British Brides

A Backyard Beach Wedding Planned in Three Weeks: Nellie & Matt

Kat

September 13, 2012

Nellie & Matt planned their Whistable wedding in just three short weeks. They wanted something small, something personal and something relaxed. They found the amazing Beacon House, right on the beach, for their ceremony and were able to use the back garden of the bride's brother's holiday cottage for the reception. "Serendipity and our amazingly supportive family and friends brought our wedding together in just 3 weeks," the bride began. "Matt and I had been engaged for 3 years, neither of us are planners but we had a clear idea of the kind of wedding we wanted, a relaxed, seaside celebration centred around our close friends, family, good food and drink. But every option we explored in Cambridge and Brighton, our two home cities, in one way or another tied us into expensive packages, so we put off the wedding and skipped to the baby."

A Homemade Glaswegian Wedding: Eileen & Peter

Kat

September 7, 2012

Eileen & Peter were married at Glasgow University Union. They had a tiny budget, but with the help of wedding blogs sharing affordable and DIY options, they were able to plan the wedding of their dreams. "We really just wanted to have a fun wedding that meant something to us personally rather than just doing things because you are supposed to", explained Eileen. "I was really inspired by blogs like Rock n Roll Bride that showed how you can have a wedding anyway you want. We had to explain our decisions a bit more than most to some people who didn't get it but I knew it would all come together in the end. Things like not having a religious ceremony. This upset our families to begin with but they later realised that they had pestered us for so long to get married that any way we wanted was fine just as long as we did it! So we had a small intimate ceremony filled with songs and poetry we love and lovely romantic things we had said about each other. Then we just wanted to have a big fun party to celebrate with all our extended friends and family. We didn't set out to be 'Rock n Roll' but we definitely ended up that way. Ha ha!"

A Rainbow Wedding inspired by their Living Room: Ruth & Alex

Kat

September 5, 2012

I think green is a totally underrated bridal colour. We see brides in white, red, even black, quite often, but rarely in green - and doesn't Ruth show us how wrong this is? She looks incredible! "I remember looking at photos of my Gran in her wedding dress from 1960 which was blue with a pink petticoat and telling myself that I was going to wear my favourite colour when I got married too", Ruth began, "and so the green dress was born. My something old was my Gran's actual pink underskirt from her wedding dress." "Finding a green dress was hard work though. At first I tried on bridesmaid dresses but I never really felt myself or special enough. I was also being pushed into trying on white dresses by everyone but I didn't recognise myself. I'm a total tomboy at heart and the concept of being feminine for the day felt alien to me. I still don’t understand the concept of feeling like a princess on your wedding day. The most important thing was to feel like me. I found Vivien of Holloway online after looking at the adverts on Rock n Roll Bride. After three trips trying on various Vivien of Holloway dresses, I ended up ordering from a limited run of only 4 (!) plain green circle dresses. I love the fact that I can and will be able to wear my dress again and that I'm only one of 4 people to have bought it!"

A Glamorous Wedding with a Gothic Twist: Shep & Sarah

Kat

September 4, 2012

Shep & Sarah were married at Ettington Park Hotel, an elegant 4-star venue just outside Stratford Upon Avon. With its tranquil location and beautiful architecture it proved to be the perfect place for their glamorous wedding. The exterior of the hotel was actually used as the setting for the 1963 film The Haunting.

A Movie Themed Wedding: Amy & Phil

Kat

September 3, 2012

After knowing each other for 16 years the couple were keen to walk down the aisle as soon as Phil proposed! So after just a 6 month engagement, the couple were wed in a movie themed wedding in July. The bride wore a custom made dress and yes... her bridesmaids wore dresses made of Star Wars fabric!!

A Farm Wedding with Fancy Dress, Fun & Frolics: Lauren & Matt

Kat

August 31, 2012

Lauren & Matt's started their wedding planning knowing exactly what they wanted: something relaxed, stress-free and fun. They were lucky enough to have a friend whose parents own a farm, so everything else really stemmed from that. Lauren told me all about it. "As soon as we got engaged we knew how we wanted our wedding to be, we just didn't know how to do it! The first and most important thing was to find a photographer. Being a enthusiastic photographer myself, I spent weeks searching for one that she liked, we finally came across Sassy of Assassynation and sent an excited email straight away. She immediately told us to phone her for a chat as we hadn't set a date yet, but when she told us she only had 2 Saturdays free in the 3 months that we were looking at we booked her there and then! Everything else was then planned around her."

An Art Deco Plaza Cinema Wedding: John & Aggie

Kat

August 30, 2012

Doesn't John & Aggie's wedding looks like it's stepped right out of the 1920s? I don't think I've ever seen an era executed quite so well in a real wedding of late. I am in awe! The wedding was held at the The Plaza Super Cinema & Variety Theatre in Stockport. The original art deco architecture and features remain which made it the perfect venue for their day. "Our venue was excellent value as the entire cinema including tea rooms can be hired for only £700", explained the bride. "Their three course meal started at only £15 per head too. Plus it was great to support such a wonderful art deco gem that has been lovingly restored!"

An After Show Party Themed Rock n Roll Wedding: Brett & Vicky

Kat

August 29, 2012

Brett & Vicky planned their Rock n Roll wedding for just £3,000. Yes, this pair crafted and saved their way to the perfect alternative music themed day for less than some brides spend on their dress! The couple were married in July in Darlington. "To look at our wedding you might say it was very obviously 'Rock n Roll', what with the rock music themed stuff everywhere, but to us our wedding was just us", explained Vicky. "It was the easiest and best party we have pulled off as we have some fabulous parties for any occasions! Our day was awesome, very laid back... it just went so fast! Brett was fabulous in front of the camera and Jade, our wedding photographer, made him feel so at ease. I love him so much for doing the photos, and love Jade for capturing my heart in the shots!"

An East London Wedding with an Industrial Vibe: Bianca & Paul

Kat

August 28, 2012

I often daydream about what our wedding would be like if we were to do it now (embarrassing admission alert!) and I think I've hit the daydream wedding jackpot with Bianca & Paul. The industrial vibe of their Shoreditch venue is just perfect perfect perrrfect. The space in question is Village Underground, an "evolving project building an international platform for creativity and culture" as the website describes it. SWOON.

A Trailer Trash Bridal Shoot with a Vintage Airstream

Kat

August 25, 2012

"Ever since I spent time travelling from Nashville to San Francisco last Autumn, I've benn obsessed with wanting to recreate vintage Americana!" wrote stylist Lynsey Le Keux. "This summer I had the pleasure of making it happen. I got together with some serious wedding industry talent including Sassy of Assassynation and Jo of The Couture Company. Our theme was 'trailer trash chic' which basically meant coney neck beers, dust-caked American cars, sweat smudged make up and broad blue skies. The aim was to portray unique bridal beauty against a backdrop of pure gritty trash... We wanted to inspire bridal styling outside of tradition and show our customers that they don't have to follow convention to rock a wedding - bridal beauty is subjective and one thing all the collaborators agreed on was how much we loved customers who did things their way."

A Colourful Festival Wedding at Ridge Farm: Layla & Dan

Kat

August 24, 2012

Layla & Daniel were married in Rusper, Sussex in St Mary Magdalene's Church, followed by a festival style wedding at Ridge Farm. I've featured weddings at this iconic wedding venue before - why so iconic you ask? Well the farm has a recording studio where Oasis, Queen (Bohemian Rhapsody was written here!) Roxy Music, Thin Lizzie, Black Sabbath and many many others have recorded albums! AHHHMAZING. "The wedding was all personalised by me & Dan", wrote Layla, "including the wine glasses, the moustaches & lips, the heart decor, the table plan & numbers, the 'LOVE' sign and the bunting. We had a two-day wedding. From the start we knew we didn’t want everything to be over with in just one day! Ridge Farm was the PERFECT venue as we were able to hire it exclusively from Friday to Monday which meant our parents, brothers & sisters, bridesmaids and best men could share the whole time with us. We also had some friends of ours camping on the grounds. Friday was set-up day, with everyone mucking in; Saturday was the wedding; and on Sunday we had about 100 of our guests returning for a Hog Roast, DJ’s and dancing till the wee hours!"

A Retro Americana Wedding: Ralph & Carly

Kat

August 22, 2012

Ralph & Carly love all things Americana and retro and so the theme for their wedding was easy to decide on. They wanted to incorporate the feeling of driving through America in an open top car - something they love to do in real life. Ralph had even proposed on a road trip through Arizona, one of their favourite places in the USA. "We love Americana and we feel that there is a big difference between what is retro and what is vintage", Carly explained. "We wanted our wedding to be all things that we love. We love nothing more than booking a flight and a car in the US and then exploring, although sometimes we end up in very peculiar places and cannot wait for daylight to arrive so that we can head out! For the most part though it's the way that we have discovered some of our favourite places. Each table was named after a hotel or motel that we have stayed in on our trips, there have been many others but these had the coolest signs."

A Hackney Bash with an Orange Colour Scheme: Laura & Hanno

Kat

August 21, 2012

Orange isn't a colour you see enough at weddings... but we should - Laura & Hanno's Hackney wedding proves how amazing it can look! The couple were married at Stoke Newington Town Hall, just half a mile from their flat, with their reception taking place at The Londesborough pub.

A Laid Back Vintage Inspired East London Wedding: Jo & Dan

Kat

August 14, 2012

Jo & Dan's laid back East London wedding was a mishmash of everything they love with a dash of vintage style. Don't you just love the effortlessly cool vibe of the whole thing? "We didn’t go out of our way to do things differently, we just wanted a day that was a mix of everything we love", explained the bride. "From East London to pub grub and The Beatles to Art Deco and butterflies. We wanted it to reflect us as both individuals and as a couple and for our guests to have a great party."

Buttons, Belles & Polaroids: Angela & Paul

Kat

August 13, 2012

Paul proposed to Angela on an idyllic deserted beach in Galicia, Spain. This set the tone for their wedding day. Firstly a map of Galicia became the backdrop of their seating plan. They also had a polaroid theme with the table names, place names, cake toppers and invitations. They used images of their favourite places in Galician on the polaroids including palaces, fortresses and monasteries, and used them throughout the wedding.

A Sweet Sussex Barn Wedding: Fiona & Ben

Kat

August 10, 2012

"We didn't want a run of the mill wedding", explained newlywed Fiona. "Ben's a bit of a control freak and likes things done his own way. We both love anything vintage so enjoyed lots of weekends trawling through flea markets and car boots collecting bits and bobs to decorate the barn. We really wanted a party atmosphere with all of our family and friends. We collected/ borrowed lots of hats, sunglasses and various other items of fancy dress for the evening and encouraged people to be a silly a possible – our guests fully embraced the dressing up and pretty much everyone was wearing some kind of fancy dress at the end of the night."

A Modern Art Themed Wedding & a Bride with Dreadlocks: Chris & Angela

Kat

August 7, 2012

"Arty & creative" replied Chris & Angela when I asked them to describe their wedding theme. "Lots of people on the day used words like 'informal' and 'relaxed' as well which was nice as it was what we kind of wanted. We were glad they picked up on it." The June wedding was held at Underley Grange Cottage in the Lake District. The couple homemade as much as possible, including all the reception decor. "Where do I begin with explaining the DIY?" laughed Angela. "Pretty much everything in the reception room was homemade. One of our favourite things was decorating parasols in the style of modern artists and hanging them from the ceiling. We made our own invitations - including hand making the actual paper! It turned out to be quite a saga; that and folding a hundred paper cranes for the RSVPs was quite a lot of work! On the plus side, as a milliner, the wedding was a great excuse to make lots of fun hats and fascinators for everyone."

“Glastombecci” – A Music Festival Wedding: Becci & Tom

Kat

August 6, 2012

When the Summer rolls round what's the first thing many of us get excited about? Festivals! So it's hardly surprising that so many Rock n Roll Brides (and grooms!) are taking wedding inspiration from their favourite past time. Warm beer, dodgy food, mud & sleeping in a tent... What's not to love!? Haha joking! Becci & Tom favour the UK's biggest rock festival, Glastonbury, and so started here with their ideas including their wedding cake that was inspired by the Ribbon Tower and the song lyric centerpieces. This wedding was pure music festival gold. Tom even proposed to Becci while at a gig in Oxford!

A Black, White & Red Wedding in a Windmill: Suzie & Andrew

Kat

August 3, 2012

Suzie & Andrew wanted a really unique venue for their unique wedding and so chose a Willesborough Windmill in Ashford, Kent. They had just 47 guests (including 13 bridesmaids!) and they really did things their own way. From the DIY catering, to the ice cream van dessert, and the chocolate favours to the lady bug bouncy castle, the day was planned around the things they love. "My main goal for our wedding was that I wanted a day that wasn't strictly structured," began newlywed Suzie. "I wanted a laid back afternoon and evening filled with fun, laughter, eating, drinking and general enjoyment for everyone. All my close family & friends wanted to help which was great and they are contributed so much to our day."

A Black & Red, 50s Rock n Roll Wedding: Hannah & Lewiss

Kat

August 1, 2012

Hannah & Lewiss' small and sweet wedding was held at St Fagans Castle, the National History Museum of Wales. For their evening party they moved to the trendy Jolyons at No.10, a boutique hotel in the heart of Cardiff. The venue choices were important to this couple and they both wanted places that stood out. Hannah explained, "We both didn't believe in long engagements so we set a date for 9 months after we got engaged. Finding a unique venue was important to us, but this was harder than we imagined. Living in Cardiff, we wanted somewhere in South Wales but it seemed to be flooded with chain hotel venues or vast historic buildings which were too big for the small wedding we had dreamed of. After overlooking it a couple of times we went to visit St Fagans Castle. St Fagans is the National History Museum of Wales, an outdoor museum full of historical buildings from all around the country. The Castle is a Grade 1 listed Elizabethan Manor House set in the most fabulous gardens. Even though it wasn’t what we originally had in mind, we knew straight away it was perfect. Also it’s in the area where Lewiss grew up and his parents still live, so it being local meant a lot to him."

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