A Relaxed Wedding Under Canvas: Gwen & Ali

Kat

February 2, 2012

Without wanting to start off this blog post by sounding inappropriate...How smokin' hot does Gwen look her her Fairy Goth Mother corset and skirt combo? VERY is the answer to that. Have you seen her teeny tiny little waist!? Anyway, enough perving...let's get along with the formalities shall we? Gwen & Ali wanted a unique and personal wedding, and to achieve this they chose to hire tents from Beautiful World Tents which they erected on the grounds of Knepp Castle in West Grinstead. "After looking online at lots of venues and land hire this place looked perfect," Gwen told me. "This was actually the only venue we went to see and the decision was made! Woodland, a lake, less than an hour from Brighton where we live, full kitchen facilities and more importantly stunning! The other added benefit was free roaming animal, pigs, deer and much more besides. It was incredibly beautiful and also very reasonable on costs. We found the location through the tent company and added bonus this being their headquarters which meant no delivery costs to get the tents to the venue. On the land we had 2 giant hat tents joined together facing down to the lake. You hire the land and facilities for the whole weekend, really handy for set-up and take down."

A Two-Day Hindu & Catholic Wedding: Lucy & Vish {Part Two}

Kat

February 1, 2012

After the festivities of their Hindu ceremony, Lucy & Vish woke up on the Saturday morning ready to do it all again - this time in a Catholic church. The ceremony was held at St Patrick's RC Church, Manchester, with the reception that followed back at St Peter's Hall. Their Catholic wedding has very British influences - from high tea to xx. Lucy wore a vintage wedding dress from Elizabeth Avey. "I knew I wanted a vintage Betty Draper-esque dress, as the 50s is my style era! Elizabeth's was my first stop, which was ideal as it was only up the road from where I live in Kentish Town. Although I didn't find the dress straight away, Elizabeth knew exactly what I wanted and told me to return in a few weeks as she was due to get in more pieces. I'm so glad I went back as when I returned she pulled out THE dress, which was an original 50s number, fresh from LA! Although she needed a clean she was in pristine condition for her 60 years! It was originally a drop waist dress but the lovely ladies at Designer Alterations raised the waist to make it m

A Two-Day Hindu & Catholic Wedding: Lucy & Vish {Part One}

Kat

February 1, 2012

This afternoon's wedding is being split into two parts. I'm not usually a huge fan of the two-parter, but there's just so much going on in Lucy & Vish's weekend-long wedding I did't want anything to get overlooked! On Friday 28th October they had a Hindu wedding ceremony and reception, and then the following day, they had a catholic ceremony and another reception! First up, the Friday... The day started with a ceremony at St Peter's Hall, Manchester. "We always knew we would have a wedding of 2 parts as we wanted to honour both of our cultures and religions," Lucy told me, "so we chose to have a traditional Hindu Blessing on the Friday followed by a Church wedding on the Saturday, an epic 2-day wedding!"

Affordable Bridesmaids Dresses & Accessories from Girls of Elegance

Kat

January 31, 2012

Launched in 2004, Girls of Elegance are one of the UK's leading suppliers of affordable bridesmaid dresses, wedding shoes and bridal accessories. After trading solely online for the past 8 years, in August last year they launched their first dedicated wedding shoe showroom in Dorset, and February will also sees them taking on Charlotte Balbier wedding gowns into their boutique.

A Black & White, Boutique Hotel Wedding: Abbi & Jools

Kat

January 31, 2012

After a cliff top proposal, Abbi & Jools, who met while working at the Cadbury factory, planned their 5* boutique wedding at The Hempel Hotel, London. "Jools and I met 8 years ago, when we both started working for Cadbury. Clearly, having a Cadbury chocolate/sweetie bar at the wedding was obligatory!" Abbi explained. "We got engaged in Australia, on a cliff top on the Great Ocean Road, while sitting on a bench and eating some delicious cake. When Jools said 'I've got a question to ask you', I replied 'Do you want the rest of my cake?' Usually he would have jumped at the opportunity - but instead went down on one knee... to which I responded 'oh my God oh my God oh my God... where shall I put the cake?' I put it on the ground. It was fine. I ate it later."

A-Rockin’ & A-Rollin’, Bushy Park Engagement Shoot: Theo & Lisa

Kat

January 30, 2012

Hold the phones! This might be one of the cutest engagement shoots I've ever seen. No joke! Theo & Lisa are rockers at heart who love charity shop and vintage shopping, hip hop music and hanging out...and that's exactly what they wanted for their engagement session - a simple shoot that shows the real them. I flippin' love it.

A Music & Literature Themed Wedding: Claire & Scott

Kat

January 26, 2012

Claire & Scott chose an old movie theatre in as the setting for their ceremony, The Lantern Theatre, Sheffield. Although they hadn't even thought about marrying in a theatre, after seeing one in Whitby they loved the idea. "We’d originally planned to marry in Whitby, as it’s a special to place to us both," Claire told me. "Whilst looking at venues there, we were shown a theatre hidden away at the back of the sea front community centre. We hadn’t thought about marrying in a theatre, but we both fell in love with the idea. In the end, we decided that we’d rather marry closer to home in Sheffield, but the idea of marrying in a theatre stayed with us. After an afternoon on Google, Scott emailed every theatre within a fifty-mile radius of us to ask if they did weddings. The Lantern Theatre was one of the few that replied and it turned out to be barely a mile from our house. When we arrived we fell in love with the place. It’s an old 84-seat Victorian theatre with anaglyph wallpaper and red velvet seats. The staff there were so flexible and open to all our ideas. They even bought a mirrorball so that I could walk down the aisle in spiralling light. They served cocktails in teapots, put together a lighting and music programme so that the ceremony ran without a hitch and Keith – the volunteer who ran the bar – even dressed up in a dapper waistcoat and tie."

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."

A Shabby Chic Wedding with Vintage Touches: Hannah & Andy

Kat

January 25, 2012

“Joyfest 2011” A Weekend-Long Festival Wedding: Jen & Rob

Kat

January 18, 2012

"A weekend of celebration" was how Jen & Rob described their festival wedding to me, and that couldn't have been a more perfect description. Stokes Barn, specialising in self-catering group accommodation, in the Shropshire hills played host. "We knew we wanted something different," explained the bride. "We wanted to celebrate with the special people who enrich our lives and who share and understand our values and beliefs. We had the idea of a festival type celebration where we could create a magical, memorable and warm weekend (whatever the weather!) of celebration, relaxation, much merriment, Peace and Love!"

A Pop of Neon: A 50s Meets 80s Styled Bridal Shoot

Kat

January 17, 2012

When wedding blogger and stylist Sonia of Want that Wedding send me this neon inspiration shoot I fell in love immediately. I'm a bit of a colour fiend (no duh!) and neon is a trend that I'm love love loving on the high street right now. I'm super excited to see it filter down into bridal styling and I'd love to see some real Rock n Roll Brides rocking out this look on their wedding days. What do you think? The shoot took place at the beautiful One Marylebone, London. Their bright white 'galleries' room made the perfect backdrop for the shoot. The white setting really makes the neon accents pop! "The inspiration for this shoot came about during a brainstorming session with Kat Hill of Kat Hill Fotographie," Sonia explained. "We were discussing various themes for a shoot when this idea just suddenly popped out ‘how about a 50s shoot with an 80s twist?’ I’m not even sure who said it first but we both fell in love with the idea."

A Quirky East London Pub Wedding with a Nod to the 1940s: Becca & Dan

Kat

January 16, 2012

For Becca & Dan, a formal wedding was never on the cards. "We wanted the day to be about our guests not all the attention on us," the bride wrote. "There were no formalities, just tea & cakes followed by pie & mash then a good all knees up in an east London pub with Billie Holiday playing & a free bar all night!" Becca got ready at Zetter Townhouse, a really stylish house with quirky vintage decor & stuffed animals. It proved to be the perfect place for some pre-ceremony snaps with her bridesmaids and really set the tone for the rest of the wedding day.

A Vintage Tepee Wedding: Gemma & Giuseppe

Kat

January 12, 2012

There's quite a story behind Gemma & Giuseppe's gorgeous wedding, and one that I hope might ease any of you stressing about your wedding venue (I know Roo had a bit of a similar drama last month, she'll be writing about it for you soon). "Our reception took place in tepees, at Oatlands Park Hotel, Weybridge (who, p.s. were AMAZING)" Gemma explained. "We had always wanted a tepee party, but our original venue to pitch them fell through with just 8 days to go! Oatlands Park Hotel came to our rescue and then some. They turned everything around so brilliantly - nothing was a problem, and they accommodated everything from the tepees to my 100 vintage teacups for the arrival champagne. After it all went bottoms up, major panic ensued for approximately half a day before I gave myself a stern talking to and set to work! I have to say that despite all of the last minute worry, the day went like a dream, and it just goes to show that even the biggest disasters don't mean that your special day is ruined!"

A Retro, Kitsch & Cherry-Themed Southend-on-Sea Wedding: Heidi & Jim

Kat

January 11, 2012

You can't help but fall in love with Heidi & Jim's Southend on Sea wedding. The cherry theme is just so cute and perfect for a retro, quirky and kitsch seaside wedding. "Our inspiration was most definately ourselves, our loved ones and where we live, sunny Southend on Sea!" Heidi explained. "We wanted a wedding that was totally personal to us, that involved everyone close to us as much as we could and that was totally full of fun and unstuffy. We knew we wanted good food and a venue that was ours, where we could do what we wanted, decorate it how we wanted, drink the drinks we wanted and eat the food we wanted!"

A Black Prada Dress, A Neon Sign and a Very Unconventional Wedding: Katie & Patrick

Kat

January 10, 2012

Katie & Patrick wanted a local wedding, one that reflected how they live their lives. They love Stoke Newington and so wanted to use local suppliers and to keep the wedding as close to home as possible. After proposing on Waterloo Bridge, Patrick presented Katie with a beautiful piece of costume jewellery from Kat and Bee. Katie always said she didn't really want a wedding ring, as she explains, "I'm not keen on having a ring that I have to wear every day for the rest of my life, I wasn't sure about the whole wedding ring thing. I did say though, that I would absolutely love a suffragette ring and, whilst I might not wear it everyday, I would definitely only want a wedding ring if it was one of those. They are about as rare as hen's teeth. But Patrick has a reputation for resilience! And he managed to find one..well, actually, he managed to find two! So I am now the proud owner of two suffragette rings, one of which is sort of my wedding ring."

WIN Free Wedding Photography with Rebecca L

Kat

January 9, 2012

I'm utterly thrilled today to share with you a brand new competition. Rebecca Litchfield of Catwalk Wedding is very generously offering a free engagement shoot to TEN Rock n Roll Bride readers and then free wedding photography to her favourite of these ten couples. We all know weddings are expensive things, so how awesome would it be to get your wedding photos (and great wedding photos at that!) for absolutely nadda!?

A Locally Sourced & Relaxed Wedding: Kelly & James

Kat

January 9, 2012

"Love, laughter, friends & family" said Kelly when I asked her about her wedding theme. "Through all the help and support we had leading up to the day, we knew this would be our 'theme'. It was important to us to make sure everyone enjoyed themselves. For us, it wasn’t about having a particular style or colour running through the flowers – it was just about being true to us as a couple and a family." Kelly & James were married at Braziers Park School in Oxfordshire, "I guess the inspiration for the day was making it about us and the things that are important to us which is basically family, friends and good food," Kelly continued. "I am a big believer in things happening for a reason and so many things leading up to our wedding seemed like they were meant to be and felt so right!"

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.

A Fashion Forward London Wedding: Courtney & Charles

Kat

December 27, 2011

Courtney & Charles were married at Marylebone Town Hall followed by a reception at The Union Club in Soho, London. The fashion forward bride wore a short wedding dress by David Fielden and incredible gold shoes by Charlotte Olympia. Not only do I love that she had a bridesman as well as bridesmaids, but I'm going gaga over his shirt and bow tie combo, made in the same Laura Ashley fabric as the girls. Doesn't it look fabulously chic?

An Eclectic & Colourful DIY Wedding: Amy & Andy

Kat

December 20, 2011

As a regular Rock n Roll Bride reader, Amy booked some of my ultimate favourite wedding suppliers for her October wedding to Andy. Annamarie Stepney photographed the day and the bride wore a Candy Anthony wedding dress with the gorgeous 'cherry' Vivienne Westwood/Melissa shoes. She also dressed her lucky bridesmaids in Vivien of Holloway dresses. "We looked at lots of wedding blogs to find a photographer and saw lots of examples of some beautiful and really cool photos but when I saw some of Annamarie’s work on Rock n Roll Bride we just loved them," Amy explained. "After meeting her knew she’d be great. She made the day go really smoothly too so it was a good choice!"