Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Wedding

Geeky Robot Wedding: Nick & Barbara

Kat

December 20, 2012

Nick & Barbara's Pennsylvania wedding took place in August. "We started out telling people it was 'classy nerd picnic', began the bride. "But I think it ended up having a lightly late 40s, early 50s DIY aesthetic in bright colors with robots, Lego and family references everywhere. I can remember trying to explain this to our day-of planners for the first time and the poor man told me I needed to go and figure out what I wanted. But this was what we wanted! I like things where the theme isn't neatly tied up in a bow, and I think when everything was put together it radiated joy and silliness." "We met in marching band in high school. We really rocked that trumpet section, and by 'rocked', I mean we didn't pay attention and mostly made fun of each other", she continued "I awkwardly asked Nick to a dance, Nick awkwardly asked me to be his girlfriend almost a year later, and nine years after that we got married. If our wedding is a testament to anything, it is to how many jokes you can accrue in ten years and to how much we were already a part of each other's families."
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Colourful Manor House Wedding with just 34 Guests: Amy & Ray

Kat

December 19, 2012

I'm seeing a huge shift in a lot of the weddings that I'm being submitted of late. While large and lavish detail-heavy weddings were, and in many cases still are, wedding blog perfection, I am noticing that these days it's the smaller ones that a catching my eye. It seems that lot of my readers are completely swinging the other way and are planning small, intimate and personality-heavy nuptials. I know what it is though - my readers are rebels, just like me! You don't want to do what everyone else is doing - you want your weddings to be different and to be a perfect reflection of your love and your relationship. And that, dear readers, is why I friggin' love each and every one of you! I've known Amy for a while now. She is one third of Ava - a wedding styling company based in Birmingham, and we've actually worked together on many occasions. The biggest collaboration we've done has got to be my Rock n Riot shoot where she even commissioned a graffiti artist to paint me on a giant wall!
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Scare-Fest Wedding & Searching for ‘The One’: Sarah & Colin

Kat

December 19, 2012

For their October wedding at Whittington Castle and Wattlesborough Village Hall, Sarah & Colin wanted a scare-fest. Halloween, pumpkins, zombies & vintage circus horror were their inspirations. "When you first start to plan a wedding you are given strict instructions by every bride you know to research research research. You read magazines, you trawl through websites, you create a scrapbook of what you think your wedding should be", wrote newlywed Sarah. "I had 2 ½ years to plan my big day, and no matter what I saw I just didn't feel like it could be part of our day! Everything was so beautiful, classic, elegant... and so not us! I am mad about vintage but after heading to a vintage wedding fair I had started to lose hope. It was all too twee, too perfect. I am a rummage in the hay bales listing to The Coasters kinda vintage and it just wasn't there for me. Then after seeing a lady flying round the fair with pink hair, I was informed of Rock n Roll Bride by my friend Ffion and my world was changed! I saw couples who broke convention, who played their wedding their way and weren't afraid to let the world see their personalities through their big day!"
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CMYK Wedding: Dave & Angela

Kat

December 18, 2012

CMYK - aka Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-blacK (I'm trying not to be pedantic but shouldn't that be CMYB?!) was the theme for Dave & Angela's November wedding. If you're having a winter wedding you might have thought that forest greens, burgundy and plum were your best options but these guys prove that, seriously, that isn't the case! Bring a little sunshine into your life whydontya?! The wedding was held at Grace E. Simons Lodge, just 10 minutes from where the couple live in LA. "Our wedding theme was CMYK with dash of birds & cameras", began the bride. "Or, as my husband just said, 'Awesomeville, population: 2.' My husband is a cameraman & photographer and suggested that we use the vibrant palette of basic printing colors. I love me some color so I was into it from the start."
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Icelandic Elopement: Dean & Lindsay

Kat

December 17, 2012

With all the detail and theme obsessions that come with the wedding blogging territory, sometimes it's just really awesome to get a super simple and fuss-free wedding in my inbox. So when Dean & Lindsay's Icelandic elopement was sent my way, I couldn't wait to feature it. I've said it before and undoubtedly I'll say it again, but honestly, this is what it's all about people - two people in love saying "I will love you forever". Spending just $1200, Dean & Lindsay flew to Iceland from the US and were married at Solfar (Sun Voyager) a sculpture located by Sæbraut, by the sea in the centre of Reykjavík
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Beach & Colourful Marquee Cornish Wedding: Sarah & Doug {Part Two}

Kat

December 14, 2012

Here we go then - part two of Sarah & Doug's Cornish wedding and things are about to get colourful! On Saturday 16th June the couple hosted a humanist ceremony and reception at Rosewastis Manor in St Columb Major. They had a quirky tent marquee from Ashley Events which they decorated themselves. In fact the couple and some of their guests actually rented the manor for the whole week before to set up and just enjoy spending some time together before the wedding. For this second part of the wedding, Sarah wore a Lisa Redman wedding gown which she found at a charity bridal sale in London. Her shoes were from Irregular Choice, her headpiece was made by her and a friend from vintage pieces and her ring was her Grandmothers.
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Beach & Colourful Marquee Cornish Wedding: Sarah & Doug {Part One}

Kat

December 14, 2012

It's unusual for me to split a wedding feature into two parts, but as Sarah & Doug had a two day wedding celebration with each event styled very differently, I felt it was quite appropriate. The first part of the wedding took place on Friday 15th June where they had their legal ceremony surrounded by just a few close family and friends on the beautiful Lusty Glaze Beach in Newquay. Lusty Glaze is a gorgeous secluded horseshoe cove surrounded by 135 foot cliffs - perfect for their intimate ceremony.
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Homespun DIY Farm Wedding: Nicole & Greg

Kat

December 13, 2012

Nicole & Greg were married at home, at their own farm in Port Orchard, Washington. The wedding was a DIY family affair. The maid of honour's mother baked the cake, Greg’s Aunt baked the pies and family and friends catered the event with home cooked food. A very good friend officiated the ceremony and Nicole’s mother played the harp for the processional. Greg’s mother made all the bouquets and boutonnieres and Nicole designed the invitations and RSVP cards, as well as all the decor and reception details!
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Flea Market Wedding: Cassidi & Rob

Kat

December 12, 2012

Cassidi & Rob were married at Moorestown Community House, New Jersey. They wanted the wedding to have a flea market vibe with touches of Rock n Roll. "Our colors were charcoal, dusty rose, powered pink, mixed shades of ivory and creams", the bride explained. "We had a ton of blue mason jars, old bottles, and milk glass. A million doilies in all shades of whites, creams, and ivory. Each table has random little props, some tables had small vintage white dogs, or old skeleton keys, or buttons."
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Retro Christmas Wedding: Marian & Michael

Kat

December 10, 2012

I don't know about you, but I've been feeling exceedingly festive this year. I love Christmas, but usually the build up isn't my favourite bit - I tend to get a bit bored of it all! But not this year! I'm loving all things Crimbo and I'm so excited for the 25th December already! Now, I hope I don't have any Christmas Grinches reading, but on the off chance that I do, Marian & Michael's retro Christmas wedding is sure to banish those blues and get you SLAP BANG into the holiday spirit...
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A Homemade Star Wars & Lego Wedding for Geeks: Jennie & Jon

Kat

December 10, 2012

With just £5000 to spend, Jennie & Jon we're able to pull of their homemade and geeky wedding with a little bit of imagination and a lot of elbow grease! The ceremony took place at Emmanuel's Church in Sidlow and the reception was hosted at the bride's mother's house. "We knew that when we decided to get married we would have to do it our own way and make it very individual", explained the bride. "We are both complete geeks and children at heart with a love for Star Wars and Lego, so how could it not be fun? We definitely didn't want a wedding that could have been anybody else's. All our friends live so far away and we only get together once or twice a year so we also wanted it to be very relaxed that we could just spend time with each other. We wanted to do as much as we could ourselves and scoured eBay and car boot sales for cheaper items."
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Vintage Nautical Wedding: Tenille & Christian

Kat

December 7, 2012

Tenille & Christian were married at Maritime Museum in Fremantle, West Australia. The venue totally set the tone for their vintage nautical themed wedding. "I found working with our theme to be quite easy", explained Tenille. "The colour scheme worked and it was easy to pinpoint and find things to match our theme. If you have Photoshop and some time to be creative then you can save loads of money doing things like menus and table names yourself. I also highly recommend a cocktail party wedding as guests get to mingle and no one is stuck at a table. It really livens up the atmosphere to have guests being able to stand, dance and have fun in general."
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Tattoos & Toadstools: Toni & Colin

Kat

December 7, 2012

Tattoos, tears and a seriously cute couple. Toni & Colin's wedding is what my dreams are made of. These guys are THE perfect Rock n Roll couple and they're wedding slays me. Plus they had Sassy of Assassynation as their wedding photographer so they instantly go way up in the cool stakes with me! The wedding was held at The Quay, Musselburgh, on 10th November. "Colin and I met online what feels like a life time ago but wasn't all that long ago in the grand scheme of things", Toni began. "We spoke for a month or so online and then he made plans to come over from Northern Ireland to visit me in Edinburgh. 'I'll come for the weekend,' he said. Well, he arrived and he's yet to leave! We've lived together from day one and, including the night before the wedding, we are yet to spend one single night apart. It's a good job he makes me laugh as much as he does!"
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Ethical Wedding at Home: Feng & David

Kat

December 6, 2012

Simple weddings are often the best, and for Feng & David, doing something low-key and ethical was important. So they had a super tiny civil ceremony with only their closest friends and family in attendance, and hosted the reception at their own house! Yes, Feng put on an apron and served all the food herself! "Our wedding budget was £1500, but we went over this with our photographer and our rings", began the bride. "Our rings were pretty expensive as they were custom made using fair-trade gold, recycled gold & conflict-free gems by Amanda Li Hope. We were married at Oxford Registry Office and our reception was in our tiny house in East Oxford."
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Retro 1960s Wedding with a Moroccan Vibe: Jo & Aki

Kat

December 5, 2012

Jo, a taxidermist, & Aki, a web designer, were married at Byzantium, a quirky bar and restaurant in Bristol. The Moroccan decor added an interesting touch to the celebration. The room was decorated with Moroccan lanterns, pipe cleaner animal and personalised cocktail stirrers. Some friends made them a guest list tree surrounded by candles and glass beads, flowers and fairy lights. Jo made some taxidermy through her company Death & Glory Taxidermy. "I'm lucky enough to be surrounded by a lot of very talented people", explained the bride. "It’s very easy to get caught up with the idea of doing everything yourself but if you've got people around you that can (and want to) help, then let them! In the end our photographer (Noel was already a professional wedding photographer - handy!), invitation designer, guestbook tree makers, band, 'priest' and florist were all friends. It made the whole day much more personal and special and really helped us get the most out of our budget."
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Bohemian Chic & Floral Overload: Brink & Meagan

Kat

December 3, 2012

Brink & Meagan's South African wedding is a gorgeous mix of floral overload and bohemian chic. I mean, what's not to love?! I'm just dying over the location, the details and the bride's awesome style. Orange flowers in her hair and a lace wedding dress that dreams are made of? Oh God yes. "Our wedding was a reflection of all the things we love", began Meagan. "So to make the day as real as possible we brought elements of our life into it. I didn't want a predictable 'white' wedding. The things I love most in life are colour, texture, pattern, fabric and flowers - anything tactile. So the more colour the better. I love combining things together that contrast so combining colour and texture worked really well!"
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Rock n Roll Concert Wedding: Jenifer & Chris

Kat

December 3, 2012

Happy Monday y'all! Now I know it's unconventional, but Monday is totally my favourite day of the week. I'm always up early and excited about what the the week might hold. It's kind of like a fresh start every seven days don't you think? Oh what a nerd I am! Well, even if you're not quite as excited about it being Monday as I am, the Rock n Roll stylings of Jenifer & Chris' epic concert wedding are sure to put a big old cheesy grin on your face - it sure did mine!
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