Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Wedding

An October Lovefest in The Philippines: Ray & Yan

Kat

November 6, 2012

I love my Filipino readers. This tiny island has been full of Rock n Roll Bride fans pretty much since I began the blog which totally blows my mind. I've never visited, but I'm sure one day I will... I can't wait to meet all those awesome like-minded peeps! I love getting submissions from The Philippines too - not least of all because they always sign off with 'more power to you!' which I love, but also because their weddings are damn cool. Obviously Ray & Yan's submission was no exception - as soon as I saw that dress, which was hand painted by the bride's mother, I melted into a pool of wedding lust heaven.
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Tattoo Britannia Wedding: Lisa & Paul

Kat

November 6, 2012

"Being the Jubilee year as well as the Olympics, a red, white & blue themed wedding seemed fitting", began newlywed Lisa who married Paul this Summer. "I sat with my bridesmaids and mum the night before the wedding watching the opening ceremony with great pride. The bright colour options coupled with my love of rockabilly styling and 1940s glamour added such vibrancy and fun to the day. Paul and I also both love tattoos so we wanted to bring this into our day. The swallows on the wedding cake, invitations, table decorations and gifts were all tied together with tattoo images."
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Beautiful Beach Wedding: Jmie & KC

Kat

November 5, 2012

It's getting seriously cold over here in the UK so what could be a better way to warm up than lusting over some beach wedding goodness? Jmie & KC's beautiful beach wedding is just what I needed! You might remember Jmie & KC from their boxing engagement shoot. Those that do will already know that these guys don't go for the conventional so a laid back and fun wedding was just what I expected. The wedding was held in the idyllic location of the Virgin Beach Resort in San Juan, Batangas.
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A Dirty Fabulous Circus Wedding: Caroline & Peter

Kat

November 5, 2012

Running her own vintage boutique, Dirty Fabulous, in Dublin, Caroline was in the perfect position to plan her DIY circus themed wedding. She and fiancé Peter knew from the outset that they wanted something fun and unusual, and they had the perfect place in mind to host it. "We go to flea markets at the Dublin Food Co-op building and we always loved it", the bride began. "It’s not particularly pretty by any stretch of the imagination but it always has a lovely vibe. We were at the market one Sunday and we both said that if we were ever to get married that it would make an awesome venue. It just went from there really, it took me about 6 months to convince the co-op to let us do it and we didn't have a back up plan if they said no."
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A Simple & Beautiful Irish Wedding: Anna & Mirko

Kat

November 3, 2012

Anna & Mirko wanted a simple wedding with tons of personality. The day was held at Fallon & Byrne, a restaurant in the heart of Dublin. "We met 12 years ago and we never talked much about marriage until two years ago", wrote the bride. "I was getting dressed one Sunday morning and we were chatting away when he just came and out and said 'Do you want to marry me?' I didn't realise it was a genuine question and replied 'Ah yeah why not'. He grabbed me and we start jumping around in a circle laughing. Mirko was shouting 'We are getting married!' and I was like 'Oh Really? Yay!!' It was so funny and this situation sums us up really."
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Glam Rock Meets Tradition: Ben & Joslyn

Kat

November 2, 2012

I knew I loved Ben & Joslyn's Washington wedding as soon as I saw it. Never wanting to do what was expected of them, this couple wanted a wedding that was both sexy and glamorous but with small hints of tradition. "My style has never been typical so from the beginning I knew I wanted to do something fun and off the wall but at the same time mix it with traditional elements", wrote Joslyn. "I absolutely NEVER wear white so to me it was kind of fun and rebellious to wear a fancy white gown. Also I did not want my bridesmaids to look boring and from the beginning I had a vision of them in sexy leopard print dresses and hot pink heels. My girls were pure glam and total bombshells! I would say our wedding theme was glam rock meets traditional. I definitely made a point of having our style shine through. The overall theme though was fun, fun, fun!"
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A Woodland Party Wedding: Kat & Mat

Kat

October 31, 2012

"Woodland party circus!" replied newlywed Kat when I asked her to describe her wedding. "At least that was the three things we kept saying to people when they asked what our wedding was going to be like." Kat & Mat were married at The Hideout, a bar and music venue in Chicago. "We really didn't want to have a traditional banquet wedding, and we both wanted something that was very relaxed", the bride continued. "The ceremony was an important part of the day for us but we also knew the party was equally important! We saw the reception part of the evening an opportunity to really celebrate with all the friends and family who had come from both close (a few blocks away) and far (as far as Australia). We racked our brains and both of us have some great memories of The Hideout. We spend a lot of time going to shows there and we even first met at one, so it seemed like a natural fit. I think the venue was what really made our wedding special and started to really define how we were going to work in the rest of the details."
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Don’t Tell The Bride: The Real Story aka Mike & Becky’s Mexican Wrestling Wedding

Kat

October 31, 2012

I have a love/hate relationship with the BBC Three show Don't Tell the Bride. On the one hand, I love a voyeuristic nosey at other people's weddings (hello! Wedding blogger criteria number one) but on the other, the obvious sensationalism of shows like this can often get a bit much. I usually sit watching the show wondering if the groom really plans the whole thing himself and if the real truth of the matter is that the production company tell him exactly what to do so they can have the usual drama that seems to follow the programme around. But mostly I wonder if the brides really have no say on ANYTHING. I mean surely you'd give him a few subtle hints beforehand, right?!
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A Mountaintop Homespun Wedding: Allison & Scott

Kat

October 30, 2012

Allison & Scott were married at 4,629 ft, at their favourite place - the top of Max Patch Bald, NC. They hosted their reception in their own home. "The décor of the ceremony was the panoramic view of the Smokey/blue Ridge Mountains and the wild buttercup flowers", they began. "At the reception, drinks were served in mason jars, farm tables were used for dining, and the flowers were roses and hydrangeas mixed with sunflowers in mason jars. Vintage plates and napkins were used and little jars of local Tennessee wildflower honey and dippers were at each table setting as favors. Our home was built in the 1800s and we wrapped the columns in garlands and roses."
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DIY Theatre Wedding: Amanda & T’Neil

Kat

October 29, 2012

It wasn't love at first sight for Amanda & T'Neil, but their romance is certainly what epic love stories are made of. Now call me an old sop, but what a great movie their story would make! "T'Neil and I met through our parents in our mid teens," began Amanda. "It was one of those friendships you had because your parents 'encouraged' it. The two of us could not have been more different if we tried to be - she was miss pep and I was miss 'leave me the heck alone'. I wanted to set her pom poms on fire and she says she was scared to death I was gonna beat her up or something! Through the first year that we were 'encouraged' to be friends it was a lot of small talk and 'my dad said to ask you if you wanna hang out' invites - movies, the mall, game nights. Then we began to see that we weren't so different after all; we had more in common than we wanted to admit even to ourselves. What was once an 'encouraged' friendship became inside jokes, sleep overs, and overnight texting. We look back now after 7 years of the best friendship and we can't say what was the moment it all changed, but somewhere over the years of helping each other through a move across states, the sickness and death of a parent and divorce of others, heartbreaks, injuries and so much more, we became inseparable. And eventually best friendship turned into a 'once in a lifetime', movie script type of love, with all the tests of A Lot Like Love, hope of A Walk to Remember and love of The Notebook."
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A Musical & Modern Wedding: Katie & Adam

Kat

October 29, 2012

"Without wanting to sound too sucky I've read Rock n Roll Bride for years, even before I was engaged", wrote newly-wed Katie, who married Adam in Leicestershire in September. "I loved looking at the photography and the different styles & ideas out there. So as soon as Adam popped the question I had a great starting point!" The entire wedding had a music theme - from the vinyl motifs, the homemade posters, the guitar pick favours and the concert venue table names, "Music was a really big inspiration for us, from the background music to the first dance & church music", the bride continued. "Everything was carefully planned and picked to fit our theme. The vinyl theme continued all the way from the invites to decorations around the venue."
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Idyllic Camber Sands Beach Wedding: Jo & Rob

Kat

October 26, 2012

Jo & Rob were married at The Gallivant Hotel, an eclectic, shabby chic coastal hideaway. Once a former retro motel on the edge of Camber, the hotel is located right opposite the sand dunes and beach of Camber Sands - what a perfect and idyllic spot to get married! In fact it was even more perfect for this romantic pair because Rob proposed to Jo whilst flying kites on this very beach! "With its beautiful British beach side charm we knew straight away it was the perfect place for us to get married", began Jo.
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Retro Mod Wedding: Nikki & Paul

Kat

October 25, 2012

Brought together by a mutual love of the 1960s and mod culture, Nikki & Paul met at a 1960s themed club. "I was inspired by wedding blogs like Rock n Roll Bride that talk about weddings that are slightly left field", began the bride. "I was inspired by weddings with bright colours (we had orange and electric blue with grey) and we wanted to make sure each part of the day was reflective of who we are. We also didn't take anything too seriously - it was meant to be fun!"
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Geeky & Movie Themed Ironworks Wedding: Ellery & Arlyn

Kat

October 24, 2012

Back to the future, Indiana Jones, zombies... If you were to ask me to list my all time favourite things they would all be way up there. So when Ellery & Arlyn's geeky gorgeous wedding landed on my lap I was more than a little bit excited to blog it... but also rather gutted that we didn't do our wedding this way! The Canadian couple were married at The Ironworks Studios in Vancouver. "The Ironworks used to be an old iron factory near the train tracks just outside of Gastown," began the bride. "It's now an eclectic venue used mainly for concerts and TV or movie shoots. We went to our friend’s book signing event there a few years ago and when we started talking about venues, the Ironworks was the place we both thought of first."
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A Sexy South African Winter Wedding: Tertius & Melissa

Kat

October 23, 2012

I hate to be the one to break it to you, but it's going to be full on winter soon. I personally don't mind when it starts to get all icy and crisp outside - it's the perfect excuse to wear something knitted and cute, order a ridiculous sounding coffee drink (Cream! Caramel! Sugar! Marshmallows!) and snuggle up close with your lover. Perfect. Plus we get to see weddings like Tertius & Melissa's... The wedding took place at Oakfield Farm in South Africa. The ceremony was held in the onsite chapel, and the reception in the homestead. For the decor, the couple went for a dramatic look with deep reds and earthy tones. "I'm not fond of the idea of 'colour schemes', but I love textures so we went for the earthy feel with just a little dash red", explained the bride." We added deep red roses and the bridesmaids wore red jackets. The rest we left up to mother nature!"
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