Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

British Brides

DIY Vegan Wedding: Sarah & Steven

Kat

Toast of Leeds

May 15, 2013

There was no doubt in my mind that I had to share this wedding with you. My heart skipped a beat as I clapped eyes on the beautiful Sarah and her stunning movie starlet-esque red wedding dress from The Couture Company and I flicked through Toast of Leeds' photographs holding my breath. What an utterly beeeeeeeautiful wedding. "Our venue was Buckland Hall in the Brecon Beacons National Park, a country house in the Welsh mountains, that we could personalise and make our own for a long weekend", Sarah began. "We had free reign of the house and grounds, which we decorated with family photos and personal belongings that we've collected during our time together. Sixty of our guests stayed on the night of our wedding and close family the night before. The ceremony was held in a room with views of rolling park land, the River Usk and snow capped mountains beyond."
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Laid Back & Vintage-Inspired Cripps Barn Wedding: Laura & Tom

Kat

Emma Case

May 15, 2013

Sometime late last Summer I strolled into my favourite wedding boutique to visit my friends, Laura & Emma, who own it. Whenever I'm in central London I always pop into Fur Coat No Knickers to see their latest pretty vintage wedding dresses, to drink some Cava and to catch up on all the latest gossip. But this fateful day in August was different. I was greeted at the door with squeals from Laura, "I'm engaged! Tom Proposed last week!" she shrieked. More Cava was popped and we started to discuss all things wedding - but this time not other people's - hers!
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Two-Day Welsh Waterfall Wedding & Seaside Blessing

Kat

Lucy Little

May 10, 2013

Dan & Charlotte had a two-day wedding celebration in Wales. They started off planning just the Saturday wedding by the beach with a pagan blessing, as this was what Charlotte really wanted. However they soon realised that legally, and for family reasons, they would need to have another ceremony with a registrar present, in a venue sanctioned for wedding ceremonies. "I did view having to have both ceremonies as a bit of a compromise", Charlotte explained, "But rather than just doing the legal bit in a quick service on our own in a registry office or something, we set about finding somewhere just as beautiful for that part and made it into it's own distinctive day. We also really wanted our wedding to last a bit longer than the usual one day which is why we split it into two. I would advise anyone planning their wedding to think about spinning things out a bit! It's all over so quickly on the day and we really treasured the extra time we gave themselves over the weekend to spend quality time with everyone that came to celebrate with us."
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A Macabre Sweeney Todd Inspired Wedding Shoot: Amy & Paul

Kat

Assassynation

April 5, 2013

I'm not going to lie, I'm a little freaked out by this shoot... in fact I'm damn right scared. I don't think I'd like to get stuck in a dark alley with this pair as lovely as I bet they are when they're not covered in fake blood. Amy & Paul went all out with this post-wedding shoot - murder, fake blood, suicide and all! Warning: this baby is not for the faint hearted. I'm under no disillusion that not everybody is going to like or 'get' this. But Paul & Amy do and really, that's all that matters isn't it?!
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Eclectic Indoor/Outdoor Wedding: Lou & Stu

Kat

Modern Vintage Weddings

April 3, 2013

Fancy having an eclectic outdoor wedding? Well have I got the inspiration for you today! With a hearty dose of elbow grease and a firm plan of action, Lou & Stu coordinated their Sheffield Botanical Gardens wedding mostly themselves. "I'm a vintage events organiser so the vintage vibe was a natural way to go", began the bride. "We’re both big 50s & 60s fans so we tried to combine the two in terms of the fashion but we didn't want a fancy dress wedding. My dress was late 50s/early 60s in style (vintage, which I had altered to fit) and Stu’s suit was a 60s style tonic suit from Mod shop Jump the Gun in Brighton."
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Wild Safari Park Wedding with Animal Print Fancy Dress: Damon & Tooty

Kat

Lee Allen

March 25, 2013

Damon & Tooty we're never going to have a wedding with a boring or standard theme. In fact as soon as they found their venue, Spring Grove House at the West Midlands Safari Park, the seed for a safari themed day was planted! "The theme came after viewing the venue", the bride began. "We saw a few places and found them booooooorrrrringg. We planned to go and see Spring Grove House but really didn't expect much from it as we had never heard of it. But when we got there we fell in love! They've kitted it out all in animal print décor including the carpets, the wallpaper and ornaments. The idea for the theme was obvious to me. I'm always wearing animal print attire and so we decided to insist our guests did the same for the wedding!"
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Mod meets Moghul – Indian Culture & 1960s Mods: Aelia & Stuart

Kat

James Melia

March 19, 2013

"Asian weddings are notorious for being huge, but we didn't want that", the bride continued. "We wanted everyone there to truly feel part of the wedding. This was going to be a party for our nearest and dearest. We set out to find a unique venue to capture both our sides, tall order! We looked everywhere: gallery spaces, sculpture gardens, castles – the lot. We were losing hope until we came across a beautiful National Trust site in Derby. It was stunning and we fell in love with it straight away. Not only could we pretty much use the whole house for our ceremony, reception, dinner and dancing but it was closed to the public and it had a history steeped in the Rajasthani era as the owner was the Viceroy to India. Perfect! I had the Indian side covered and Stu had the design and architecture by Robert Adams covered. We couldn't believe our luck."
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Eco-Conscious & Locally Sourced DIY Wedding: Clare & Aslam

Kat

Motif

March 15, 2013

Not wanting to do things by halves, Clare & Aslam had three weddings. The firs two were Muslim celebrations, and this one was their western wedding. Having three whole weddings to plan, the couple kept this event low key and budget friendly. They DIYed a lot and spent just £5000 on the day. "We tried to do everything second hand or hand made as I hate waste and am a big environmentalist", Clare explained. The wedding was held at Hyde Barn in the Cotswolds.
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Hiking, Tweed & a Roaring Log Fire: Ciaran & Ellen

Kat

Andy Wardle

March 7, 2013

Ciaran & Ellen's wedding was a far removed from a traditional wedding as possible. The bride didn't wear a white dress, she wore a tweed suit; they didn't have bridesmaids or groomsmen, they had their dogs; they didn't have a fancy vintage car, the went for a hike. The ceremony was held at The Woolpack Inn in Cumbria in February and was followed by a low key and intimate meal for their few attendees. A few months later they had a larger gathering in their own back garden for the rest of their friends and family.
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Weeklong Scottish Wedding: Bex & Santi

Kat

Claudia Carter

March 5, 2013

With family flying in from England, Thailand and the USA for their Scottish wedding, Bex & Santi really wanted to make their wedding something special. So they started with having a weeklong event, hosted at Crear, a farm house near Tarbert in Argyll. "We actually got married on 20th January but with our families travelling from all over we rented the house for a whole week (18th-24th) and everyone stayed there with us", Bex began. "We wanted to spend as little as possible, which ended up being about £10,000 but that did include the rental of Crear for 19 people for a whole week! I think my amazing mother needs a special mention here as she was 'head of catering' for the entire week at Crear and did all the menu planning and shopping for up to 30 people every day!"
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A Fashion-Forward Backyard Wedding with Special Guest Craig David!: Theo & Lisa

Kat

O&C

March 4, 2013

When Theo & Lisa started an online campaign to get Craig David to perform at their August wedding, they never really thought they'd pull it off. But if you don't ask you don't get and all that...and with their help of their YouTube video that went viral, Mr David did in fact show up to the wedding and perform to their astonished guests! "We met in Oceana nightclub", began Theo. "Lisa thought I really had the movement of a dancer! Craig David's music brought us together and having him there at the wedding was literally a dream come true." "Our wedding was inspired by everything we love", continued Lisa. "Music, fashion, friends and family. It really was a giant party. We didn't want anyone to pay for anything apart from their travel there. For us, this was a party to celebrate everything our incredible friends and family have done for us over the years. We had a free bar which was one of the best things we did. The wedding was held in my dad's back garden and we also had a camping village at the bottom of the garden where 90% of our guests camped-including myself and Theo! We sent a 'tent tag' with our invites, and asked everyone to deliver a tent to our house one week before the wedding. We then put them all up so they were ready for everyone when they arrived!"
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Rainbow Country Fête Wedding with 1950s Touches: Steph & Dale

Kat

Rhapsody Road

February 27, 2013

A colourful country fête wedding with a 1950s flair? What's not to love in Steph & Dale's wedding?! The day took place in Essex, kicking off at St Giles Church with the reception at Pledgdon Barn. This wedding was a real DIY love affair and a project of passion. The couple made as much as possible including (deep breath) the bunting (both triangle and heart shaped), their stationery and all the paper goods, cocktail stirrers from laser cut card, the cake flags, the acrylic cake toppers, the wooden signs, the blackboards, the paper hearts for decorating the tables, the bridesmaids earrings, the buttonholes, the bow ties for their dogs and the cupcakes!
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Low Key Youth Hotel Wedding: Kit & Caz

Kat

Anna Hardy

February 20, 2013

Wedding bloggers like to throw phrases like 'laid back', 'low key' and 'budget-friendly' around like their going out of fashion. But when it comes to a wedding like Kit & Caz's, which took place in a youth hostel in the Peak District, there really are no other words. Their wedding was beautiful, utterly personal and a true reflection of the way they celebrate their love. No mess, no fuss, no pomp and circumstance and no pointless traditions. Oh no, this wedding was unpretentiousness personified. I love it.
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DIY Wedding in Victoria Baths: Fiona & Jonny

Kat

Emma Case

February 19, 2013

Unique wedding venues can be hard to come across in the UK, but Fiona & Jonny weren't going to take that lying down. They knew they wanted a memorable space for their union and so selected Victoria Baths in Manchester. "Victoria Baths is an Edwardian swimming baths (which is no longer used as baths, now a restoration project and arts/community venue)", wrote Fiona. "It was originally three big pools. Two of them remain and are empty – we got married in the deep end of the biggest one and had our reception on top of the other! It was boarded over with a sprung dance floor in the fifties (my granddad used to teach ballroom dancing in that room). The remaining smaller pool and the rest of building, which is pretty vast, was left for people to wander around and explore."
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