November 3, 2010
It's the little details that excite me, details like all that attention and love put into Emma & Matt's Rock n Roll Wedding. The couple, who found their photographer Caro Hutchings through a feature on Rock n Roll Bride, got married St Mary’s Church in Yorkshire. After the ceremony, the whole party boarded a vintage double decker bus which took them to the reception, held at The Blue Lion, East Witton.Read more...
November 3, 2010
Brighton was the location for Jessica & Forbes' rockabilly wedding this summer. They chose May 1st as their date as it was Jessica's late Grandmother's birthday and having it on this day was their way of inviting her to the wedding. All the guests were invited to dress up in their finest retro get-up," Absolutely everyone joined in," the bride told me, "We were so convincing a hotel guest asked if we were a convention!"Read more...
October 29, 2010
I sneak peeked Sophie & Barney's wedding on Twitter and Facebook as soon as their photographer Lisa Devlin emailed me to ask if I wanted to blog them - hello!? Look at these two...Like she even had to ask!! The best bit though? Sophie & Barney found Lisa via Rock n Roll Bride - I love love love featuring the weddings of bona fide Rock n Roll Bride readers! Oh I can hardly contain my excitement over this one... "We did everything we wanted do and didn't care if anyone else thought it was right," the couple explained. "We put together all of our loves and didn't worry about a colour scheme or any thing particularly weddingy, we love autumn and Halloween and London and glamour and silliness and fur and penguinbooks and skulls so we chucked them all in. Is that Rock n Roll??!" Simple answer - yes! Sophie looked every bit the Rock n Roll princess in a genuine vintage dress which she bought from My Sugarland in North London. "It was the first and only dress I tried on," said Sophie "and its beyond special having been a museum piece and nearly 100 years old! It was covered in mould and little rips, I owe Zoe at My Sugarland a massive thank you because she helped my Dad see beyond the grubbiness of it and talked him into buying it for me! She also passed me on to the wonderfully stern but kind Jacqueline Byrne who used to be a seamstress for the Queen no less (!) who tidied the dress up perfectly, even recovering all the buttons on the sleeves." With her perfect dress, Sophie wore a custom made headdress from Lilly Lewis which she customized with a brooch belonging to her Mother. She also also wore her Mother's silver fox fur jacket which was a gift from her Dad on the day she was born!Read more...
September 12, 2010
This is totally sad so you'll have to forgive me. Also, it's 6:30am and I've been awake for 3 hours. I don't know why and maybe my mind is going a bit haywire but I just came up with this ridiculous idea for a blog post so I'm going to run with it. I was watching 'Don't Tell the Bride' with Gareth the other day (for those of you who aren't in the UK, it's a TV programme where basically the groom plans the whole wedding - he picks and organises literally everything - the venue, the dress, the flowers, the invitations, the theme - it's brilliant!) I bet lots of couples do this as they watch this show but Gareth & I got chatting about what he'd do if he had to plan our wedding. Now I've either subliminally trained him well or he's been paying close attention to the blog and just not telling me but OMG his ideas were quite frankly awesome. As soon as he said "short vintage dress from Fur Coat No Knickers (yes he named the shop!), mismatched colours, summer meadow" I was sold! So much in fact that I totally want to marry him all over again and have him plan the whole thing.Read more...
July 28, 2010
Beatriz & Ricardo got married early this month in Cartagena, a colonial city on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. Born here, Beatriz knew she wanted to return back to this special place to get married. They had a gorgeous civil service a few days before the wedding. "Weddings tend to be so cookie cutter and sooo traditional, we were sure we didn’t want that" the bride told me. "The first tradition we broke was not getting married in a church, we decided to just have a civil ceremony; but a friend of us told us that civil ceremonies were so plain and that we should do something special, so we decided to go to the notary to get married in Bogotá a few days before the actual wedding in Cartagena and to have a very special ceremony."Read more...
July 14, 2010
Photographer Amanda and her model Cathy wanted to style a shoot that didn't in anyway reflect the usual bridal look. They wanted to explore how using what the bride loves can and should shape her bridal look and not the preconceived ideas portrayed by the wedding industry. "The inspiration for this shoot was Cathy and all the things she loves" explained Amanda. "She has very eclectic tastes and is a collector of beautiful things. Both of the dresses were vintage pieces that she has picked up over the years along with the jewellery and jackets. Cathy also loves Vivienne Westwood hence her hair colour and the shoes.Read more...
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.Read more...
July 3, 2010
Jess & Bryan's is my favourite kind of wedding. I love the fashion, I love the style, I love the amazing diy touches and the whole chilled out and creative vibe of the day. "We really wanted usto be present in everything that was a part of our day" the couple told me. "We tried to make, and do, as much as we could for our wedding. This meant enlisting the help of our talented and wonderful friends and family to make paper cupcake toppers, straw flags, escort cards, wooden signs and much, much more! We all got together the day before the wedding to set up the entire tent and yard and then relaxed with a night of BBQing and laughing.Read more...
July 2, 2010
Anyone that knows me at all will be well aware than I have a bit of an obsession with these Vivienne Westwood/Melissa shoes. So, when photographer Kellie send me Carol's bridals which had her wearing the very shoes I am totally smitten with (and own - I have the yellow and black ones too) well I couldn't wait to feature! I am also crazy in love with her cute short birdcage veil and her Modern Trousseau gown.Read more...
June 19, 2010
This quirky, laid back British wedding with a cool festival vibe was sent over to be last week and you guessed it, I couldn't wait to feature it. Rachel & Dan really did it their own way and I love the idea of a chilled out party in a tent to celebrate a wedding. The couple were officially married at a registry office but has an 'unoffical' church blessing at St Peter's Church, Weston, Suffolk. They didn't make a big deal about the registry office part as they didn't want this to feel like their actual wedding - in fact Rachel was still at work half an hour before their appointment! The reception was held at Marsh Farm which was just a holiday property when they found it. However since the couple got married there and Rachel published an article in The Guardian newspaper about the wedding, the owner decided to change it to a wedding venue.Read more...
May 18, 2010
First of all, well done to everyone for all your patience. I have been very cruel and teased you for weeks about this new project (especially on Twitter hehe!) but I'm pretty sure you're going to forgive me when you see what I've been up to...You must also forgive me for the super wordy nature of this post, but there has been so much work behind the scenes to make this shoot happen that I can’t possibly do it justice without an epic explanation. A little while ago, the amazing Emma Case and I were talking about how crazy our lives are; about how everything seems to have exploded over the last few months and about how many awesome people we’ve met. “Let's do a shoot together” one of us said “hell yeah!” said the other. After we’d decided to actually go through with it and (as Emma later confessed to me) after a major bit of 'OMG what the hell am I doing'/freakin' out about it, a date was set. We didn't really know what the plan was. “Let's just go and have a play” we said.Read more...
May 4, 2010
Before I share this wedding I want to let out a little 'squeeeeal' of excitement over bride Sian's Oscar De La Renta number. I actually remember coming across this dress last year sometime on a blog somewhere and being pretty much floored by it's beauty. So when photographer David shared his images from Sian & Dave's London Zoo wedding from Saturday I knew I knew that dress...and I fell in love all over again. Not only that but teamed with the Vivienne Westwood shoes (which I love and have a pair of myself) and it's a match made in Rock n Roll heaven!Read more...
March 16, 2010
What's not to love about this shoot? Alex & Kaori's downtown LA engagement session was the perfect expression of who they are as a couple - lovers of LA and fashion (they are both designers.) I will never stop loving the Vivienne Westwood Lady Dragon shoes (I have them in yellow & black) and Alex's fabulous red & white checked shirt and black bow tie combo. In fact this pair have got to be some serious fashion inspiration to at least a few of you!Read more...
February 16, 2010
few weeks ago I was offered a couple of tickets to attend The Designer Wedding show in Battersea, London. The event took place from last Friday - Sunday so my friend (and photographer extraordinaire) David McNeil and I thought we'd go check it out in the hope to be inspired, have fun and to actually real-life-meet some of the amazing UK wedding vendors that we've met online. Today I want to share a few of my highlights and photographs from the event so you can see what fun we had. I definitely did and I even got to meet a bunch of Rock n Roll Bride readers. It was the first event I've been to where I actually got recognised which was surreal but certainly nice! Here are some of my (and David's) faves. ♥ Magpie Vintage undoubtedly had one of the busiest stalls of the day. I've wanted to meet Lisa & Tania for ages now and The Designer Wedding show proved to be the perfect opportunity. I wondered up to their stand hoping they'd spot the pink hair and know it was me and as soon as I was within 20 feet I was greeted by Lisa with a massive hug and an "oh my god you look so young!" (haha way to suck up Lisa - you go girl!) and " oh you simply must wear this necklace!" She the proceeded to drape a beautiful powder pink and teal green reclaimed vintage gem around my neck which I was lucky enough to walk around with all day (and yes I did remember to return it after!) ♥ Abbey of Sugalily Stationary and I have been chatting online for months now so it was great to finally meet her in real life. I fell in love with not only her but with her beautiful creations in paper, ribbon and sparkly bits. From retro to classic, colourful to muted, Abbey's display was one of the most indearing there..and she had cupcakes! Now who could say no to that!? ♥ Myself and David had waaaay too much fun at the Booth Nation/Glitterbooth. As we walked past I was instantly drawn to the 8 foot, silver glitter-covered photo booth. We were greeted by Seamus who immediately told us to hop in and give it a go, and inside only a bloomin' built in wind machine (you can see we had fun with that!) I swear to god, if I was getting married again I would totally have one of these. Awesome!Read more...
February 5, 2010
You know I'm usually all about the rock chicks, but there is just something about a quirky, DIY, eco, British wedding that I just can't resist...and that fact that the bride wore Vivienne's (I have them in yellow)...well I'm sold! Photographer Mark told me the whole story: Marie and Karl chose the personal, DIY approach to ensure their wedding reflected their eco-conscious principles, where possible, combined with their love of elegant, vintage styles, nature and music! The day was based in two venues in the Northern English Forest of Bowland on a snowy day in late December. The invite package contained screen printed and hand stamped bunting on recycled card and a button badge! The couple also set up a website was to encourage electronic RSVPs. Marie’s uncle’s 70’s cream ford galaxy 500 was the chariot of choice which delivered the pair to the organic farm for their reception- a gorgeous 17thcentury barn with heated floors and wood burning stove. Guests were greeted with mulled wine, hot vimto and the bride’s own homemade spiced biscuits served in an array of mis-matching vintage tea cups and saucers. Most of the deco was Marie’s own DIY effort -table centres were constructed on slabs of fallen pine/oak trees with arrangements of flowers she picked and dried over the year, vintage glass medicine bottles (car boot sales) and potted herbs in painted pots/vintage clay pots. Soy candles were arranged in charity shop finds- sherry glasses as votives and old glass jars covered in 1920s musical manuscript. Bunting was made by Gregg McDonald using off-cuts from the bridesmaid’s dresses (fabric from a brilliant mill in Bradford called Bombay Stores). Marie hand made some paper birds to sit on the edge of champagne glasses as place names and napkin rings were a ring of two-tone ribbon finished with a button. Karl designed and made “cootie catchers” which were placed on the dining tables featuring a selection of the couple’s favourite lyrics for entertainment between the courses of soup, pie and home-made cup cakes (courtesy of Marie’s mum and auntie)! The couple had been secretly attending swing jive dance lessons to surprise their guests and performed their first dance to Ray Scott’s red hot R n’ B number ‘Silk, Satin n Lace’. Later in the evening Karl’s band, including grooms men, ‘Super Johnny K and the Bang Bangs’ played a short set of vintage psyche n surf rock tunes. Marie teamed a stunner of a dress with her Vivienne Westwood shoes. She chose Daven by Pronovias and wore upcycled hair accessories ( from dress cut-offs and old sparkly bits) from Rebeccastone on Etsy and earrings which she also found on Etsy. Her bridesmaids wore dresses by Raouli. Karl wore a 1960's suit which he found on Ebay and a printed tie & hankerchief from Liberty. Thanks to photographer Mark and Marie & Karl for sharing this beeeautiful day with usRead more...
December 18, 2009
One word...Eeeeeeek! I am so excited about this wedding. Not only because it's photographed by one of my favourite photographers, Ben Blood; not only because the couple, Diane & Adam are super cool, lovely and stylish; but because even though the couple are both American and the wedding took place at Lairmont Manor in Bellingham, WA, they expressed their love of all things British with a fabulous English themed wedding. Diana told me all about their retro, funky, British punk rock day: My dress was from Les Habitudes on Robertson Boulevard in L.A.They specialize in getting a lot of their dresses from European designers that they bring in under their label, so most of their dresses are one of a kind. My shoes were Alexander McQueen and the hair comb I wore was a Victorian antique. The necklaces are by Pyrrha, in Vancouver B.C. Their bronze pendants are made from 19th century wax seal molds. The ones I chose say "My life is a prayer," "While I breathe I hope", and" Love conquers all." The blue seal ring on my finger was one I had from Anthropologie. The jacket I wore to leave the wedding is from All Saints in the UK. My bridesmaids are wearing runway dresses from BCBG. Our hair was all done by Shawn Wright, the owner of Ryan Chanel Hair in Anacortes WA. She researched runway shows of Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen for days before and we also channeled a bit of Helena Bonham-Carter's impeccable style. My husband Adam wore a custom grey suit we had made at Nordstrom and grey patent leather Italian loafers. His groomsmen were all wearing tweed vests and hats from J. Crew with "The Who" edition converse all stars because Adam had always wanted Chucks in his wedding. All our music was all British. I walked down to the theme song from "Love Actually," we danced out to Queen's "Don't Stop me Now," and Adam sang Coldplay's "Fix You" in the ceremony. Our band for the reception was Garage Voice from Seattle. We went with our overt Anglophile theme because I'm in love with London and theatre, so Adam flew me there for a weekend in March and proposed in front of Big Ben. We went back in June and collected tube station signs in Notting Hill for the tables, as well as teacups and pots from all over the world. Most of the hanging flags were from WWII. We're planning on moving to London someday soon.Read more...
December 12, 2009
Our little country continues to astound me this week with Kate & Seb's Sussex wedding rocking it's way into by inbox today. Photographer Sarah described this wedding as "by far the funkiest I have ever shot" and therefore it's perfecto for Rock n Roll Bride! Sarah went on to tell me all the details of wonderfulness: Kate and Seb were beyond cool and this shone through in their wedding. Seb is a tattoo artist in Brighton and Kate is a tattoo adorned beauty. They didn't want the conventional posed photo's more arty fashion style photo's. This gave me a great opportunity to be a little more creative than normal. Kate's attention to detail shone through in everything, from her Vivienne Westwood jewellery (YUM!) to her Candy Anthony dress....not to mention the Morris Minor. Thanks to Sarah for sharing this awesome wedding with us today. As always I am honoured to showcase it with the woooorld and am still loving the UK right now!Read more...
October 30, 2009
The wedding had 'colours and music' as its theme and invites (as well as table plates) arrived as personalised vinyl discs with the event details printed on them. Tara & Lawrence are a supercool, young and individual couple and chose bridesmaids in bright block colour dresses, red details (Zara & Vivienne Westwood shoes) and a dress designed by her friend Joleen Lawrence. They had their ceremony at Davenport House in Greenwich and we then headed over to Greenwich park for 10 minutes in the sunshine. I brought balloons along as I had in mind a particular photo I wanted to get and I think it worked out well. Lawrence took Tara back to see their guests on piggyback, before we all walked over to Greenwich bar & kitchen for dinner.Read more...
October 29, 2009
Yummy Thursday Treat time.I thought I'd also include a few sneak peeks at what's coming up over the next few days because I'm dying to share but I just can't blog fast enoughRead more...
September 15, 2009
I am absolutely crazy in love with Jessica & Dave's retro rockabilly wedding!Not wanting to stick to tradition, Jessica & proposed to Dave over a jungle themed cake! She explained: The couple chose Round Hill, Washingtonville, New York as the venue because they wanted a place that they didn't have to do much to but would still reflect their personalities.Read more...