Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Short Dress

Creative Destination Wedding in Verona: Caroline & Ben

Kat

Assassynation

April 23, 2013

Caroline & Ben, who live in Shanghai, had a destination wedding in Verona, Italy. The bride's father is from Northern Italy and so they wanted to have a wedding that reflected that heritage. "The idea of getting married close to my roots really appealed", began the bride, "especially for the fact we could make a holiday out of it for our guests (and for ourselves!). Living abroad, we don’t get to see our friends and families as much as we would like, and this way we got to spend a few days with everyone. We had our ‘stag’ and ‘hen’ parties the night before for all our guests, and after the wedding a group of about 20 of us went up to the Dolomites for some skiing over New Year."
Read more...

Private Island Retreat Wedding: Sana & Derek

Kat

HRM

April 8, 2013

Sana & Derek were married on an island. Artscape Gibraltar Point is located in the former Toronto Island Public and offers 35,000 square feet of affordable retreat space, artist studios and accommodations for artists and creative thinkers. The tranquil and idyllic setting was perfect for their intimate and artistic wedding. The day started with the entire wedding party taking the ferry over to the island together. "We knew immediately that we wanted to hold the wedding on the island - it's the perfect escape from Toronto, and a place where we have spent countless summer days swimming, biking and hanging out on the beach," wrote Sana. "Artscape had the perfect laid-back and nostalgic feeling that we wanted in a venue, and they even let us have a bonfire outside on the beach!"
Read more...

A Fashion-Forward Backyard Wedding with Special Guest Craig David!: Theo & Lisa

Kat

O&C

March 4, 2013

When Theo & Lisa started an online campaign to get Craig David to perform at their August wedding, they never really thought they'd pull it off. But if you don't ask you don't get and all that...and with their help of their YouTube video that went viral, Mr David did in fact show up to the wedding and perform to their astonished guests! "We met in Oceana nightclub", began Theo. "Lisa thought I really had the movement of a dancer! Craig David's music brought us together and having him there at the wedding was literally a dream come true." "Our wedding was inspired by everything we love", continued Lisa. "Music, fashion, friends and family. It really was a giant party. We didn't want anyone to pay for anything apart from their travel there. For us, this was a party to celebrate everything our incredible friends and family have done for us over the years. We had a free bar which was one of the best things we did. The wedding was held in my dad's back garden and we also had a camping village at the bottom of the garden where 90% of our guests camped-including myself and Theo! We sent a 'tent tag' with our invites, and asked everyone to deliver a tent to our house one week before the wedding. We then put them all up so they were ready for everyone when they arrived!"
Read more...

Retro Polish Wedding: Iwona & Piotr

Kat

Piotr Spigiel

March 1, 2013

Iwona & Piotr wanted a simple and fuss-free wedding, one that reflected their Polish heritage but also showcased their love for all things retro. The day had a lot of DIY elements, from the brides dress to her brooch bouquet and the majority of the reception details. "We wanted a simple wedding", wrote Iwona. "We love Rock n Roll and retro styles and we both have very old souls and like the old minimalist styles. Our colours were cobalt, black and white and we kept things simple. We also DIYed a lot."
Read more...

Rainbow Country Fête Wedding with 1950s Touches: Steph & Dale

Kat

Rhapsody Road

February 27, 2013

A colourful country fête wedding with a 1950s flair? What's not to love in Steph & Dale's wedding?! The day took place in Essex, kicking off at St Giles Church with the reception at Pledgdon Barn. This wedding was a real DIY love affair and a project of passion. The couple made as much as possible including (deep breath) the bunting (both triangle and heart shaped), their stationery and all the paper goods, cocktail stirrers from laser cut card, the cake flags, the acrylic cake toppers, the wooden signs, the blackboards, the paper hearts for decorating the tables, the bridesmaids earrings, the buttonholes, the bow ties for their dogs and the cupcakes!
Read more...

Simple & Cozy London Knees Up: Lee & Lauren

Kat

Emma Case

February 6, 2013

Red flowing locks, a faux fur coat, deep red flowers in her hair... as soon as I spied the beautiful Lauren on photographer Emma Case's blog I knew she was definitely a Rock n Roll bride. And then I saw the entire wedding and I literally couldn't wait to get it up on these pages - as soon as possible! Lee & Lauren were married in November at Stoke Newington Town Hall. They has their reception at The Artisan of Clerkenwell, a pub/restaurant in North East London. They did things their own way. They picked a non-traditional venue, they homemade as much as possible and only invited people that they really wanted to be there. This wedding was every bit the modern fairytale.
Read more...

Flaunt It with Fur Coat No Knickers & Win the Dress of Your Choice from the New Collection!

Kat

Joanna Brown

February 4, 2013

In some ways I'm a terrible wedding blogger. I am 'real wedding' obsessed and I love to see the ins & outs of people's actual weddings or read about their experiences, but in terms of what's going on in the 'industry' I usually couldn't give a toss. It's also extremely rare that I ever get excited by anything to do with bridal fashion and I try to avoid fashion shows at all costs...sorry but they're usually such a yawnfest. However when it matters, when someone actually does something new or exciting I do then get really passionate, chomping at the bit to feature it as soon as possible - often with a lot of extra exclamation points!
Read more...

Lakeside Polish Wedding: Martyna & Piotr

Kat

WhiteSmoke Studio

January 24, 2013

I can't say I ever remember featuring a Polish wedding on my blog before, but if this is the kind of standards they're setting, then I seriously should be posting more of them! There's so much wedding gorgeousness in these images I can hardly contain myself. Martyna & Piotr were married in Warsaw. The ceremony was held at Jablonna Palace and the reception was at U Różyca, a private farm just outside of the city and right by Lake Zegrzynski. The reception was basically one big party! Laid back, unpretentious and with everyone pitching in to help.
Read more...

Vintage Wedding at the Royal Observatory: Sarah & Paul

Kat

Andrea Ellison

January 23, 2013

Sarah & Paul and were married in September at the royal observatory - Queen's House in Greenwich. They went for a English vintage theme with a twist. It reflected the things they love in their everyday lives. "The wedding theme was English vintage as I am big into my vintage clothing and music so things needed to be pretty but with an eccentric twist", wrote the bride. "I didn't want it to be a Cath Kidston wet dream and neither did I feel that an out-and-out rocking festival would have suited us so we went for something in between! I love typography and so that was instantly worked into our invites and other paper goods (I made the majority using pretty parchment card and downloading fonts from the internet)."
Read more...

Colourful Manor House Wedding with just 34 Guests: Amy & Ray

Kat

December 19, 2012

I'm seeing a huge shift in a lot of the weddings that I'm being submitted of late. While large and lavish detail-heavy weddings were, and in many cases still are, wedding blog perfection, I am noticing that these days it's the smaller ones that a catching my eye. It seems that lot of my readers are completely swinging the other way and are planning small, intimate and personality-heavy nuptials. I know what it is though - my readers are rebels, just like me! You don't want to do what everyone else is doing - you want your weddings to be different and to be a perfect reflection of your love and your relationship. And that, dear readers, is why I friggin' love each and every one of you! I've known Amy for a while now. She is one third of Ava - a wedding styling company based in Birmingham, and we've actually worked together on many occasions. The biggest collaboration we've done has got to be my Rock n Riot shoot where she even commissioned a graffiti artist to paint me on a giant wall!
Read more...

Scare-Fest Wedding & Searching for ‘The One’: Sarah & Colin

Kat

December 19, 2012

For their October wedding at Whittington Castle and Wattlesborough Village Hall, Sarah & Colin wanted a scare-fest. Halloween, pumpkins, zombies & vintage circus horror were their inspirations. "When you first start to plan a wedding you are given strict instructions by every bride you know to research research research. You read magazines, you trawl through websites, you create a scrapbook of what you think your wedding should be", wrote newlywed Sarah. "I had 2 ½ years to plan my big day, and no matter what I saw I just didn't feel like it could be part of our day! Everything was so beautiful, classic, elegant... and so not us! I am mad about vintage but after heading to a vintage wedding fair I had started to lose hope. It was all too twee, too perfect. I am a rummage in the hay bales listing to The Coasters kinda vintage and it just wasn't there for me. Then after seeing a lady flying round the fair with pink hair, I was informed of Rock n Roll Bride by my friend Ffion and my world was changed! I saw couples who broke convention, who played their wedding their way and weren't afraid to let the world see their personalities through their big day!"
Read more...