Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

British Brides

Multi-Coloured Seaside Fun

Kat

August 20, 2010

Whitstable is such a little gem of a place for photo shoots. As most of you will know, my last Rock n Roll Bride photo shoot took place there but it would appear that Peri & Ryan knew some really awesome locations to visit that we never found. I mean just check out the multi-coloured beach hut. I love. The couple, who live in the area (hence knowing all the best places to go!) are having a winter wedding in December so wanted to make sure they cashed in on a gorgeous summer engagement shoot. "It also happened to be the Whitstable Regatta that Saturday so we decided to do the shoot in the evening to catch the fireworks" their photographer Shell told me. "It's the best time of the day really as we got some gorgeous light, beautiful sunset and some fish and chips whilst watching the fireworks! Their nicknames for each other are muffin and cupcake hence the chalk board shots - I wanted to have a fun, whimsical feel to the shoot as they are a cute young couple, and their wedding is going to be 50s polka dots which I think will have a similar feel."
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“It’s Not Easy Being Green” – A Beautifully Sustainable British Countryside Wedding

Kat

August 18, 2010

James & Holly had a beautiful countryside wedding at the couple's home, Newhouse Farm in Cornwall which they share with James' family . The couple, who star in the TV series, It's Not Easy Being Green, wanted a homespun, eco style wedding that truly reflected them as a couple and a family. In keeping with their 'green' theme the couple arrived at the church on shire horses, which when they're not glammed up for weddings are actually used to plough fields. "Our aim was to have as 'green' a wedding as possible. We wanted to have our reception at the place that had brought us together, Newhouse Farm" they told me. "Certain steps towards a green wedding were fairly straight-forward: we wanted to use only local, seasonal produce as well as British grown, seasonal flowers. Our venue, Newhouse Farm, is powered completely by solar power, a couple of wind turbines and a waterwheel, as well as using only water from our own natural spring. We even had a compost loo and a compost urinal for our guests to use! Green transport was also easy to achieve, after all what could be more romantic than using a pair of beautiful Shire horses to transport us to the reception. (Actually this was a bit of an extravagance as the church was only 100 metres from the venue... our guests simply walked!!)"
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Archery, Tractors & Tents – A British Summertime Wedding with a Twist

Kat

August 16, 2010

Architects Sybil & Jon planned an outdoors, Robin Hood style wedding - complete with campfire, archery and tents - at the bride's parent's house, for July 30th this year. Jon explained that they wanted the ‘feel’ of the wedding to be similar to the scene in the woods from the original film of Robin Hood. They wanted everything to be relaxed and very informal and so had tractors as their transport, a folk band and a rustic, natural style of flowers. "Sibyl was very keen to use English flowers and wanted them to look like they had been picked from the garden." their wedding planner, Kate told me. " Anne Bell sourced the flowers from a walled garden in Hertfordshireand created beautiful colourful arrangements in jars on each of the tables along withbouquets for Sibyl and her bridesmaids. The church was decorated witha stunning candle stick display and pew end arrangements tied with raffia. As an added touch the couple also quickly decorated the tractor!"
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A Sparkly Rockabilly Campsite Romance

Kat

August 12, 2010

Ooh what a lovely sparkly rockabilly wedding! Lucia & Paul got married at Arundel Town Hall, West Sussex which was followed by an outdoorsy reception at the bride's sisters camp site - Billycan Camping, Arundel - which specialises in bringing back traditional camping, with bell tents, safari lounge tents and Teepees! "We wanted to create a family orientated wedding" Lucia told me. It was held in my hometown, my Mum did our photos, my Dad made the rings, my Mother in law made the cake and the whole thing was held at my sisters campsite. Fun, laughter and a relaxed environment was important to us. We'd been to so many weddings where we felt on edge (due to not knowing everyone) and we didn't want that from ours. It was a buffet lunch that was solely Vegetarian and the tables were decorated with gold sweetie bags with fake tattoos beside them- these were red hearts with a scroll across- reading "Pete & Lucia" something that went down amazingly well with the children."
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Their Big Fat Leopard Print Lesbian Wedding

Kat

August 10, 2010

One of the things that really stood out in your survey responses was that a lot of you wanted more Rock n Roll same sex weddings. Well my dears, you ask and I deliver! I have actually been dying to feature Lindsey & Amanda's wedding for a while now but with wedding season being in full flow I have been a trifle busy! Patience is a virtue though my little kittens and I think you'll realise that wait was worth it when you see these two kick ass chicks!
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Nicola & Ed’s Scottish/London Fusion Wedding

Kat

August 10, 2010

Nicola & Ed wanted a diy wedding that really reflected them. The took from Nicola's Scottish heritage and had a thistle theme for their flowers and decor, all of which they sourced themselves. For their invites and order of service they used a photograph from the Bolivian Salt Flats which they had taken themselves when they were away travelling the year before that was really special to them. For the London aspect of their wedding (they married in London) they booked a double decker bus to transport all their guests and as a final touch they named each table after a London tube stop and bought postcards to add to the centrepieces.
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London Punks vs Americana Kitsch

Kat

August 6, 2010

Kate & Mike's London punk wedding took place a few weeks before the couple moved to LA (Jealous!) so it had a distinctly punk rock vs Americana theme. The couple booked Celine Chaplin to take some portraits and to document their fun-filled reception. Kate told me all about their day - including a very funny story about Mike's wedding day hair cut! "Since we were moving to Los Angeles a couple of weeks after the wedding, Mike & I were totally hectic so we really needed some help with the wedding. My sister and my Mum were amazing at putting the wedding together. My Dad even chipped in and sorted the meal out! i'm a total control freak but on this occasion, I'm glad i let someone else take over because they did such an awesome job."
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A Cotton Candy Sweet, Truly Scrumptious Brighton Wedding

Kat

August 5, 2010

Oh. My. Gaaaawd! You are going to go utterly c-c-craaaazy for Ant & Clare's way-beyond-anything-I-have-ever-seen-awesome wedding. The pair went down to Brighton to have a personal ceremony with just the two of them. They didn't have a reception, instead opting for a fabulous photo shoot around the town with their photographer Jacqui McSweeney. This is yet another wedding to back my theory that 'blog-worthy' details are not 'all that'. Just grab yourself an wicked dress, customise yourself some shoes and get hitched in perfect Rock n Roll style! Prepare to be inspired...
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Images to Fall in Love with

Kat

August 4, 2010

"Our creative goal is to take ordinary couples and place them into fun, exciting, high-concept, themed shoots —as chosen by them, in consultation with us. If a bride has always wanted to look like Greta Garbo in 30's Hollywood, then we will sit down and work out exactly how to make that a reality for her. If the couples' vision is punk, vintage, or couture we will work with them to realise this on their wedding day. We're not restricting ourselves to a single theme, although we do have one unmovable ethos: we want to create images that our couples will fall in love with"
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The Colour Purple

Kat

July 30, 2010

Jenni & George are another 'inspired by Rock n Roll Bride' couple who found their photographer Shan after she was featured on the blog. The couple, who got married on the Isle of Man, wanted to incorporate he things they love into their day - the colour purple and all things eclectic, antique and vintage. "I have a love of all things antique and vintage and my favourite colour is purple! So that's where it began. I bought a lot of the antique bottles from places like eBay, Jurby Junk (!!) and our friend Roger Leece, who found a whole stack of bottles and jars buried somewhere up North apparently!" the bride told me.
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London Calling – Lindsey & Alex’s Quadrophenia Wedding

Kat

July 28, 2010

I've branded this the 'Quadrophenia wedding' because of all the fabulous retro British details. Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside to be English doesn't it? The couple embarked in a lot of diy to make it all super personal and everything from the pub they held it in being called The Britannia to the pork pie 'cake'; from the Vivienne Westwood shoes (a national treasure in my eyes!) to the red, white a blue throughout were put together to make their theme perfect. The bunting had a union jack vibe, the table plans were quintsentially British themed and the guests were even transported in a open top double decker routemaster red bus.
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Olivia & Mark’s Shabby Chic Detailed, Outdoor Elegant, Rock n Roll Wedding

Kat

July 27, 2010

I was excited when I featured Olivia & Mark's engagement session a few weeks ago (they are another Rock n Roll Bride couple and found their photographer Lisa Devlin on the blog) but when Lisa sent me in their wedding the other day I was even more excited! I really do have the best readers don't I!? "Olivia & Mark are originally from LA and wanted to give their friend's and family a quintessentially English experience for their wedding" Lisa told me. "When we woke up in The Cotswolds to the sound of lashing rain, I thought they were going to get the full glory of a British Summer and it would be wellies all round. Their optimism was infectious and everything was set up for an outdoor ceremony in the grounds of Barnsley House, although some bin bags were left on their paper lanterns until the last moment. This has got to be one of the most gorgeous venues in England and the sun came out as Olivia crossed the lawn with her Dad, causing Mark to well up. I loved that she went for full-on glamour with lashes and deep red lips, it went well with her dramatic dress. Her close friend, Josh was the 'bridesmaid' and did such a stirling job, I'm thinking of hiring him for other weddings."
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Laura & Harry’s Locally Sourced, Eco-Friendly, Midsummer’s Nights Dream, Vintage & Totally Rock n Roll Wedding

Kat

July 26, 2010

Excuse me one second while I scream "EEEEEEEK!" at the top of my lungs, because that's exactly how I felt when I first saw Laura & Harry's eco-friendly, vintage-heavy, Rock n Roll inspired backyard wedding. Oh yes, I really do love to feature true Rock n Roll Bride weddings - ie weddings of those that I was able to help and inspire with my little blog. Laura & Harry actually found their fabulous photographer Rosie Parsons and Laura's gorgeous vintage Fur Coat No Knickers dress after seeing them on the site. Yey!
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Nick & Hannah’s Game Playing, Fancy Dress Celebration

Kat

July 20, 2010

Nick & Hannah had a 3 day wedding at Christian retreat and conference centre Lee Abbey. The celebrations started with a day of fun activities for all their guests including archery, mountain boarding and zip wiring through the forest. Not only that, but all their guests were invited to wear fancy dress. That sure made for lots of laughs and some awesome photographs. The couple made an extra special effort, coming as Robin Hood and Maid Marion. Hannah had even worn her Grandmother's own wedding dress in memory of her.
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You Rock My World

Kat

July 19, 2010

Alex & Lisa met 13 years and discovered a mutual love of music, books & film "We met nearly 13 years ago and the one thing that brought us together was music. He was wearing a t shirt of my favourite band and I fell for him" Lisa told me. "When we started dating we would wander around London checking out music shops, flicking through CD and vinyl to add to our collections and then head to a local cinema to catch a film. We probably spent more time in the records shops in Soho and a cinema than anywhere else. Many of those films we saw are now our favourite films and we probably know them inside out. I read books like there is no tomorrow and Alex is slowly coming round to that after having spent a lifetime reading comics and graphic novels. I bake cakes every weekend and while I enjoy making them, Alex enjoys eating them so when we are out I always take him to a cake shop so we can have a treat. I am also the official photographer in our relationship and I have the cameras and stacks of photo's to prove it. Alex helped me buy my first SLR and he sat in front of the camera on many occasion to help me with college projects"
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The Glorious British Summertime

Kat

July 19, 2010

How much do I love Hayley & Lucas' adorable English countryside engagement shoot? Almost makes me proud to be British! The ever-lovely Lisa Devlin captured the couple in Sussex as they wanted a countryside location and with the yellow flowers, Hayley's outfit and the glorious British summertime light (yes, it does happen sometimes) the scene couldn't have been more perfect. Over the last year or so props have been massively popular in weddings and photo shoots however Hayley & Lucas wanted to keep their shoot simple - just them. They did opt to bring some flowers though and Donal at Pollen came up with the spiky posy of zingy yellow chrysanthemums to contrast beautifully with their rural, natural setting.
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