Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Wedding

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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Married in the Middle of Hurricane Sandy: Laura & Rich

Kat

November 30, 2012

Words can't express how my heart ached for New York and the East Coast of America when I heard about all the tragedies surrounding one of the worst storms in 100 years. I read eye witness accounts from my friends and saw terrifying images of the flood waters rising in the streets that I had walked down just a few days before... And I know it sounds strange, weird even, but being a wedding blogger I also wondered what might have happened to any weddings that we're planned around this time.
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Retro Bowling Club Wedding with an Ocean View: Nat & Sam

Kat

November 30, 2012

The retro wedding of Nat & Sam is perfect... literally perfect. I just know you're going to go nuts for Nat's nostalgic bridal style, their ocean view ceremony and the reception that looks like it stepped right out of the past. "Our ceremony was at Burrows Park Headland, Sydney", explained Nat. "The ceremony spot was a beautiful cliff edge looking over the Pacific Ocean and located right next to the Bowling Club where we had the reception. We loved that the only way to get to it was via a very long, natural aisle sheltered on one side by trees, which we decorated with Chinese lanterns. For our reception we chose Clovelly Bowling Club. It was cheap as chips to hire, the drinks prices stuck in the 1980s, and the tacky bright blue carpet and a strange old picture of the Queen flanked by two Aussie flags above a stage which houses an ancient piano (which we tuned up and used!) were AWESOME! As soon as we walked in we looked at each other and said 'Yes!'. Oh, and it had 180 degree ocean views!"
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A French Resturant Wedding: Kat & Ton

Kat

November 29, 2012

Being massive foodies, Kat & Ton knew that serving a fantastic meal was high on their list of wedding day priorities. So for their reception venue they selected their favourite French restaurant in Brisbane, Montrachet. "In my opinion Montrachet is the best French restaurant in the city, and has been a family favourite for years", Kat told me. "Feeding our families and friends good food and wine was very important to us. The staff, both kitchen and front of house, made sure the night was perfect with superb food and exceptional service."
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Americana Kitsch in London’s East End: Anna Lee & Paul

Kat

November 28, 2012

Anna Lee & Paul were married in London in September. Their ceremony was held at Saint Etheldreda’s Church, and their reception - in two parts - took place at The Modern Pantry in Clerkenwell and All Star Lanes in Brick Lane. "We dined on a mouthwatering fusion menu for dinner, and mini burgers, hot dogs and classic American cocktails at the after-party", wrote the bride. Anna Lee looked stunning in her gold gown by by Roland Mouret. Called 'Wallis' and inspired by Wallis Simpson, the opulent diamond-embossed design looked amazing on her. Clearly Anna Lee wasn't going for a traditional bridal look. She wore Beatrix Ong shoes and instead of a veil or any jewellery, she had pearls glued down the nape of her neck. I just LOVE this idea. "I didn't wear jewellery or a veil", she explained, "but wanted pearls in my cropped hairstyle. So Angela, my hairdresser, had the idea to fix pearls down the back of my neck using super-strength wig glue! They held fast all, and were a real talking point."
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Rainbow DIY Wedding in a Vineyard: Brianna & Alex

Kat

November 28, 2012

Oh rainbow weddings, how I adore you. To me, there's nothing more exciting than getting a wedding just like Brianna & Alex's in my inbox on a drizzly November morning. Talk about brightening up my whole week! The outdoor location is like a dream, and one that this gorgeous pair completely decorated themselves. They literally hand made everything - all the decor, the paper flowers and even the bride's and bridesmaid's dresses! Everything just works so well. The wedding was held at Canungra Valley Vineyards in Brisbane, Australia.
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Purple, Dinosaurs & Peacocks: Lauren & Matt

Kat

November 27, 2012

Purple. Dinosaurs. Peacocks... These were the things that inspired Lauren & Matt's October wedding. Although the theme wasn't really intentional, by incorporating the things they just really liked it totally worked! "Our ethos for our wedding was that we were going to what we wanted and not what people expected", wrote Lauren. "We picked and chose aspects of tradition that we liked and binned those we didn't. We had a humanist ceremony which isn't like a registry wedding - it's a lot more personal. We tied a Celtic knot which we practiced loads before hand! My friend did the reading of 'A Lovely Love Story' by Edward Monkton, which is about dinosaurs and dinosaurs are awesome! One of our other close friends gave us the book as an engagement present and we thought it was apt as a reading. We also had a dinosaur cake topper!"
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Comic Book & Superhero Wedding: Holly & Anthony

Kat

November 26, 2012

Happy Monday you lovely little critters - have I got a wedding to start this week off with a bang or what!? Unusually I was actually submitted this wedding by the groom and via twitter because his gorgeous bride, Holly, was nervous about doing so. Er, girl, are you KIDDING me?! I'm dying over your wedding. The comic book, superhero and geek chic radness is just too good. This is one of those weddings that I genuinely wish I'd been invited to!
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A 1940s & Vegan Wedding in Canada: Sarah & Carol

Kat

November 22, 2012

Sarah & Carol had a destination wedding in Canada. With Sarah originally from Canada the pair, who now live in Brighton, wanted to fly back for the wedding. "We decided to be married in Sarnia because Carol is incredibly attached to her hometown and the beaches and water of Lake Huron (can you blame her?)", wrote newlywed Carol. "At the time we booked the venue we thought we would both be living in Canada, so it seemed a natural choice. We chose Sarnia Riding Club as our venue so we could be right next to the water. We knew that whatever continent we decided to do the wedding on, a lot of people who wouldn't be able to attend, we're so pleased that so many people made it – and we've promised to dance with those who didn't make it very soon."
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