Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Vintage

A Retro Glastonbury Wedding: Beth & Jonny

Kat

October 22, 2012

Oh Anna Hardy you do have a way with that camera of yours. A way that makes everything dreamy and beautiful and cool all at the same time... although to be fair, I think you had it pretty easy with Beth & Jonny, like, how totally smokin' are these two!? And Beth's second dress by the epic Delphine Manivet is AMAZING. I love me that high collared cape thingy! The wedding took place in Yorkshire in June. They had an informal registry office wedding in the morning with just a handful of their nearest and dearest, then got changed and had a big Glastonbury themed ceremony & reception with all their friends and family. As devoted Glastonbury goers, Beth & Jonny chose the weekend that the festival should have been on this year so that all their future anniversaries can be celebrated there! "Originally we wanted to marry in the woods, and have a tipi reception in a field", began the bride. "This turned out to be seriously and surprisingly expensive, and finding a field for rent in the north of England was pretty much impossible. When we went to see the venue at Broughton Hall it was a miserable day to say the least, but even in the rain, the place looked awesome."
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Alice in Wonderland Wedding: Adam & Louise

Kat

October 19, 2012

Alice in Wonderland themed weddings have been pretty popular since the Tim Burton version of the story was released in 2010, but that doesn't mean I don't still love to see them! I mean who wouldn't want to look at photographs that transport you into a much more psychedelic world? When Adam & Louise got engaged, and despite the fact that they thought the theme had 'been done' quite a bit, they knew it was perfect for their wedding. Louise had been a huge fan of the story for her whole life, and had always dreamt of an Alice themed wedding... so why go changing?
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A Quirky Railway Museum Wedding: Emily & Rob

Kat

October 18, 2012

Having visited East Anglian Railway Museum since she was a little girl (and in more recent times, every September for their beer festival), Emily always knew it was the place she wanted to get married. In her own words, they chose the Town Hall for the reception, and the pub for the lunch "out of necessity", but luckily for them the sun shone for the whole day and in the end all venues were equally stunning. "People loved that we had three venues throughout the day", she explained. "We even had the miniature railway running for the children at the railway museum."
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A DIY Wedding in Downtown Santa Ana: Candice & Nathaniel

Kat

October 17, 2012

One of the things that bums be out about living in the UK is that we can't get married anywhere we like - of course many couples these days opt for a humanist ceremony at the spot of their choice with the 'legal bit' taking place a few days before or after, but it's not really the same. And when I see ceremonies as gorgeous as Candice & Nathaniel right in the heart of Downtown Santa Ana, I'm even more envious! The wedding took place on June 3rd. The couple organised everything themselves and did so for less than $5000. The ceremony was held on 2nd Street Promenade, and the reception was at Memphis at the Santora, just round the corner. The couple met online and had their first date in the area, and Nathaniel proposed on New Years Eve at Memphis at the Santora,. Basically it was the obvious location for them to have their wedding too!
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Zoe Lem’s Vintage Wedding Fair, London

Kat

October 16, 2012

With 15 years experience as a fashion stylist, Zoe Lem, who pioneered the concept of dressing to suit your shape, has now turned her hand to wedding fashion and design. Zoe was controversially revealed by The Daily Mail in 2006 as the brains behind Trinny and Susannah’s ground breaking show ‘What Not to Wear’ so as you can imagine, she knows her stuff! Zoe's passion for style and weddings (she used to run the iconic My Sugarland wedding boutique in London) has converged to create the brand, Zoe Lem – Vintage Shape Mistress and to launch Zoe Lem’s Vintage Wedding Fair.
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A Colourful Multicultural Wedding: Piyush and Bex

Kat

October 12, 2012

Gosh where does one begin with a wedding like Bex & Piyush's? This is pretty much what wedding bloggers dreams are made of... at least mine are anyway! Bex & Piyush wanted to celebrate the heritage of both families in their wedding. The wedding was an Indian/Western fusion celebration at Heaton House Farm near Macclesfield. Unlike many mixed-background couples, they opted to have just one ceremony incorporating both a Western civil ceremony alongside Indian traditions. Bex & Piyush didn't want to have two separate ceremonies, preferring to represent both their heritages together. "Our wedding was a bright, colourful, inclusive, multicultural and non-religious, light-hearted day, providing an alternative to the inherent narcissism of traditional wedding", began Bex. "We had the wedding on an English farm, complete with views of rolling hills, wellies and rain showers."
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An Eclectic Vintage & Bric-a-Brac Wedding: Emalie & Duncan

Kat

October 10, 2012

Getting engaged on the top of Toyko Tower in Japan in 2010, Emalie & Duncan's wedding was never going to be traditional. With a bride rocking mermaid green hair and a groom adding a much needed modern twist to the tweed suit, this couple wanted a wedding that screamed 'them'. A field in Cookhill, Evesham was chosen as the location and the pair were married outside, in front of a homemade giant heart shaped flower wreath.
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A Bohemian Mexican-American Wedding: Felicia & Ariel

Kat

October 8, 2012

Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Felicia & Ariel wanted to plan a wedding with a nod to their heritage as well as the place they grew up. The wedding was held at The Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems, a non-profit education and research organisation, owned by the groom's parents. "As born and raised Austinites and the children of hippies, we knew from the get-go that we didn't want to have the 'usual' wedding," began Felicia. "Ariel and I both love being in nature and so it seemed like a easy choice to have the wedding at the site of his family's home and non-profit organization. We wanted the wedding to have a lot of color and reflect our passions and cultures. I'm Mexican-American and loved the idea of embroidered Mexican dresses for my bridesmaids, delicate papel picado banners, and bright paper flowers."
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A DIY Wedding at a Safari Park: Jodi & Dave

Kat

October 5, 2012

I'm not gonna lie, where was something in particular that swayed me when it came to featuring this wedding... Stan, the ever so slightly disgruntled looking cat. Of course when I saw the rest of the photos, I just happened to fall in love with Stan's owners, Jodi & Dave as well, but if I'm going to be 100% truthful, Stan did help their cause. This couple didn't want to spend a fortune on the wedding and so by DIYing as much as they could the day came in at under £9000. The ceremony was held at Swiss Gardens, Shuttleworth with the reception taking place in the Safari Lodge at Woburn Safari Park. "We looked at about 12 venues from a marquee where I keep my horses to a vintage factory ballroom but nothing quite ticked all the boxes", wrote Jodi. "But when we found Swiss Gardens we knew instantly this was the one. We originally booked it for August 2013, but then were told the venue would be shutting down for 18 months for a lottery funded renovation so we could only postpone, cancel or move it forward! So we moved it forward giving us only 6 months to plan and make everything!" "We were married in the tiny thatched house in the centre
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A 50s Wedding Inspired by Back to the Future: Laura & Chris

Kat

October 2, 2012

"We've never really been a 'weddingy' kind of couple so after the initial haze of getting engaged and buying all sorts of wedding magazines and stuff, we realised there wasn't a whole lot out there that was really very 'us'," began Laura, who married Chris in August this year. "At one point I'd even considered getting a traditional wedding dress and being a lady for a day but luckily all was saved when we went to see Back to the Future when it was re-released at the cinema. As soon as I saw the dresses at the enchantment under the sea dance, I realised that I knew what I wanted for our wedding."
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A Thespian Wedding with a Focus on the Ceremony: Theresa & William

Kat

October 1, 2012

Theresa & William were married at Preston Court, Kent, in April. Both being actors they had a subtle thespian theme and lots of entertainment! "We met while working for outdoor theatre company," began the bride. "Last year, at the end of a performance of Pirates of Penzance, and on stage in front of 350 people, Willie proposed! It came as quite a surprise to everyone apart from our MD Ben Wiles, who had been instructed to play the Dr Zhivago theme as he went down on one knee! Ben also played at the wedding as I walked down the aisle."
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A Quirky Alice in Wonderland Wedding: Nic & Ed

Kat

September 28, 2012

Nic & Ed chose Gaynes Park in Epping as the perfect spot for their June wedding. "It is the most amazing venue ever and their food is the highlight", explained the bride, "In fact people are still raving about it now, it was better than any restaurant I've ever been to! It's also a beautiful space, which didn't need a lot doing to it which was perfect for us. I just put a few bits here and there to make it 'ours'." "My inspiration came from my love of cakes and Alice in Wonderland. Ed was very happy to let me go off and try and put as much of 'me' into the wedding as I could. My aim was for people to know if was our wedding."
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A DIY Village Hall Wedding & A Bride Who Designed her own Dress: Laura & Mike

Kat

September 25, 2012

A village hall reception venue, a bride who designed her own dress and a groom who found his entire outfit in charity shops - oh I am so excited about Laura & Mike's amazing wedding! Is it just me or are the low key, budget friendly and full of love weddings winning over the high-maintenance, super detail heavy weddings right now? "I am a huge geek and one of the things I am most geeky about is design, craft and making things", wrote newlywed Laura. " So when Mike proposed at a picnic in Kensington Gardens just after our 6 year anniversary, the mother of all craft projects was born!
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A DIY Wedding at Crystal Falls: Dano & Holly

Kat

September 24, 2012

Throwing out as many wedding traditions as they could, Dano & Holly planned their wedding with one golden rule - to have nothing cookie cutter. "I have strong aversion to anything cookie cutter, so we threw out a lot of wedding traditions," the bride began. "We wanted our wedding to be a party that we would never forget. Our theme was something along the lines of 'vintage, woodsy & DIY'. I wore green. We cut the pie (no cake) with a machete. Our friends built the biggest bonfire that any of us had ever seen and we danced in the rain under the stars."
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Two Ceremonies, Afternoon Tea & A Music Festival: Tam & Rob

Kat

September 18, 2012

"We really wanted a fun wedding which guests would enjoy", began Tam when I asked her about her vintage-inspired festival wedding. "Rob & I decided we would split the day into three, so we had the ceremony, the afternoon tea with games then an evening party. I think having three different venues with lots of entertainment was fun for the guests and us!" In fact after the afternoon tea part of the wedding, the couple had a second ceremony - a traditional Indian wedding ceremony. "My dad is Indian so after the wedding ceremony everyone had a glass of Pimms and then gathered round for a traditional Parsee ceremony called a 'Mado Soro'. The ceremony is a blessing for the couple to wish them good fertility and a fruitful marriage. My dad explained what was going on to all the guests and what the ceremony meant. We were presented with the most amazing fresh flower garlands that my cousins had bought over from Thailand. A fruit tree was planted by my brother while prayers were said by other relatives. An egg was passed round Rob's head three times then thrown to the ground and broken. A coconut was then smashed on the floor. Everyone then threw rice and confetti."
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A Backyard Beach Wedding Planned in Three Weeks: Nellie & Matt

Kat

September 13, 2012

Nellie & Matt planned their Whistable wedding in just three short weeks. They wanted something small, something personal and something relaxed. They found the amazing Beacon House, right on the beach, for their ceremony and were able to use the back garden of the bride's brother's holiday cottage for the reception. "Serendipity and our amazingly supportive family and friends brought our wedding together in just 3 weeks," the bride began. "Matt and I had been engaged for 3 years, neither of us are planners but we had a clear idea of the kind of wedding we wanted, a relaxed, seaside celebration centred around our close friends, family, good food and drink. But every option we explored in Cambridge and Brighton, our two home cities, in one way or another tied us into expensive packages, so we put off the wedding and skipped to the baby."
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An East London Wedding with an Industrial Vibe: Bianca & Paul

Kat

August 28, 2012

I often daydream about what our wedding would be like if we were to do it now (embarrassing admission alert!) and I think I've hit the daydream wedding jackpot with Bianca & Paul. The industrial vibe of their Shoreditch venue is just perfect perfect perrrfect. The space in question is Village Underground, an "evolving project building an international platform for creativity and culture" as the website describes it. SWOON.
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