Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

UK

You Rock My World

Kat

July 19, 2010

Alex & Lisa met 13 years and discovered a mutual love of music, books & film "We met nearly 13 years ago and the one thing that brought us together was music. He was wearing a t shirt of my favourite band and I fell for him" Lisa told me. "When we started dating we would wander around London checking out music shops, flicking through CD and vinyl to add to our collections and then head to a local cinema to catch a film. We probably spent more time in the records shops in Soho and a cinema than anywhere else. Many of those films we saw are now our favourite films and we probably know them inside out. I read books like there is no tomorrow and Alex is slowly coming round to that after having spent a lifetime reading comics and graphic novels. I bake cakes every weekend and while I enjoy making them, Alex enjoys eating them so when we are out I always take him to a cake shop so we can have a treat. I am also the official photographer in our relationship and I have the cameras and stacks of photo's to prove it. Alex helped me buy my first SLR and he sat in front of the camera on many occasion to help me with college projects"
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The Glorious British Summertime

Kat

July 19, 2010

How much do I love Hayley & Lucas' adorable English countryside engagement shoot? Almost makes me proud to be British! The ever-lovely Lisa Devlin captured the couple in Sussex as they wanted a countryside location and with the yellow flowers, Hayley's outfit and the glorious British summertime light (yes, it does happen sometimes) the scene couldn't have been more perfect. Over the last year or so props have been massively popular in weddings and photo shoots however Hayley & Lucas wanted to keep their shoot simple - just them. They did opt to bring some flowers though and Donal at Pollen came up with the spiky posy of zingy yellow chrysanthemums to contrast beautifully with their rural, natural setting.
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A Sunday Kind of Love – Restoration Cake

Kat

July 18, 2010

This week's Sunday Kind of Love goes to the one and only Charlotte Gamble of Restoration Cake. Not only did she make me the must gorgeous, beautiful and yummy cake to celebrate the launch of the new look Rock n Roll Bride but she is quite frankly an utter darling and deserves all our love and adoration! PLUS she has just had the most awesome pin-up inspired shoot with Rockabetty Studios and so I'm delighted to share these exclusive piccies with you today too! Who would have thought cake-making could be so glamorous and Rock n Roll!?
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Retro Art Deco Kitsch

Kat

July 13, 2010

I LOVE a bit of retro kitsch and Caroline & Jim couldn't be more perfect at pulling this off if they tried. The shoot took place in their own Art Deco apartment in Brighton (just check out the exterior shots!) which has been decorated with an eclectic mix of bits and bobs collected from all over and ranging in era from the 1920's right through to the 1970's. I adore everything from the authentic mirror, clocks and Princess Anne collectible mugs to the incredible wallpaper and all the retro furniture. Jim is 'Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer' , a brilliant musician playing all over the country at gigs, weddings, parties and festivals. Caroline has a complete passion for fashion as she works in the fashion industry in London. The pair both embrace everything retro and nostalgic in fashion and styling, so their style was spot on for this style of shoot. The couple both wore all their own clothes to give a completely genuine portrayal of themselves and who they are as a couple.
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Under the Spotlight – The Sage, Gateshead

Kat

July 12, 2010

When planning our wedding I found organising the venue the most stressful. As soon as we got engaged I wanted to get the venue sorted as, really, the whole day - the theme, the style and the ambiance - anchors around the setting. For the modern, urban bride, The Sage, Gateshead could well be the answer. Set just outside of Newcastle, The Sage offers a modern and affordable way to get married in style. The venue offers 3 rooms available for wedding hire.
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An Irregular Choice – A Wonderfully Theatrical British Wedding

Kat

July 12, 2010

I woke up this morning to the news that the Rock n Roll Bride Mad Hatter shoot had been blogged by Irregular Choice shoes! Seriously, how glad am I that Vivienne Westwood didn't deliver my shoes on time and Irregular Choice saved the day? I feel like all famous and stuff... I thought then it only appropriate that I blogged this gorgeous Irregular Choice bride that I'd been planning to blog this week. I saw a few pictures of bride Sophie-Jayne in her amazing Ian Stuart dress and Irregular Choice shoes on the Schuh facebook page (they blogged about our shoot too!) and knew I had to find out more about this wedding. Sophie-Jayne & Jason got married at Sophie's old College by a Reverend who used to be one of her teachers. After the very personal ceremony, everybody was transported to Sophie-Jayne's parent house for the reception in her Dad's Old Route Master Bus!
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Best of Blogs – Issue 10 ~ Rosie Parsons & The Photography Parlour

Kat

July 11, 2010

OK confession/apology time again. I'm forgoing this week's Sunday Kind of Love post. Eeek...don't be mad. Thing is, wedding season is nuts and I have so much awesomeness to blog that I only flippin' forgot to blog this month's Photo Pro Magazine article. Deary me. Bad Kat. So I'm sacrificing today SKOL (heheh) to share this with you instead. It ain't that the love has ended - far from that. In fact I've got so much love for so many of you at the moment that I couldn't narrow it down to one person ANYWAY...so win win. There, I now feel justified in my decision!
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1950’s Diner-Style Charm

Kat

July 8, 2010

Holy 1950s wedding awesome Batman! I love it when a couple really get into a theme and do it so well - so well in fact that their photographer Al Overdrive even dressed up as a 1950's style reporter (photo below) Michelle & Craig got married in style at Stradey Park Hotel, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales. Everything screams 1950s retro rockabilly charm - from the pink Cadillac and the diner style grub (giant hotdogs, create your own burgers, fries, waffles, pancakes, ice cream sundaes, Oreo cheesecake!) to the Vivienne Westwood shoes (of which I will never tire) and Michelle's custom 'Beverlywood' Dolly Couture dress.
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Stevie Wonder played at our Reception!

Kat

July 8, 2010

I don't often post weddings that aren't shot by a professional wedding photographer as I am so passionate about everyone having amazing wedding photography, however there are definitely some instances when I'm happy to make an exception. I am proud to make the 'wedding' of Stacey & Dave one of these exceptions. The pair were at Glastonbury music festival last weekend (actually I think it was the week before, man I am behind with my blog posts!) and got engaged, hurrah! Their friends suggested they get married then and there as Glastonbury is famous for people rocking up and getting married in wellies, surrounded by mud and music! This year however it was 30 degrees and although the 'wedding' isn't a legally binding one (silly UK wedding laws) this is certainly going to be an awesome memory for the couple.
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Primrose Hill Pretty

Kat

July 7, 2010

Olivia & Mark's pretty and quirky London engagement session makes my heart sing! The pair actually said that they found the Primrose Hill location (where they live) a little twee so their photographer Lisa made a real effort to find some none puke-worthy spots including a cool graffiti wall ( "I was a bit 'been-there-done-that' until I saw it, if graffiti could ever be vintage, this might be it. Mostly heart themed with a chalky quality, I LIKE!" Lisa explained) a Banksy mural, the front door of Gwen (Stefani) & Gavin and Jamie (Oliver) & Jules' houses (shh!) the canal and the top of the hill.
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Mad Hatter Rock n Roll Bride ~ Candy Floss, Beach Huts & The Great British Seaside

Kat

July 6, 2010

It's that time of immense excitement for me again, when I finally get to share with you a 'lil project I've been busying myself with behind the scenes. Unbelievably this shoot has been in the pipeline for over a year but it's only now that I've had the time to get it all organised properly! The Photographer I first met Eliza Claire just over a year ago at the very first 'Rock n Roll Bride meet'. We met in a teeny cocktail bar in central London. We drank cosmopolitans and mojitos and talked way into the night about business, photography and changing the face of the UK wedding industry...and look how far we've come in a year! At this first meeting we talked about doing a photo shoot together and would you believe it's actually taken this long to get it together. However, as always, the wait was soworth it as within this past year we've got to know so many more amazing people in the industry, a few of which we asked along to join in the fun. "My thoughts on the shoot were to do something different, bring out the softer side of Rock'nRoll Bride! You've done a gothic shoot and a Punk-rock shoot, I wanted to show your softer, feminine side. Tiffany and I were definitely on the same page when it came to ideas for this, and the Whitstable location really grew from that - getting you out of the city, and wanting beach huts!"
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The Photography Parlour and the G2G Shoot Out

Kat

June 28, 2010

Last Tuesday, the city of Bristol paid host to a huge gaggle of budding photographers, models and industry professionals. The photography blog, The Photography Parlour, spearheaded by Rosie Parsons, organised a 'shoot-out' affectionately nicknamed G2G (Get Together) where everybody who's anybody headed down for a day of shooting in the sun. I was GUTTED that I couldn't make it (I was asked if I could come along and model but unfortunately my tattoo was still scabby and not to nice at this point!) but after seeing the results coming through I can not wait to attend the next one!
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A Sunday Kind of Love – Blood Brothers Tattoo Studio, Mike Harris & Al Overdrive

Kat

June 27, 2010

OK, so I'm so bloomin' impatient. My sleeve tattoo technically isn't finished yet (I've got another 4 hours or so to go in 4 weeks time - I'm adding some more colour to the background and some more cupcakes and diamonds - yum) but I've waited 2 weeks already to share these pictures and I can't do it anymore! At my last session at the amazing Blood Brothers Tattoo Studios in Holloway Rd, London, photographer Al Overdrive offered to pop down and take a few photographs of me in pain/being brave/getting inked. Al won Tattoo Photographer of the Year this year and is pretty well known in the music and tattoo photography market, shooting for magazine like Skin Deep, Tattoo Master, Rock Sound and Terrorizer as well as shooting some pretty damn cool alternative weddings.
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Bunting, Cupcakes & Chickens – An English Village Fete Wedding

Kat

June 24, 2010

OK so I feature a lot of weddings photographed by Emma Case...but the thing is, all her weddings and all her couples are so RAD that as soon as I see the photographs I'm like "Emma Emma Emma send these to meeeee!" You get me right? The event I got so excited about this week was Kelly & John's wedding. Their inspiration came from the traditional English village fete, "where Nan brings an apple pie and auntie Brenda brings the coleslaw" Kelly explained. I love that!! The couple wanted a laid back, casual, relaxed and informal wedding which they pulled off on a budget. "We had two things in mind when we planned our wedding" Kelly told me. "We would not spend silly money and we would do it our way. We wanted a relaxed, informal ‘village fete’ wedding with no formalities and in general, a big knees up! Practically everything was done on a budget but I think it makes you more creative anyway! I think having a wedding with a difference in England is hard work – finding the right people to work with and in particular, sticking to your guns, but it really is soooo worth it. Our wedding couldn’t have been ‘more us’ and it went beyond both our expectations – and the comments we’ve had about the day have been very touching. I just wish we could do it all again!"
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Fabulous 50’s & Multi-Coloured Tulle

Kat

June 22, 2010

As soon as a saw Catherine & Kev's fabulous 50's style wedding, my attention was drawn to one thing - that amazing Stephanie James Couture dress! I have been a superfan of the designer ever since I found and fell in love with this amazing multi-coloured tulle creation and OMG Catherine's had a similar underskirt. She too fell in love with this dress when I featured in a while ago. "My maid of honour, Kirree, found a dress on Rock n Roll Bride made by Stephanie James Couture" Catherine explained. "It was the 'Lustful' or 'Tame Fifi' dress you featured a while back, as soon as she sent me a link to the pictures I knew that was the dress I needed to get married in! I quickly got in touch with Stephanie and asked if she could make me a similar version and she said yes!"
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A Non-Vanilla, Love-Filled, 1950’s Delight

Kat

June 21, 2010

An excitable email from a newly married reader always brightens my day and LeeAnn's may have been one of the most excitable I've received in a while! I just had to share the story behind her and husband David's gorgeous 1950's influenced wedding with you today. "After gorging my eyes on a ga-jillion bridal mags and internet images, I felt I was living a white-out groundhog day" LeeAnn began. "I quickly became downhearted about organising my own BIG DAY, the no-fun casting my eye over "traditional" gowns (this one? no, that one? no, repeat), the vanilla-ness of invites, pink-and-white themes to the power of 42,000! Where did the love go?"
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