Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Vintage

A Most Curious Wedding Fair – April 16th 2011

Kat

February 7, 2011

Rebecca started her business, A Most Curious Party, whilst she planned her 2008 wedding (It was a beauty! I blogged it here.) Her vintage styling company has gone from strength to strength in the last couple of years, however now she's going one step further and planning a bridal show with a difference! She explains, "I was totally disheartened by the barren landscape of boring wedding suppliers on offer to do my husband-to-be and I justice on our big day. Since then things have utterly changed for the better and there are so many great designer, makers, florists, vintage dress companies, photographers, stationers, you name it, on the scene who have changed the face of the wedding industry, not to mention the bloggers like the one only Kat from the one and only Rock n Roll Bride whose influence is immeasurable. Similarly, now, there are vintage wedding fairs popping up around the country and this can also, only be a good thing. But I still feel we can go one further people! The experts putting together vintage wedding fairs are doing a grand job and full respect to them, but maybe, just maybe vintage isn’t enough."
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Magpie Vintage & The Rose Collection Exclusive Sneak Peeks from this week’s Photo Shoot of AWESOME!

Kat

February 3, 2011

I am mightily excited to share a few sneak peeks from this week's photo shoot. I was asked by the lovely Lisa & Tania of Magpie Vintage if I'd like to come and be their 'celebrity' (ha!) model for their latest (and in my opinion greatest!) promotional photo shoot. The pair are expanding their business from vintage jewellery to fashion! The Rose Collection launches in September 2011 and each piece is a lovingly created one off - reworked from genuine vintage articles - just like their jewellery that they've become so well known for. If you're interested in purchasing any of these stunning pieces then be sure to get in touch with them!
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Olga & Jo’s Two Day Russian/British Fusion Wedding

Kat

February 2, 2011

Olga & Jo's Rye wedding makes me super happy! I chatted to the bride all about it - their style ideas and how they integrated both their cultures, Russian and English, into their super cute wedding. She explained, "As soon as Jo and I had moved to Brighton, we knew we wanted to mark our wedding day by celebrating it by the beach. It is a Russian tradition to celebrate a wedding over two days so that with family and friends, and their children, there can be one formal and one informal day. With my family being from Russia we wanted to keep to this tradition and felt an English seaside was perfect for catering for both days and the number of people who would be travelling far for the occasion." "Having searched unsuccessfully in Brighton for our perfect location, we stumbled across The Place At The Beach Hotel in Camber Sands which looked just right. Having visited the venue and seen the beach across the road, the accommodation for our families and friends and a spacious garden with a BBQ, we knew it had everything we wanted for our two days."
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Olga & Jo’s Epic Brighton Engagement Shoot

Kat

February 2, 2011

I've got an epic double bubble of a feature today - Olga & Jo's engagement session in Brighton, followed by their gorgeous Rye wedding later today. The Russian couple wanted their pre-wedding shoot to take place in Brighton as it held special significance to their relationship. The pair moved to the beach resort town in April last year and a week later Jo proposed right on the beach! "My engagement ring was hand made by the family friend jeweller and it is made of platinum with rhodium plating to make it look dark and diamonds," Olga told me. "We had my grandparents came to stay with us so we had a photo session together after having a breakfast at our favorite Bill's cafe and store in Brighton. I was wearing the Eley Kishimoto skirt and top and Jo was wearing Folk cardigan."
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Rob & Justine’s Beeeautiful Art Retreat South African Wedding

Kat

January 31, 2011

You'll know when I'm really excited about posting a wedding because I'll sneak peek a photo on facebook and twitter as soon as it hits my inbox. It's almost unfair for me to keep it to myself! That's exactly what I did when Rob & Justine send me over their beeeautiful wedding...and actually, beeeautiful is literally the only way I can describe what I saw accurately. Love love love... The couple were married at Hillhouse – a quirky converted Barn that is used as an art retreat, which has the look and feel of a dolls house - in South Africa. "Rob and I met a photography gallery and almost instantly clicked," Justine told me when I asked about the proposal. "I liked that he loved animals and the environment and he loved that I was edgy and confident (his words). We were engaged six months later. Rob proposed in a beautiful vintage Victorian Era locket, I opened it and he had written ‘Will you marry me?’ in it."
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Photography Friday – From Our Hearts to Our Hands

Kat

January 28, 2011

Those of you that follow me on Twitter, will know that I've had a bit of a rough week. Being a work-a-holic is often not so good for your health and (yet again) my body has screamed 'arrrgh, need to rest' and I've contracted glandular fever or tonsillitis (the doctors have done a blood test to see which one, if either, it is.) Aaanyway, needless to say I haven't felt much like taking pretty pictures this week, so instead I though I'd use this edition of Photography Friday to direct you towards a project set up by some of my favourite girls - Emma Case, Anna Hardy, Debs Ivelja and Joanna Brown. The project is called From Our Hearts to Our Hands.
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Katie & Olivia’s Natural Beauty

Kat

January 26, 2011

Today's first feature actually isn't wedding-related at all, but I just loved it so much that I had to share it anyway. Sisters Katie & Olivia's shoot took place at the home of photographer, and friend of their family, Lee Anne Havens of Flower Child Photography. The idea for the shoot was inspired by the girls' natural beauty and a desire from Lee Anne to create something unique. "It took me a long time to decide how and where to do this shoot, and in the end I settled on just doing everything at my home studio and made some crazy "costumes" for them," explained Lee Anne.
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Kennon & Bob’s “Double Rainbow” DIY Wedding

Kat

January 24, 2011

Kennon & Bob's "double rainbow" wedding is a perfect example of why less than perfect weather doesn't have to spell a disaster for your wedding or your wedding photographs! The wedding was held at South Shore Cultural Center, Chicago - the same venue that The Obama's held their wedding reception! The couple also loved the venue because all their rental fees are given to support arts and cultural programming in the area. "If you asked our family and friends, they'd say that we're Rock n Roll because we have tattoos and piercings, aren't traditional or religious, go a lot of concerts and love to throw parties," the bride told me. "Ok, we agree. We just didn't want a cookie-cutter wedding. We wanted nothing to do with dowries, religious figures or treating women as possessions. We wanted to share our beliefs in marriage -- love, respect, equality, friendship -- and to throw one hell of a party!"
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Sally & Vyv’s Stylish London Wedding

Kat

January 18, 2011

Sally & Vyv's stylish London wedding took place in November. The ceremony at Islington Town Hall was followed by a party at 06 St Chad's, Kings Cross. Sally told me all about their day, "My dress was from a vintage fair at Chelsea Town Hall, I don't know the designer/era but I was talking to a fab lady who runs a vintage shop in Camden Passage and she thought it might be late 50s. I didn't plan yellow but wanted a bright colour and when I saw it I knew it was what I was looking for. I got it altered by The Lady That Does who is as much fun as she is talented, I spent a good few evenings laughing over cups of tea at her house with her partner - they are both very into their vintage and run swing nights in Walthamstow, but that's another story... oh yes and he runs dance classes! I almost forgot that I was there to get the dress pinned they were so much fun! Shoes were unimaginatively from Topshop."
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A Quirky, British, Cupcakey Kinda Day

Kat

January 17, 2011

Oh I do love a pretty & retro photo shoot to brighten up a Monday morning and this fabulous one, sent over my Bethan of Haywood Jones Photography, fits the bill perfecto! "The main aim of this shoot was to achieve a real vintage glamour look and feel," began photographer Bethan. "We wanted a big slice of silver screen elegance with a large portion of delicious cupcakes on the side! My Pretty Little Things specialise in making veils and fascinators which hark through the eras of the 20's right through to the 50's and approached me to organise a vintage themed session. When organising the shoot, I contacted Queenies Cupcakes who have a shop in Ironbridge right around the corner to me, to see if we could use them as a location for part of the day. They were absolutely brilliant and we all had a good nibble on the cupcakes while we were there, work is so hard sometimes!"
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Nessa & Josh’s Geek Chic Rooftop Elopement

Kat

January 13, 2011

Nessa & Josh eloped on a rooftop in Austin, Texas. The bride explained, "We really wanted to strip down a ceremony to what it's really about - two people, in love. I wanted something personal and close; stress free and beautiful. We didn't have rings yet, so we brought some vintage fox playing cards instead. The card decision was one part Josh: "I want something something non-floral as a boutonniere", one part me: "These are so cute, we have to use these" and one part our combined love for Fantastic Mr. Fox."
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Athena & Branden’s Super Stylish, Whimsical & Vintage Wedding Day

Kat

January 12, 2011

Antena & Branden are like old friends of Rock n Roll Bride. I featured their gorgeous whimsical engagement session back in the Summer so I'm really pleased to share their stunning wedding today too. The Bride wore a Nicole Miller dress with a dramatic vintage-inspired necklace that she made herself from lace. She kept her look unique with a beautiful puffball veil from Toni Federici and a bow from Forever 21. Her earrings were also DIY - made by a friend for her.
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Tasha & Noah’s Americana Backyard BBQ Wedding

Kat

January 11, 2011

Tasha & Noah's beautiful backyard wedding is pure inspirational gold! I am super excited to share it with you today. I just know you're all going to love it just as much as I do. The ceremony & reception took place in the couple's back garden and they asked all their friends & family to help out where they could to make the day a really personal one. "Noah and I wanted to have a small, chilled wedding that involved our families and close friends," Tasha told me. "Choosing red, white and blue for our Americana backyard BBQ wedding theme made finding coordinating fabric and accessories super easy. Nearly everything was DIY- Noah made our Save the Date''s and invitations, Noah's mom made all the desserts, Noah's mom, grandma and aunt made the bouquets and bouts from a few bouquets from Pike Place Market. My mom's friend made 200 feet of pennant flags from fabric I picked out at the fabric store down the street from my house. My sister and her boyfriend cut up all the fruit for our drinks. My aunt stamped all the BBQ bibs with a custom stamp that Noah designed. My aunts put together the centerpices the day before. On the day of the wedding, my mom and I set up all the tables, chairs, tablecloths, and centerpieces in an half an hour."
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Mr & Mrs Tattooboy’s Heavily Tattooed, Ass Kickin’ Rockabilly Wedding

Kat

January 7, 2011

Do you remember Mr & Mrs Tattooboy? The hot tattooed couple behind one of my favourite ever engagement sessions? Well check it out - they got hitched and I've got the exclusive on their killer wedding. When the couple first met, Kori was a cheerleader and Matt was a rocker and a tattooed artist. They soon fell in love and Kori starting getting just as much ink as her man! "Kori & Matt’s aka Mr. & Mrs. Tattooboy, have this incredible rockabilly style & then some!!!" photographer Christina told me. "When I asked Kori about the details of her wedding she just told me she wanted it to be different from the normal-cheesy-blah type weddings, this made me really happy that she wasn’t giving in to what everyone else in the world was doing! Their unusual story & love for tattoos & rockabilly style was inspiration enough for these two lovers to plan their wedding."
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Don & Aileen’s Bicycle, Camera & Picnic Themed Engagement

Kat

January 7, 2011

Don & Aileen's beautiful engagement session was sent into me over Christmas. "We chose the colors aqua and red for our wedding because it conveys a little bit of old / vintage but modern and bold at the same time," they began. "We also wanted some of our favorite items to be a part of our celebration and our engagement session: Cameras & Bikes. We've always been fascinated with cameras and its what actually brought us two together. Our collection grew because of our interest in how images were captured way before, and how it has evolved to what it is now. Growing up, we both biked a lot -- and we knew they were definitely gonna be part of this wedding. Represents a 'lil bit of old soul, free spirit and never ending fun."
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