Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Wedding

A Homespun, Backyard Wedding: Emma & Nigel

Kat

October 13, 2011

The garden wedding of Emma & Nigel was held at the groom's parents house in Brisbane. Emma explained, "The wedding was a mammoth team effort for about a week before the big day with people flying in from all over the place, gardening, weeding, cooking, shaving, marking and reporting (I'm a teacher getting married the day after the school term finished!) Somehow I still managed to sneak in a quiet moment with my bridesmaids to watch Dirty Dancing the night before and eat copious amounts of fish and chips and marshmallows.
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“Punk Rock is in Your Soul” – A DIY City Hall Wedding….and a Bride in PINK: Lenore & Ryan

Kat

October 12, 2011

I don't say this lightly, but Lenore & Ryan's wedding may be my wedding of the year! I simply love everything about it - from the bride's incredible pink ensemble, to the family-central cuteness of the whole thing. I've also realised that I definitely need to add some more giant bows to all my outfits. I don't know about you but I kinda want to live in this wedding...
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An Elegant & Contemporary Yacht Club Wedding: Hannah & Steve

Kat

October 6, 2011

"We have always been passionate about music which was a key inspiration for us," newlywed Hannah told me. "We also wanted it to be a relaxed party atmosphere to reflect our laid back personalities. We started this off by designing and making contemporary informal invitations which used some photos from a photo booth to tell a mini story, we also designed a modern logo which we then used on all of our stationery."
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An Elegant & Funky Downtown Wedding: Shavonda & Naomi

Kat

October 5, 2011

Shavonda & Naomi both wore white for their elegant but funky wedding in Sacramento, CA. Shavonda actually wore two dresses - the first, a customised gown from WToo (loving the short front!) and for the reception a sexy short number from BCBG Max Azria. Naomi's suit was a mix of trousers from New York & Co, a vest from Bebe and a shirt from Express. The wedding was held at Beatnik Studios, an amazing studio space in downtown Sacramento.
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A British Wartime Wedding: Lisa & Ric

Kat

October 5, 2011

After a church ceremony at St Peter's & St Paul's Church in Hampshire, Lisa & Ric had a very British wartime themed wedding at Broad Half Penny Down Cricket Club, Hampshire - the world's oldest cricket club. "Life never goes the way you plan it," the bride wrote. "I always dreamt of finishing uni, finding love, getting married and starting a family. The conventional family - we are not! I am 12 years younger than Ric, and also about 12 inches taller! Ric is frequently away with work and moved me to the south of the country, away from all my friends and family. Oh and how could I forget our 2 year old son - Bear. This was definitely not what I had planned. When Ric finally proposed, I was on cloud 9 and I knew that our wedding day wasn't going to be a 'normal' one. For example - I couldn't decide what engagement ring I liked, so I have three! We also had a best woman instead of a best man, we 'high fived' at the altar instead of the kiss, and our son screamed through most of the ceremony then was racing his toy cars down the aisle with chocolate down his nice white shirt."
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A Simple Brighton Wedding: Holly & Patrick

Kat

October 4, 2011

Holly & Patrick were married in Brighton. They didn't really stick to a particular theme for their wedding, they simply included things they love. They wanted to keep the day simple and stress-free, as the bride explains, "We didn't have a theme, and we didn't say anything had to be a certain way. My dress was handmade on me, through chatting, drawings and ideas, by my friend Aimee who trained at London College of Fashion. Patrick chose his suit because he was definite that he wanted a 'mod' suit. It was all done very organically, and it was perfect. Somebody suggested I wear a long sleeve, high necked dress to cover my tattoo but I declined the suggestion and went for as low a back as possible."
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A DIY Village Fete Wedding: Charlie & Jo

Kat

October 3, 2011

"Our inspiration came from our wish to have a wedding that was different to any we had been to and our main focus for the day was to try and make it as fun as possible for all the guests," newlywed Jo wrote. "We wanted to have an informal day that just felt like a party. We both like antique decorations and I have always wanted a vintage dress because I wanted something different and not something that you might see someone else wearing at another wedding. I also loved the idea of my dress having a history and making someone else day special before mine. In the same way as I love the fact that the diamond in my engagement ring belonged to Charlie’s Great-Grandmother."
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Glamour, Sophistication & The Beatles: Lauren & Ben

Kat

October 3, 2011

The Beatles brought Lauren & Ben together, so it was fitting that they wanted their favourite band to influence their big day. Ben is from Liverpool and plays in a Beatles cover band as George Harrison and while working on reception at the Soho Grand Hotel in New York in March 2010 Lauren met the band when they played a gig there. However the couple did not want their wedding to be too obviously Beatles themed, so instead they simply added a few subtle touches to the day. Lauren explains, "Our inspiration for the wedding was glamour and sophistication, with a whimsical, retro, playful twist. We had a live string trio play during our ceremony -with a solo of "Come What May" - the love theme from Moulin Rouge {which also tied in the glamour/whimsy/love theme of the day}. The strings {violin and viola} added a sophisticated, lovely, untraditional, more dreamy atmosphere to the ceremony {especially walking down the aisle to them!}"
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48 Couples Marry at Bestival in the Big Love Inflatable Church

Kat

September 28, 2011

Taking place on the Isle of Wight for the past 7 years, Bestival music festival has fast become sinimomous with crazy antics, fancy dress...oh and a big dollop of awesome music thrown in for good measure! Each year it also plays host to the Big Love Inflatable Church, where couples can go to tie the knot. This year wedding photographer Chris Cowley was there to catch all the action! He explains, "A grand total of 48 weddings took place over the 3 day festival, Reverend’s ‘Nickerless’ and ‘Randy Johnson’ preformed ceremonies with the help of dishevelled bridesmaids, a mother in-law and a maid of dishonour."
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A Surprise Superhero Themed Wedding: David & Jo

Kat

September 27, 2011

David & Jo had a superhero themed surprise wedding. What else can I really say but...awesome! "Our inspiration was that we are both hugely devious and we wanted to have a really good laugh," Jo wrote. "We decided early on to invite everyone to my 40th birthday party and the theme would be Superheroes…we just failed to tell them all that it would actually be a wedding reception and we would be the Super-Dupers and will have duped them all. We've been together just shy of 20 years and really nobody ever thought we'd take the leap. For some, it's still quite a shock!"
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A Quintessentially English Country Garden Wedding: Liz & Blake

Kat

September 26, 2011

Liz moved to America from the UK where she met Blake while he was singing in a bar. After dating for a while he proposed while on holiday in Rome. Although well-traveled, Liz wanted to have her wedding in her hometown of Brize Norton, in her parent's back garden. She had to rely on her parents, sister and bridesmaids a lot for help during the planning, "I arrived in the UK 3 days before the wedding and immediately had to go and meet our vicar, after that we had to fight the jet lag to start decorating the marquee," Liz told me. "I didn’t realise how much stuff I had collected over the year and when I saw it all piled up in my parent's dining room I felt really overwhelmed by it all. Luckily my sister and bridesmaid were on hand to keep everything on track we knuckled down and started hanging and arranging."
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A South African Winter Wedding at A Private Game Reserve: Jaimi & Adrian

Kat

September 23, 2011

Jaimi & Adrian are wedding photographers themselves so when it came to planning their own big day the photography was obviously a very important part for them. "Adrian and I met through a photographic project he did back in 2008 and we fell in love," Jaimi told me. "He asked me to marry him on a misty morning in October 2009 in the Drakensburg Kzn. We got married on January 10th, 2010 and had a small ceremony at Tala. We renewed our love for each other and had our wedding celebration on June the 24th this year at our special love place ... Tala Private Game Reserve." "As Adrian has been in the wedding industry for over 12 years now as a wedding photographer. We really wanted our day to be 'us' and a bit more rocker than the weddings we shoot every weekend of the year. We took all the 'stuff' we loved and piled it onto one day - from the clothes we love, to the passion we have to the fun we wanted for our family. It turned out awesome, it was personal, full of love, non stressful and just super rocking."
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A Day of the Dead Art Gallery Wedding: Angie & Adam

Kat

September 23, 2011

Angie & Adam were married at Manchester Art Gallery, a fitting venue as the bride went to Manchester Metropolitan University to study art where she met her future husband. Angie wore a bespoke purple dress made for her by a friend who works in a theatre wardrobe department (currently with We Will Rock You!) They designed it together so Angie got just what she wanted. The couple chose not to have bridesmaids or groomsmen. They entered their ceremony together. "We wanted to start as we mean to go on - together," they explained. "We walked down the aisle holding hands and remained holding hands through the service. Also Angie's a bit of a feminist and didn't want to be given away."
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A Darkly Dramatic Gothic Wedding: Alix & Zach

Kat

September 22, 2011

Some of you may remember Alix & Zach from their gothic tea party engagement shoot. Well I'm thrilled to be able to share their wedding with you today - and guess what, the smoke came with them! After getting ready at The Rookery Hotel (somewhere which I've actually stayed - its a beautiful hotel!) the couple were married at Lauderdale House in Highgate. The reception was held at somewhere that's fast becoming one of my favourite London venues, The Metal Works in Islington.
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An Effortlessly Elegant Backyard Wedding: Rebecca & Ben

Kat

September 22, 2011

After a beautifully simple Brooklyn engagement shoot, I would have expected nothing less of Rebecca & Ben than the effortlessly elegant backyard wedding that they had. Married in Ben's parents Rhode Island back garden, the wedding was a DIY affair. "I made bouquets with my friends from flowers that grew down the street at Young's family farm," Rebecca told me. "I made the flower garlands that hung up around the pink boxer bar. I made all the napkins from Amy Butler fabric. I collected vases and jars at garage sales and streetwise junkyard shops near brooksville Maine."
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