Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Vintage

A Laid Back DIY Wedding at The Tin Tabernacle: Jen & Michael

Kat

July 4, 2012

The East Sussex wedding of Jen & Michael had a gorgeous laid back vibe. The day started with a moving ceremony at Lewes Register Office, and ended with a rockin' reception at The Tin Tabernacle, an amazing teal green building on the outskirts of Barcombe Village. The space is a large area with high ceilings, wooden floors and white washed walls. The building was originally built as a chapel and it proved to be the perfect backdrop for this couple's quirky wedding. "Our venue was so amazing!" Jen began. "They were kind of vague and just left us to it, which was exactly what we wanted. I never wanted some stylish affair that we’d handed over to professionals – in fact the only professional we hired was our photographer Lee, who was amazing. He’s wonderfully warm and kind and fun, and his photos are absolutely stunning. I knew as soon as I’d met him that we had to have him there. At his insistence we even photographed the 50 or so handmade sock puppets in a variety of artistic poses. We had to try not to wet ourselves laughing."
Read more...

A Nature-Loving Palm Springs Wedding: Kelly & Ken

Kat

July 2, 2012

Ahh Palm Springs... one day I will be in you. But for now, I'll have to make do with lusting over Kelly & Ken's incredible wedding. Is everyone in Palm Springs as effortlessly cool as these two? The wedding was held on the Bob Melk Estate, a privately owned home. "Ken and I met and bonded because of music", Kelly told me. "We fell in love through creating music together, so it’s a huge part of our whole story. One of our favorite songs 'Albatross' by Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac. It has followed us through our courtship and became our processional song."
Read more...

A Spaghetti Western, Day of the Dead & Frida Kahlo Inspired Wedding: Jess & Martin

Kat

June 28, 2012

Jess & Martin's quirky wedding fills my heart with glee. It seems that these days, it's not the wedding details I'm falling in love with (although seeing the pretty/cute/alternative/awesome ideas that people come up with is ace) but the people behind them. How can you not fall in love with these two? "We wanted a relaxed, quirky and easy going wedding that was easy for most people to get to, so set it close to where we lived in Stoke Newington", Jess told me. "We love the funky yet friendly atmosphere of this area and are passionate about where we live."
Read more...

A Quirky New South Wales Wedding: Nat & Michael

Kat

June 27, 2012

The New South Wales wedding of Nat & Michael was full of quirky touches - starting with the bride's awesome pink & blue locks and 1930s wedding dress of course! "We really wanted to keep our wedding cool, calm and casual without missing out of a bit of glam and class!" the bride told me. "We stuck with the motto 'Our day, our way' and tried to make sure that it was just a bunch of fun for everyone. I was the boss of planning, but that didn't mean that Michael wasn't represented- I've been to plenty of weddings where it feels like the groom didn't get his say and we talked everything over and came to a consensus. Really the whole planning process was a breeze because I stayed really calm about everything and just let things happen naturally. There was only one 'freak out' moment in the whole year and a half we were engaged and that was about the boy's suits, they very nearly ended up without any because we had a hard time finding something that suited everyone. Everything just fell in to place, and I think it was because we didn't get our heart too set on anything and just went with the flow."
Read more...

A Handmade Countryside Wedding: Elaine & Drew

Kat

June 26, 2012

The cute countryside retreat of The Barn at Timberlake Farms was the perfect venue for laid back Elaine & Drew. They started their day with a traditional Greek Orthodox ceremony and ended with a dance contest! "We wanted to be comfortable, and we wanted our guest to be comfortable too", wrote Elaine. "We tried to do that while still honoring the importance of the day, and the formal nature of the ceremony being performed in the Greek Church. Our aim was to create a picnic-feel, but with tables and chairs. And we weren't afraid to cut the traditional wedding elements like tossing the bouquet or renting a limo. Instead, we held a very serious dance contest complete with engraved trophies. And, we got a free car wash on the way to the reception!"
Read more...

A Hackney Vintage Mash Up: Aimee & Lee

Kat

June 20, 2012

Aimee & Lee were married in April at the Hackney Council Chambers. The wedding had an effortlessly cool, East London vibe with vintage elements throughout. "We both really love Hackney and wanted to get married in the borough as we brought our first home here and its where we first met", the bride told me. "We picked the council chamber because of its art deco features and also it is a circular room so it felt really intimate and we loved the idea of being surrounded in a circle by all our family and friends."
Read more...

A Boho & Rock n Roll Fusion Wedding: Ioan & Anona

Kat

June 18, 2012

The Welsh wedding of Ioan & Anona was planned with everyone in mind - themselves, their friends and their families. It was important to them that their wedding would be an enjoyable day for everyone in attendance. "On one hand we wanted quite a traditional wedding that would keep the parents happy but also one that both our friends and ourselves would feel bore our own individual stamp," the groom told me. "I play guitar in a hardcore punk / rock band and am obsessed with old 70s riff heavy rock and classic album art so I was really keen to ramp up those kind of aesthetics. Anona’s mother was quite keen on a 'spring flower' theme and whilst initially I worried those two influences would clash spectacularly I think in the end it all came together and balanced each other nicely."
Read more...

A DIY Vineyard Wedding: Christopher & Kerrie

Kat

June 16, 2012

For their vineyard wedding, Christopher & Kerrie wanted something kitsch, warm and welcoming but without being restricted by a particular theme. "We put in all the elements that were 'us' that blended well and looked good together", the bride told me. "I would say our wedding theme, if anything, was 'uniquely us'. We are young romantics, whimsical, mismatched and a bit scruffy, we are lazy Sunday afternoon tea on a patchwork quilt in the sun and piece of cake to take home with you."
Read more...

Pastel Colours for a 1950s Inspired Wedding: Emily & James

Kat

June 14, 2012

As soon as I laid eyes on Emily's incredible silver embellished 1950s inspired wedding dress I was smitten. What an utterly gorgeous bride and a completely beautiful wedding. I couldn't wait to get it on these digital pages of mine! The couple were married at Edes House, Chichester and had their reception at the groom's father's house in Bosham. "We wanted our wedding day to completely reflect James and I", Emily told me. "This was something we kept in mind during the whole process, as I think it is easy to lose sight of what and who weddings are for, when you are surrounded by so many people in the wedding industry telling you that you absolutely need this and definitely need that. 
We both adore the 1950s and the pastel shades, and I really feel like these things were very present in the whole day. We also chose from the beginning which things would be the most important to us - these ended up being the food/drink for James and the flowers for me. We chose a catering company who were very local and produced the most delicious food. We hand picked each of the types of alcohol we chose, with Arundel Ales coming from Sussex and the cider coming from Appledram which is just around the corner from the reception."
Read more...

A Quintessentially British Wedding on the Queen’s Birthday: Jess & Dan

Kat

June 14, 2012

Jess & Dan's wedding was quintessentially British with the theme carrying through from the attire to the cake to the DIY reception decor. Why the theme you ask? Well the wedding was held on the weekend of the Queen's birthday! The couple were married at Edes House, Sussex and had two reception venues, both of which were within the grounds of Chichester Cathedral. Their afternoon wedding breakfast was held at Vicars Hall and the evening party was at George Bell House.
Read more...

A 3-day Wedding at a Rockstar’s Retreat: Holly & Karen

Kat

June 6, 2012

Ridge Farm, a working farm and ex-recording studio in Surrey, proved to be the perfect location for Holly & Karen's May wedding. "What made our wedding Rock n Roll? Definitely the venue!" Holly told me. "Aside from being a beautiful farm that we fell in love with instantly, Ridge Farm is also a recording studio where so many of our musical heroes have recorded albums and stayed - so our wedding guests were partying in the very same place that Queen, Whitesnake, Muse, Roxy, Rush and many more have partied! We hired the farm for the entire long weekend - Karen is Irish and it's Irish tradition to hold 3 day long weddings so we had a big meal on the Friday for family and friends then the wedding on the Saturday, followed by a pool party with live music and a hog roast for everyone on the Sunday. The farm sleeps 24 plus there is a camping field so all our hungover guests could just crawl out of bed on Sunday morning and stumble over to rejoin the party. By Sunday evening everyone was in the jacuzzi swigging prosecco from the bottle, even Karen's mum!"
Read more...

A Waterside Wedding in Rio de Janeiro: Adriana & Daniel

Kat

June 5, 2012

For their November wedding, Adriana & Daniel were keen to inject as much of both their cultures (Brazilian & British) into the day as possible. The event was held at Iate Clube de Búzios, a yacht club in Rio de Janeiro. The bride designed her own dress and used handmade lace from Renda Renascença with the help of dressmaker Inês Uemura. "Sometimes you shoot a wedding that is so amazing, that it is only when you look back on your images and film that you can actually even remember what happened," wedding photographer Maria of Studio 1208 told me. "The whole thing is so effortless, yet it moves like a beautiful old steam locomotive, thundering past you and carrying you away into some distant land."
Read more...

A New York State of Mind: A Hop Skip & Jump Across The Brooklyn Bridge

Kat

June 1, 2012

So here we have it, the final installment of Gala & my frolic around NYC! When Christina & I first starting thinking about shooting in New York there was one place top of both of our lists - The Brooklyn Bridge! Iconic the world over, nothing screams New York more than this structure... or the amazing views from it! After a slightly hair-raising cab ride through China Town and over the Manhattan Bridge, we arrived in Brooklyn and proceeded to walk the 1.1 miles over the East River towards Manhattan.
Read more...

A Homemade Tipi Wedding in Wales: Nathan & Laura

Kat

May 25, 2012

When I get wedding submissions like Nathan & Laura's I'm literally bursting at the seams to get them published. So sometimes I sneakily share a picture or two on my facebook page. The shot I shared of Nathan's reaction when seeing his bride walking down the aisle totally encompassed this awesome wedding. And it would appear you guys loved it too - over 200 likes and I didn't even show you the stunning bride! Well the wait is over my friends, I'm sure you'll agree it was worth it and that his face was 100% justified. Just look at her!
Read more...