneak peak shots that I took of (some!) of my outfits with my new favourite toy.
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All the Luck of the Irish

Kat

December 23, 2009

You might remember Maggie & Sean from their rockabilly engagements in an Irish pub. Well photographer Karen Lisa just sent me their wedding, which rocks just as hard! The wedding ceremony was held at a small park across from the couple's apartment in downtown Boca Raton and the reception was at the Spanish River Library outside on the terrace. For wedding favors, Maggie & Sean had custom labels made for their favorite Irish Cider, Magners, and they created a replica of their favorite pub to serve as the bar. At one point the couple even got behind the bar to tend and serve drinks themselves. The guests had a blast! The music was played by a rockabilly band, Slip & the Spin Outs. Aaron's Catering of The Palm Beaches provided a unique menu of 50's diner style food made elegant - mini slider burgers, lobster rolls, grilled cheese sticks in a mini martini glass, and delicious desserts. The cake was designed by a friend of the family and featured the bride and groom enjoying their Magner's Irish Cider - complete with tiny bottles and labels. It was one of the most unique and personal cake toppers I've ever seen! Thanks to Karen for sharing this fabulous wedding with us today
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Electic & Colourful

Kat

November 9, 2009

You lucky lucky things, I have yet another post of wonderfulness from Vanessa of Wildberry Design & Studio - the wedding to accompany the amazing Pin Up. Tattooed. Awesomes engagement shoot. Although this wedding has undeniable classic and traditional elements, it's the personal and Rock n Roll touches that 'make' it. They give the wedding the twist it needs to make me fall in love with it - and them! Plus it may well have the most electic and colourful gaggle of guests I've ever seen. Love them! Again, thanks to Vanessa for sharing Credit: Wildberry Design & Studio
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