Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Wedding

A Big Sur Wedding at The Henry Miller Library: Sabeena & Ryan

Kat

October 1, 2012

Ahh Big Sur. In the early part of my wedding blogging career I had no idea what this 'Big Sur' was... a magical sounding place that all the other wedding bloggers spoke of so often. And then finally I realised the obsession. These Californain mountains are picturesque. And overlooking the Pacific ocean. Is it any wonder they're such a popular spot for weddings? Come on English mountains... step it up a bit...
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A Thespian Wedding with a Focus on the Ceremony: Theresa & William

Kat

October 1, 2012

Theresa & William were married at Preston Court, Kent, in April. Both being actors they had a subtle thespian theme and lots of entertainment! "We met while working for outdoor theatre company," began the bride. "Last year, at the end of a performance of Pirates of Penzance, and on stage in front of 350 people, Willie proposed! It came as quite a surprise to everyone apart from our MD Ben Wiles, who had been instructed to play the Dr Zhivago theme as he went down on one knee! Ben also played at the wedding as I walked down the aisle."
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A Modern Urban New York Wedding: Lesley & Perry

Kat

September 30, 2012

Have I told you yet that I'm off to New York again in under two weeks?! Oh I have? Oh I'm super annoying about it...? Yeah I know... sorry about that. But New York is the greatest city in the world and I'm sooo excited to be there again. EEEK. Needless to say I have a bit of an affinity...or maybe call it bias... to anything and everything NYC right now, which is why I was super excited to receive Lesley & Perry's fabulous modern urban wedding. Sent over by wedding photographer Karen Seifert, the lunchtime wedding was held at 91 Horatio in the meatpacking district, with the late night after party taking place at The Drink, the couple's favourite bar in Brooklyn.
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A Broadway Musical Wedding: Carin & Pouya

Kat

September 28, 2012

When Carin & Pouya got engaged, the bride instantly knew what their wedding theme would be - Broadway musical! "I have always loved Broadway musicals and three years ago Pouya took me to my first live production - The Wizard of Oz", Carin writes. "I was instantly hooked! Since then I've got season tickets to Broadway performances across Canada including our hometown of Edmonton. I never thought of incorporating that into the wedding, but after a while the Broadway musical theme came to me while I was bored one day in a class in University. I was looking around on the internet when I saw a wedding program that looked like a playbill and the ideas spiraled from there!"
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A Quirky Alice in Wonderland Wedding: Nic & Ed

Kat

September 28, 2012

Nic & Ed chose Gaynes Park in Epping as the perfect spot for their June wedding. "It is the most amazing venue ever and their food is the highlight", explained the bride, "In fact people are still raving about it now, it was better than any restaurant I've ever been to! It's also a beautiful space, which didn't need a lot doing to it which was perfect for us. I just put a few bits here and there to make it 'ours'." "My inspiration came from my love of cakes and Alice in Wonderland. Ed was very happy to let me go off and try and put as much of 'me' into the wedding as I could. My aim was for people to know if was our wedding."
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A Colourful Country Garden Fete Wedding: Tom & Jenny

Kat

September 27, 2012

The DIY wedding of Tom & Jenny took place in Kent in July. After a church ceremony, their low key reception was held in Tom's parent's back garden. The bride wore a short wedding dress from Yours Truly Bridal Shop in Maidstone which cost her just £180 with a gorgeous headpiece was by a Rock n Roll Bride favourite, Crown & Glory. Alongside her lucky bridesmaids, she wore Vivienne Westwood/Melissa Lady Dragon shoes and instead of bouquets they all carried a single giant faux flower stem, bought from Hobbycraft costing just £2 each!
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A DIY Village Hall Wedding & A Bride Who Designed her own Dress: Laura & Mike

Kat

September 25, 2012

A village hall reception venue, a bride who designed her own dress and a groom who found his entire outfit in charity shops - oh I am so excited about Laura & Mike's amazing wedding! Is it just me or are the low key, budget friendly and full of love weddings winning over the high-maintenance, super detail heavy weddings right now? "I am a huge geek and one of the things I am most geeky about is design, craft and making things", wrote newlywed Laura. " So when Mike proposed at a picnic in Kensington Gardens just after our 6 year anniversary, the mother of all craft projects was born!
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A DIY Wedding at Crystal Falls: Dano & Holly

Kat

September 24, 2012

Throwing out as many wedding traditions as they could, Dano & Holly planned their wedding with one golden rule - to have nothing cookie cutter. "I have strong aversion to anything cookie cutter, so we threw out a lot of wedding traditions," the bride began. "We wanted our wedding to be a party that we would never forget. Our theme was something along the lines of 'vintage, woodsy & DIY'. I wore green. We cut the pie (no cake) with a machete. Our friends built the biggest bonfire that any of us had ever seen and we danced in the rain under the stars."
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An Industrial Meets Romance Aussie Wedding: Kate & Chris

Kat

September 24, 2012

Can I be biased and express my total and unapologetic love and adoration for my Aussie readers right now? The weddings you guys have been having and sending me are nothing short of amazing! So needless to say I was rather thrilled to see Kate & Chris' wedding in my inbox. Sent over by their gorgeous wedding photographers, husband & wife team Feather and Stone, I just about whooped with joy when I laid eyes on it. There's just something about a simple but classy wedding with a true Rock n Roll soul that makes my heart sing... plus Kate's amazing tattoo gives me some serious envy! "We are ecstatic that Kat would like to feature us", began the bride, "I'm a massive fan of her blog and it was a huge inspiration to our wedding." (awwww!)
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A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock n Roll: Angela & Russ

Kat

September 21, 2012

Guitars, cowboy boots, a performance from the couple to round off the evening... what's not to love?! Angela & Russ were married in May and wanted their wedding to reflect them. The personal details started with the ceremony, where instead of a traditional unity service, they each bought a beer - one sweet and one bitter. The bitter was to symbolise the challenges they would face in life and the sweet for the sweet things they would share. They combined the two beers in a 'Redneck Wine Glass' "a Mason jar attached to a candle holder!" they explained.
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A Marie Antoinette Style Gothic Fairytale: Stan & Lotti

Kat

September 21, 2012

that tap into this theme. But I think Lotti is the best example of a Marie Antoinette bride since... well... me! In fact I think she actually steals my crown. The pantaloons, the white/grey hair, the shoes... her look is just perfect! "I’m an alternative model in my spare time and I've always been creative in my appearance so I was never going to go for something conventional for my wedding!" began the bride. "I’m very into period costume and I love the spectacular dress of the court of Versailles at the time of Marie Antoinette so I thought I would recreate some of the decadence and indulgence of the court for our big day! We chose the blue and white theme as this shade of blue was one of Marie Antoinette’s favourites. The toile de jouy fabric of the bridemaids dresses was also popular in Europe at the time. Kiku Boutique in Manchester dressed us all."
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Two Ceremonies, Afternoon Tea & A Music Festival: Tam & Rob

Kat

September 18, 2012

"We really wanted a fun wedding which guests would enjoy", began Tam when I asked her about her vintage-inspired festival wedding. "Rob & I decided we would split the day into three, so we had the ceremony, the afternoon tea with games then an evening party. I think having three different venues with lots of entertainment was fun for the guests and us!" In fact after the afternoon tea part of the wedding, the couple had a second ceremony - a traditional Indian wedding ceremony. "My dad is Indian so after the wedding ceremony everyone had a glass of Pimms and then gathered round for a traditional Parsee ceremony called a 'Mado Soro'. The ceremony is a blessing for the couple to wish them good fertility and a fruitful marriage. My dad explained what was going on to all the guests and what the ceremony meant. We were presented with the most amazing fresh flower garlands that my cousins had bought over from Thailand. A fruit tree was planted by my brother while prayers were said by other relatives. An egg was passed round Rob's head three times then thrown to the ground and broken. A coconut was then smashed on the floor. Everyone then threw rice and confetti."
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A DIY Science Museum Wedding: Kira and John

Kat

September 17, 2012

On 26th May this year Kira & John were married in Berkeley, California. The Lawrence Hall of Science at The University of California seemed to be the perfect space to host their reception as the bride had attended school there. It was a unique space and has plenty of things for people to look at and play with throughout the party! "Our wedding was held at the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley", wrote the bride. "The ceremony was held in a large courtyard called Science Park over a fountain (and exhibit), and the reception was held inside the museum, where all of the hands-on exhibits were open to guests. All of our portraits were taken in the nearby Botanical Gardens. Our officiant was John's law professor. We included a final blessing repeated by all of our guests... 'Live long, and prosper!'"
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A Wedding on a Budget with Portraits in IKEA: Janet & Dave

Kat

September 17, 2012

I'm rather partial to IKEA... I know it's not the fanciest of home stores, but whenever I persuade Gareth that we need a trip there (I'm sure we're due another one soon) I feel like a proper grown up. I can actually afford the stuff (like who decided £2000 was standard for a table and chairs? pah John Lewis, PAH!) and it makes me feel all educated buying things with Swedish names. Plus their items are always pretty... even if not always functional - "why yes Gareth I do need that cardboard deer head to put on my office wall..." And don't even get me started on the kids department. I just wish the pink chest of drawers came in adult size... So when wedding photographer and all round cool dude Chris Barber sent me Janet & Dave's wedding I was excited. Not just because of Dave's Rock n Roll stylings but because they chose the Coventry Ikea as the location for their wedding day portrait sesh. GENIUS! Oh and they spent just £4000 on their day. I'm IN AWE.
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