Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Vintage

Sarah & James’ Rockin’ Rockabilly Wedding

Kat

October 22, 2010

Sarah & James 1950's rockabilly wedding was inspired by Sarah's Grandparents who got married on September 12th 1953. "We wanted to get married as close to this date as we possibly could, hence the choice of 11th September 2010," Sarah told me. "My Grandparents celebrated their 57th Wedding anniversary the day after our wedding - the rose tattoo's on my feet (by Sam Ricketts) have their names 'Alice' and 'Mervyn' in recognition of how special they are to me."
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Scott & Ashley’s Incredible DIY Picnic Party Wedding

Kat

October 19, 2010

I loved Scott & Ashley's wedding as soon as I saw it...and I loved it (and them!) even more once I got chatting to the bride and their photographer Jeremy Lawson about all the amazing little details of their day. "Our inspiration came from our love of the vintage," the bride began. "We listen to records at the house, shop for clothes at retro themed consignment stores, and stay glued to TCM. We sort of envisioned a party that looked like a party scene we saw years ago in the movie Mona Lisa Smile combined with the famous barefoot dancing scene from Big Fish in the town of Spectre. We wanted that easy, happy, homemade, and colorful party for our closest friends and family."
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Juliana & Tiago Small & Intimate Brazilian Wedding

Kat

October 19, 2010

Brazilian born Juliana & Tiago met online and wed a year and a half later. They married at sunset in a small and intimate ceremony. The couple were keen to keep the day personal to them and not to succumb to the expectation of the large and lavish wedding that a customary in Brazil. "We got married in a small town, it was a mini wedding, during sunset, " the bride told me. "We decided to not make everything big, like it's usual here, and everything very romantic, but with a vintage touch. In the ceremony we played The Who, Beach Boys, Beatles and She & Him. The reception had the same spirit, a lot of songs to make everyone dance, from 60's to 80's."
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A Sparkly, Opulent & Extravagant Marie Antoinette Themed Rock n Roll Wedding

Kat

October 15, 2010

I'm afraid there's no Photography Friday today and all the photography was done by other people this week! However not only do I know you'll forgive me when you see this amazing wedding I'm putting in it it's place, but you will also all be pleased to here that I'm going to be blogging the full Paris photo shoot on Monday! Danielle & Ed's wedding should certainly help you to get into that Marie Antoinette vibe. I knew I'd love their wedding as soon as I saw their engagement session (which I featured in July) With a penchant for crystals, skulls, fashion & shoes (!) this pair really couldn't have anything but a ridiculously opulent and extravagant Rock n Roll wedding. Prepare you have your breath taken away
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Rachel & Daniel’s Modern Vintage Wedding… With Special Guest – The Pope!

Kat

October 11, 2010

Rachel & Daniel got married at The Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, a modern building that gave their vintage styled wedding an unusual twist. The bride wore a gorgeous dress from Rock n Roll Bride favourite Fur Coat No Knickers. To keep things personal, they made their own cake ("It looked fine as long as it wasn't in a strong light!" the bride laughed. "The ribbons were held in place by satay skewers - all we could find the night before we delivered it to the venue!")
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Elise & Nick’s Laid Back, Homespun & Festival Style Wedding…With a Piano in the Woods!

Kat

October 6, 2010

"Is that a piano...in the woods?!" I asked photographer Emma Case, a stunned look on my face. When the affirmative came back I literally let out a little squeal of exhilaration that I was going to get to share Elise & Nick's wedding with you. Unbelievably, as the couple went with Emma to have their portraits done they came across this unusual yet fabulous prop just sat there. Now I know Miss Emma Case very well and I can just imagine the expletives of excitement that would have come out of her mouth when she laid eyes on that!
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Emma & Morgan’s Wonderfully Sustainable & Crafty Welsh Wedding

Kat

October 5, 2010

Emma & Morgan's Welsh wedding has really put a smile on my face today. Everything about the day was personal, was sustainable and was perfect for them. The couple got married at The Hive and Ice Cream parlour in Aberaeron. They actually had two ceremonies through the course for the day. Firstly a smaller and more personal ceremony at The Hive, joined by just close family and friends. Then, once they got to the reception, they had a second ceremony amongst all 120 of friends. Their DIY heavy reception was held in a marquee in "Charlie's Field" that looked out across New Quay Harbour, Wales - the exact spot that Morgan had proposed!
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Free Wedding Photography Contest Winners – Jamie & Neil’s DIY, Campfire Wedding

Kat

October 4, 2010

Oh I am EXCITED...like, seriously jump up and down and eat a big cream cake-excited about sharing Jamie & Neil's wedding with you today. Why the extra enthusiasm you ask? Well Jamie & Neil were the lucky couple who won the contest for free wedding photography that I organised alongside the the fabulous Kat Braman back in January (you can see their entry here) The couple got married in style on September 18th at the YMCA's Camp Pendalouanin Holton, MI, a place that holds very special significance for the bride. "The whole wedding weekend from Rehearsal on Friday through Sunday morning took place at the Muskegon YMCA's Camp Pendalouan," Jamie explained to me. "Camp Pendalouan has a special place in my heart as I attended girl scout camp there as a child. The ceremony took place at the scenic Boyden Chapel situated on Big Blue Lake and the reception was held in Nikana Lodge. The evening was concluded by a roaring bonfire that could be "seen from space" at the Council Ring of the Great Bear fire circle. The camp setting was just perfect for us since love outdoor adventures. It also gave us extra time to spend with our guests that were able to spend the night in the bunks!"
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Sophie & Jonny’s Burlesque Themed Rock n Roll Wedding

Kat

October 1, 2010

This is one of those posts that's going to have a lot of photographs (hello, burlesque Rock n Roll wedding - there's no way I could leave any out!) When photographer Marianne Taylor showed me a sneak peek of Sophie & Jonny's wedding a few weeks ago, I knew straight away that they were right up my street...you'll see why! The couple got engaged in Paris on Sophie's Birthday. "It was a dream come true," the bride told me "Jonny had booked us into a plush Moulin Rouge themed hotel. We sat on the steps of the Sacre Coeur and drank pink champagne and then he surprised me some more with tickets to the Moulin Rouge that night! I had no idea that he had not only secretly booked the trip but also tickets to The Moulin Rouge. My favourite film and as a burlesque fanatic, this was perfect. At the end of the show, on the red carpet, I was surprised with a box which I unwrapped to find a smaller box. Upon opening the small box and finding my Princess cut platinum ring (perfect!) he got down on one knee in front of everyone and asked me to marry him, to which I screamed and replied yes!" The Paris proposal and Sophie's love of all things 1940s and 50's (she is a burlesque dancer herself) inspired the entire wedding which was a real DIY effort. She sourced the white ostrich feathers for a burlesque theme and the ‘Eiffel tower’ vases herself and set everything up for the reception. She also designed and made all the stationary and paper goods as well as helping out to make the cake. Instead of a guest book they dressed a vintage looking birdcage (found in a boutique shop) with feathers and pearls and had little black and white cards for people to write messages on and post them in the birdcage.
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Lisa & Tyrone’s Windy Wedding

Kat

September 28, 2010

Lisa & Tyrone got married on the South Coast of Kwa Zulu Natal in South Africa. Their bridesmaid and photographer, Jacki Bruniquel, told me the whole story. "Their wedding was a day of such love and celebration. Lis not just my sister she is one of my best friends and Ty is not just my brother in law he has been in the best friend category for long time now. Tyrone happens to be a really good photographer as well! I love them both to absolute bits and pieces and really wish i could just do their whole day all over again."
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Jill & Neil’s Vintage “Englishness” Wedding

Kat

September 22, 2010

Jill & Neil's wedding is vintage "Englishness" in every sense of the word. The whole day - from Jill's floral Fur Coat No Knickers vintage gown, to the London bus that transported them and the personalised vintage postcards used as invitations and then re-used as the table-plan - was an authentic representation of the theme they loved so much. "We took vintage inspiration from our own families, finding old frames in charity shops for lots of photographs of our parents, grandparents and great-grandparent's weddings," they told me. "These filled the fireplaces of the Lodge and meant we were surrounded by reminders of our ancestors as well as being beautiful pictures. Also, to entertain our guests on our bus trip we had a picture quiz to guess who the couples in the old photos were - with the answers on the back of the original at the venue. These were in bags made by a charity from recycled newspapers from The India Shop and we also included bus related gifts to keep the children amused - mostly from the London Transport Museum, and old fashioned sweets and goodies. On the tables we used luggage labels from the Post Office for place names, which my nieces helped stamp with butterflies and tied to mini jars filled with old fashioned sweets from Hope and Greenwood."
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A Kitschy, Quirky, Vintage Wedding

Kat

September 15, 2010

Warning: this post has a hell load of photographs and I ain't going to apologise for that. I literally couldn't cut them down! I am so excited about Lindsey & Adriano's wedding I can hardly contain myself. The gorgeous bride and her musician husband had a beautiful and quirky vintage-themed wedding at Farbridge, West Sussex. "Our inspiration was easy we just collected things we love and are interested in," the bride told me. "I love all things vintage because I love that it has history and seems to have so much more personality than many modern things. I find that vintage things were made to last and made with care and skill unlike most things today are made to be disposable and are not designed to last. I wanted our day also to have lots of elements of fun so I came up with the idea of an ice cream sundae bar so guests could be kids again, make a mess and choose whatever topping they wanted! We also bought a kiss-o-meter for a bit of fun, it was from an American site and was from the 60's. In the reception barn at Farbridge they also had a projector. One of my favourite films is Cinema Paradiso, there is a scene at the end of the film which is called the kissing scene which features lots of kisses from famous old black and white films. We played this scene on repeat on the the projector to add another dimension to the room. We had a wedding cocktail which we served in jam jars and bought some quirky straws too.All these things were good talking points for the guests and added elements of fun and interaction."
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Messing About on the River with Joanne Fleming Designs

Kat

September 13, 2010

I wanted to start this sunny and bright Monday morning with a bit of dress 'porn' for you all. Who doesn't adore looking at pastel colours, short hems and gorgeous attention to detail - all perfectly modelled by a stunning rockabilly-esque model? Exactly. The dresses are all designed and made by Brighton based, Rock n Roll Bride favourite Joanne Fleming. They are (in order of appearance) Clothilde, Audrey and Pieretta. Joanne also made the pretty damn stunning headpiece to go with the Pieretta dress. I am a particular fan of this dress in fact - made from metallic silk organza, it has the wonderful quality of tarnishing slightly over time, so the dress starts to look properly vintage very quickly.
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Angie & Jordy’s Musical, Heavily Tattooed, Central Park Wedding

Kat

September 8, 2010

Central Park played host to Angie and Jordy's wedding. Originally from Ottawa, Canada, the couple chose New York to get married in because it was the first place they travelled to together, "It just seemed like the ideal location for us" Angie told me. "We wanted to see more Broadway shows and catch a Yankee's game. No to mention many of our guests had never been and who doesn't want to visit New York?"
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