Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Tattoo

A Casual & Intimate Outdoor Wedding: Michael & Mariko

Kat

February 3, 2012

Michael asked Mariko to marry him at a festival, "in a trashed tent with some beers, talking with some friends about relationships and life," he told me. "You know… those most profound things you talk about at festivals. It was just the right moment." So then they had their wedding theme - a festival style, party wedding! "We wanted our wedding to be intimate, nothing big, loud or expensive," Micheal continued. "The most important thing was that we were getting married and be together forever, to share our love with the people we love, all our friends and family."
Read more...

A Shamanic Wedding Ceremony in Guatemala: Daniela & Mark

Kat

January 30, 2012

How utterly beautiful is today's real wedding? This is the kind of wedding that makes my heart sing - no fuss, no details, no over-the-top-bridezilla-stresses - just the most important thing...love. The bride, Daniela, told me all about their special day. "There were only the two of us at the ceremony, the lady who married us, the lady who owned the land and our photographer. The ceremony itself lasted about 1.5 hrs and consisted of several parts: lighting the fire, being cleansed with special leaves and incense, hearing the 20 nahuales of the Mayan Calendar being read out, telling each other our love and exchanging our rings, being wrapped in a green shawl which represented Gaia. We began and ended the ceremony with chocolate, a block of which was also burned in the fire. Chocolate is sacred in Mayan culture."
Read more...

An Owl & The Pussycat Themed Wedding: Kerryn & Joel

Kat

January 27, 2012

"The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea. In a beautiful pea green boat, They took some honey, and plenty of money, Wrapped up in a five pound note..." With The Owl and the Pussycat as inspiration, it would be hard for Kerryn & Joel to go far wrong when planning their cute and quirky wedding. Although the wedding wasn't really 'themed' to match the poem, its message resonated throughout their planning and on the wedding day itself. They used it on their wedding invitations and Kerryn read the poem as part of her speech. "The Owl and The Pussycat popped up because around the time that we got engaged, I read The Owl and The Pussycat to my 3 year old niece, Amy," Kerryn told me. "At the last page there was a lovely illustration of the owl dancing with the pussycat in mid air..."
Read more...

How about a Tattooed Wedding Dress?

Kat

January 26, 2012

How about a tattooed dress to match your own ink? When wedding dress designer Jo of The Couture Company first told me about her idea to design a tattoo themed wedding dress I was excited. Super excited. I've certainly never seen anything like it before! Whether you're a tattooed goddess and you want your dress to reflect your own ink, or you're not quite brave enough to go under the needle but you love the idea of being a tattooed bride, these dresses are just perfect for you. Designer Jo says, "I have always tried to design gowns that are different and unusual - using unusual colours, doing a traditional victorian bustle gown in fuschia pink, or a big meringue dress but in black. I love the idea of a bride having something totally unique and bespoke to them."
Read more...

A Neo-Victorian, Steampunk Wedding: Jasmine & George

Kat

January 24, 2012

"We are both crafty, artistic and creative," the pink haired bride told me. "We wanted a mix of romantic gothic, neo-Victorian, vintage and steampunk for our wedding. We really wanted to make it our own and original with still trying to keep a little tradition for our families. We decided we just wanted hints of each. That's why we decided to DIY as much as we could." After an 11 year relationship, Jasmine & George were married in The Greenhouse at The Foundry, NY by groom's cousin, John Russo. "We got our wedding rings from Gemvara," Jasmine continued. "My ring has black and white diamonds and his had black diamonds added to it. The inscription says 'True Love Waits' after a Radiohead song because we waited 11 years before we got married."
Read more...

An Eco-Vintage Backyard Wedding: Shannon & Nick

Kat

January 23, 2012

Shannon & Nick were married in Shannon's parent's back garden, a lovely idea that made their wedding really personal and intimate. "I was inspired by the 1950s, nature and the country," Shannon told me. "I was looking for a way to bridge the gap between vintage elegance and the modern eco-friendly way of life. Every chance I could I made things reusable, recyclable and DIY. I also tried to pick vendors that were eco-friendly. I didn't set out to do things differently I just chose to do what I wanted to do and didn't let others reservations side track me."
Read more...

An Indie Hipster Wedding: Will & Keri

Kat

January 23, 2012

Will & Keri's Richmond, VA wedding was simple but effortlessly cool. The ceremony was held at Maymont Park, with the reception that followed at The Boathouse Restaurant at Rocketts Landing. "We really didn't want to over do it on the decorations since both venues we're so beautiful on their own," Keri told me. "We found a lot of things on Etsy, and the rest we made ourselves. The heart on the tree at our ceremony was a grey chalkboard heart purchased from Urban Outfitters, we painted our initials on it with white paint and tied it to the tree with rope. After the ceremony we took it around the city taking pictures at our favorite spots in Richmond. We decided for the ceremony to just add small bundles of dried lavender to the chairs, it was really beautiful and simple. We also had a little table set up with hot apple cider for the guests after the I Do's."
Read more...

An Intimate Palm Springs Wedding with just 10 Guests: Berrit & Daniel

Kat

January 20, 2012

Berrit & Daniel had just 8 (well 10 including their photographer Marianne Wilson and her assistant!) guests for their super intimate wedding in Palm Springs. By keeping the numbers so small they were able to pay real attention to all the wedding details in order to create an utterly stunning celebration. The wedding was held at a private house called Silver Orchid. The couple traveled from Germany, where they live, to be married in California on a Friday evening. They had a florist come in and set up an archway and chair for the ceremony as well as a little dinner set up out on the lawn that was catered (mini milkshakes and all) by Chef KK.
Read more...

A Back to the Future, Harry Potter & Star Wars Themed Nerdy Wedding: Jaclyn & Steven

Kat

January 17, 2012

"My husband and I are such nerds," began Jaclyn's email. "Our inspiration for your wedding came from the things we love which included: Harry Potter, Back to the Future, Star Wars, Disney, a literary theme, a music theme, etc." I loved her instantly! "We had lightsabers, owl and Weasley crown cookies, records everywhere, and my shoes caused people to call me a 'hooker Minnie Mouse' several times," she continued. "We picked the things that were important to us and did them, the rest like having a first dance, a cake cutting, a bouquet toss and garter toss were totally left out because it had no meaning to us. We had no DJ and there wasn’t even a dance floor at our venue. So many people were shocked that there would be no dancing, but at the end of the night not one person complained about it. Everyone was having such a good time they didn’t even notice that so many traditional things were missing. We just wanted to hang out and have fun, and it’s exactly what we did."
Read more...

“Less is More & Keep it Simple”: Michelle & Kyle

Kat

January 13, 2012

Michelle & Kyle we're married in Savannah, GA. The outdoor ceremony was held in a public park, Oglethorpe Square, and their reception was at the amazingly named (and coloured!) The Olde Pink House Restaurant. "If you allow yourself to get pulled into today’s wedding etiquette, you can really drive yourself crazy," Michelle began, when I asked her if she had any advice for the newly-engaged. "We ignored all the rules and threw caution to the wind, and just chose what we liked and what represented us well. We both love vintage things - ideas from the 1930s or 1940s or just something that is banged up and broken in, 'well loved' as we like to call it. We also played on our love for tattoos and nature. We both have been getting tattooed for years and wanted to incorporate our art into the day in a natural way. It’s part of who we are."
Read more...

Edgar Allen Poe & A Day Filled with Love: Joann & Jacqueline

Kat

January 11, 2012

A quote by Edgar Allen Poe was the starting point for Joann & Jacqueline's wedding plans. 'We loved with a love that was more than love' made them realise that really, their love was at that mattered. Luckily for these two beautiful women, they were surrounded by the stuff on their big day. "No matter how much planning that went into that day, we were both blown away by the amount of love we received from our family and friends," they explained. "We can’t fully explain or describe how it felt, but hopefully the love and laughter in the atmosphere of our wedding day had everyone just as thrilled and excited as we were. Our wedding was held at Penn Park, in Whittier, CA. The greenery was vivid and lovely just the way fairytales usually are, except this time there were two princesses."
Read more...

A Vintage Inspired Shoot for A Most Curious Wedding Fair – 2012 Dates Announced

Kat

January 6, 2012

A Most Curious Wedding Fair is going into it's second year with events being held at St Andrew's Hall in Norwich on the 11th February and in York Hall, London on the 31st March. To celebrate, organiser Becky got together with the amazing Joanna Millington Photography and some of the other suppliers exhibiting at the shows to put together this beautiful, vintage inspired wedding shoot.
Read more...

A Vintage Rock n Roll Italian Wedding: Alice & Matteo

Kat

January 4, 2012

Oh baby I'm literally dying over Alice & Matteo's Italian wedding. Everything is so beautiful and the photographs by Martino Vincenzi leave me weak at the knees. "Since my husband proposed me last year, I knew that my wedding would have been not a classical italian wedding," Alice wrote to me. "So, when I found your wedding blog, it was like a mirage in the desert! You have been my bible, THANK YOU!!" "During the planning I gently forced all my best friends to help me to make everything! It has been so tough, but worthwhile. We made all the cupcakes two days before the wedding, and the morning of the celebration we were still preparing and fixing stuff!"
Read more...

A Louisiana Swamp Trash the Dress: Nikki & Marc

Kat

January 3, 2012

Nikki & Marc wanted to do an unusual 'trash the dress' photo shoot to celebrate their marriage. Something totally unique was on the cards when they braved the nearby Honey Island Swamp with photographer Chelsea Patricia, who explained the idea to me, "Nikki & Marc are a pretty adventurous and unique couple (Marc is a tattoo artist and lord-of-the-bike—he even bike jousts on his tall bike. Nikki allows him to tattoo her ankle poke and stick style), but I still was nervous as to how they would respond to 'Hey, let’s venture into the gator, snake, and mosquito infested waters of the Louisiana bayou! It’ll be fun!' Thankfully for me, they were all on board. Nikki already had plans to hem her dress short and figured, 'What the hell, it’s only swamp water!'"
Read more...

A DIY Wedding with a Mountaintop View: Larry & Chelsea

Kat

December 21, 2011

Have you ever seen anything as beautiful as Larry & Chelsea's mountaintop wedding? Just look at that view! The lucky couple we're married at the bride's parents home (OK I'm now officially jealous) and although it doesn't look like it, they had a small budget to work with. "Although we had financial limits, hand making everything not only saved us money, but it made everything much more personal and special," Chelsea told me. "I will cherish every hilarious moment I spent crafting and to finally see all our hard work come together was awesome. I never thought I could pull it off and I got it all done in time and I am damn proud of myself!! The essential item to a DIY wedding? Get a dang glue gun girl...Oh and start early!!!" The bride wore two dresses, the first, from David's Bridal for the ceremony, and the second, a one of a kind custom made dress by Deborah Lindquist.
Read more...

A Autumnal Vintage Cinema Wedding: Holly & Robert

Kat

December 20, 2011

Holly & Robert were married at The Electric Cinema in Birmingham. After walking down the aisle to Billie Holiday 'It had to be you', the bride with her groom, headed to Kitchen Garden Cafe Kings Heath for a casual and DIY reception. "Rob asked me to marry him in NYC in October last year he got down on one knee in Central Park and gave me a beautiful 1920's pearl engagement ring," Holly wrote to me. "It was the happiest day of my life everywhere was just bursting with Autumn colour, strolling through the park was so romantic I wanted to capture the feeling of that day at our wedding."
Read more...

A Blue Burlesque Wedding with a £900 Budget: Sally & Mark

Kat

December 13, 2011

To say that I'm excited to be sharing Sally & Mark's wedding with you this afternoon would be an under-exaggeration of HUGE magnitude. Not only is their wedding freakin' awesome on so many levels, but they pulled the whole thing off for £900! Let me repeat myself to make sure you got that, because I didn't quite believe it when I read it on Sally's submission either - the whole wedding cost just £900!! "We had approx 6 weeks and a budget of around £900 for our wedding," Sally wrote. "Where we could we handmade items or got friends to help us out. We were lucky that our photographers, performers, DJ and cake makers were all friends so did us special deals. We were also able to get both our venues (the afternoon reception was held at William Steads Pub and the evening afterparty at the Tap and Spile Pub, Darlington) for free as we didn't hire them exclusively."
Read more...

A Rockabilly, Psychobilly Wedding: Claire & Lee

Kat

December 8, 2011

I love weddings like Claire & Lee's. Not just because the rockabilly theme is awesome, but because they put their heart and soul(s) into creating a wedding that reflects how they are in everyday life. "We’re both very much in to the whole rockabilly and psychobilly scenes and have been for quite some time, so it only seemed natural to extend this to our wedding day," Claire told me. "One thing we set out to do from the very beginning was to make our wedding day for us. It seems all too often that people try and tailor their wedding day around their family and other guests, where as for ourselves we tailored it around us and guests had to fit in; which they did wonderfully."
Read more...

A DIY 1940’s Carnival Wedding: Marcie & Rich

Kat

November 29, 2011

Marcie & Rich's Nerdy DIY wedding was inspired by the things they love. The couple love to hang out at home with cat and dog playing video or board games and reading so the wedding theme kind of stemmed from these ideas. "I think our inspiration for doing things the way we did was that we didn't want the same old same old", Marcie told me. "We've both been to tons of weddings where the details were essentially the same but for a few differences. People tend to do the long church ceremony with the long gown that you would never want to wear again and make a bunch of stuff for the guests that they will never use or even want just because you saw that tiny beer stein in a craft store and thought it was perfect cause you like beer. We wanted people to have fun all the way through, including ourselves! We would much rather have a swinging party and get married in the middle of it than the other way around."
Read more...