Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Wedding

Jo & Oli’s East End Knees Up!

Kat

July 11, 2011

When I asked Jo & Oli to descrive their wedding, they simply called it an "East End knees up!" I love that and think the description cetainly matches the party vibe of their wedding photographs from Rosie Parsons. "We knew that we didn't want a hotel reception (we couldn't have afforded one anyway!) because we wanted to put our stamp on our day: we wanted it to be really about what we like: tea and cake; Rock n Roll; dancing and cocktails!" Jo explained. "I dragged my Mum around every hall in the East End of London before deciding on St Peters in Bethnal Green. It had so much character whilst being a blank canvas at the same time. It was really important to me to get married in the East End as I grew up in Stepney and we now live in Bow. The hall was within walking distance of the hall and traffic was quite bad along Valance Road that day so Oli and I got to ride to the hall in our Morris Minor and chat to our guests as they walked along!"
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Jill & Justin’s Nature-Inspired Music Lovers Wedding

Kat

July 11, 2011

Jill & Justin are both huge music lovers and so they wanted this to be a big part of their day. "We love anything from jazz to punk to french new wave, and we knew we wanted music to be the theme in our wedding," Jill explained. "This was reflected in our wedding invitations, our table numbers, our choice in the amazing jazz band we got, our favorite DJs and the favors for our guests, which featured lyrics by the Beach Boys."
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Steve & Shelley’s Post-War Britain, DIY Wedding

Kat

July 11, 2011

Steve & Shelley's Isle of Wight wedding had a post-war vintage and DIY theme. The couple were keen not to spend a fortune on their day and the theme really evolved quite naturally and organically from this idea. "We were conscious we did not want to spend a fortune on our wedding and the theme of 'Post-War Britain' fitted in nicely with our DIY wedding," the bride told me. "Everything was done on a budget, a lot sourced from eBay, friends and family helped to make bunting and paper chain hearts for decorating the reception venue. Our favours were Thorntons chocolates wrapped in brown wrapping paper with blue butchers twine (eBay again) and a parcel tag attached with the guests name as a place card. I handmade the invitations which were a shimmery Union Jack postcard style with the invitation wording as a telegram, on the invitation we requested that guests attend in their interpretation of post-war Britain dress, and gladly the majority of guests did so!"
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April & Christian’s Colourful Dance-Party Rooftop Wedding

Kat

July 8, 2011

April & Christian's rooftop wedding was held at Aerial in Nashville and from the sounds of things it was a fun-packed wedding from start to finish. "The ceremony was on the rooftop in downtown Nashville right beside all the honkey tonks," photographer Alex Bee told me. "The bridal party DANCED down the aisle to live music played by the bride & groom's brothers. They really got into it! The bride's entrance had the most tension/energy/anticipation that I have ever experienced at a wedding. The bride entered the ceremony to rising beginning guitar solo of "She's the One" by Bruce Springsteen. Did I mention that they passed out tambourines & eggshakers & encouraged the guests to play along? It was really amazing! The reception was an epic rooftop dance party + karaoke."
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Marcus & Simone’s Laid Back, Country Vintage Wedding

Kat

July 7, 2011

Marcus & Simone used some of my favourite wedding suppliers for their barn wedding in Gloucestershire, including Joanna Brown for photography, Fur Coat No Knickers for the dress and Severin of The Hepburn Collection for the bride's hair. I love this! "I got a little frustrated at how little choice there is when it comes to creating an individual wedding, especially as I didn't have that long to plan it (5 months)," the bride told me. "I found it easier to not refer to magazines and traditional wedding websites and preferred to take inspiration from Etsy.com, blogs such as Rock n Roll Bride and to go with my own ideas. I think it's easy to get sucked into the wedding machine and things can become too fussy. My ethos was to try and keep it classic, stylish and simple."
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Stephanie & Aaron’s Budget ‘Peacock Vintage’ Wedding

Kat

July 7, 2011

"The whole wedding was sort of 'peacock vintage' themed," newlywed Stephanie told me. "We really managed to keep the wedding cost pretty low and spent less than $12,000! We was able to do this by making our own centerpieces, boutineers, corsages, invitations, and headpieces. We also used an older, less popular florist because I knew exactly what kind of flowers I wanted, and I provided the ribbon and feathers to her, leaving no room for error."
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Lou & Chris’ Simple & Family-Central Vintage Wedding

Kat

July 6, 2011

What's this? Another awesome wedding from my photographer buddy Assassynation? Yep that's right people, Sassy (aka Assassynation) really does get some of the very best wedding around...and the most awesome thing is many of them are Rock n Roll Bride readers so I get to then share them with you all afterwards. Yeey. Lou & Chris had a simple wedding in London...and by simple I mean no fuss, no drama - just an awesome and super stylist day! They were married at Stoke Newington Town Hall, London which they followed up with a reception at The Londesborough pub, also in Stoke Newington.
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Pyucin & Dylan’s Sustainable, Eco-Vintage Wedding

Kat

July 6, 2011

Pyucin & Dylan were married at Shelldance Orchid Gardens, Pacifica, CA. It was important to them to pick a venue that they didn't have to decorate themselves too much, as Pyucin explained, "When picking a venue, our goal was to keep it sustainable. We didn't want to purchase a bunch of decor that would be thrown away the next day, and we wanted to make sure that the site represented who we are. Thus, we went in search of a unique site that was within our budget, and we were so happy when we discovered this little green house. The Shelldance Gardens is a non-profit organization so we were happy to contribute to a good cause, and, on top of that, the site is so beautiful that it barely required any extra decoration. It is so green and earthy - it really reflected our love for nature and the outdoors."
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Stacey & John’s 1950’s Cocktail Party Wedding

Kat

July 6, 2011

Stacey & John's 1950's inspired Melbourne wedding was held at The Gables Mansion. Their photographer Kim of Red Telegram told us all about it, "In discussion with Stacey & John they revealed that they wanted their wedding to feel as much like a wedding as a 1940′s/ 50′s style cocktail party, with guests arriving to the beautiful Gables in East Malvern on dusk for a night filled with love, laughter, tears (of joy), gypsy jazz and romance."
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Jachen & Monica’s Travel Themed, Whimsical Woodland-Inspired Wedding

Kat

July 5, 2011

Oh where oh where do I begin with telling you about Jachen & Monica's woodland-inspired wedding? The images and video of their wedding are such a visual feast that I almost don't know where to start. The day had a sort of travel/woodland theme which reflected the fact that the couple met in Switzerland. Monica explains, "A year ago I was living in Switzerland as an Au pair when I met my now husband. I was only there for 3 months, but just long enough to have met him the last month I was there. We were both in the right place at the right time, the only time I would have been able to meet him. It is amazing how you can look back on all the events that led up to that moment and how evident it was that I was supposed to be in Switzerland to find him. After I met him we had one more month until I had to return to my home in Seattle. We continued skyping, emailing and a few times he came to me and I went back to beautiful Switzerland to be with him where we became engaged. Sometimes everything just falls into place and we were lucky enough to have that happen to us."
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Regula & Bruno’s Creative, Spooky & Wonderful Wedding (Part One)

Kat

July 4, 2011

"Regula & Bruno rock my world"...that's how photographer Assassynation introduced me to this bad ass couple when she sent me their wedding. The pair are from Belgium but wanted to be married in England. Their ceremony day was followed by a tea party reception and spooky photo shoot in an abandoned fairground (!) in their home country a few weeks later. Luckily for us all, this second part took place just last weekend and believe me, I'm going to be featuring it just as soon as the photos are ready! But for now, it's all about the ceremony...
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Taxidermy Elephants, Dinosaurs & A Vegan Ethos – Alix & Shawn’s Natural History Museum Wedding

Kat

June 30, 2011

Alix & Shawn were married in the Natural History Museum Los Angeles, and it was this unusual venue choice that really shaped their day. "Our wedding was a combination of historical vintage and handmade, " the bride told me. "The Museum set the stage to transport our guests to a different time and space altogether. They were surrounded by dinosaur bones, wild animal dioramas and a beautiful historic marble building."
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Melissa & Jon’s Alice in Wonderland, Camden Wedding

Kat

June 30, 2011

"The theme of our wedding ended up as a sort of mish-mash of Mad Hatters tea party, 1940's/50's and Camden weirdness (Camden is an area of London known for it's alternative culture - great for people watching!), which fitted our personalities perfectly" newlywed Melissa told me. She married Jonathan at Islington Town Hall and afterwards had their reception in a hotel in Camden, where they first met. "My inspiration firstly came from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland," Melissa continued. "Jon and I went to see the film when we were dating and I fell in love with it, I'd always been a fan of the book as a child but the film had me hooked. As soon as Jon proposed I knew I would want a touch of Alice involved somewhere within the wedding, the only difficulty was going to be fitting the theme around our tiny budget."
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Shane & Lisa’s Budget, DIY and One-Hell-Of-a-Rock-n-Roll-Party Wedding

Kat

June 29, 2011

With a budget of less that $6000, Shane & Lisa had to be very creative and clever when it came to planning their wedding. Luckily they had a lot of support from their friends & family and they really got into the DIY! "Everything about the day was beautiful but what really made it sparkle was all our friends and family", Lisa told me. "I am so very thankful for them. My family and friends had all mostly come from out of state and immediately started in on making the cake, helping with food prep and cooking, cleaning, decorating, grilling, and cleaning up (they kicked me out of kitchen during reception because apparently the bride is not allowed to load her dishwasher in her wedding dress.)"
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Anthony & Collette’s Laid Back & Timeless Wedding

Kat

June 29, 2011

Anthony & Collette were married at South Farm in Hertfordshire. They wanted their day to be laid back and timeless, so a matchy-matchy or strong theme really wasn't for them. "We took our inspiration from a few different sources," the bride told me. "We wanted it to be quite understated but not boring. We didn't so obviously want to have a things match or have a recognisable theme. We did, however, want everything to complement each other. Kind of like how my wedding ring and engagement ring contrasted but complemented each other - a traditional white diamond engagement ring with a black diamond 'eternity' wedding ring. One of our favourite photos of the day is of the flower girls. It shows them in their sparkly' trainers - it sums up how we wanted our day... relaxed but quirky."
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Joli & Gary’s Amazing Backyard Wedding

Kat

June 28, 2011

Joli & Gary eloped in San Francisco. They had planned to have a big wedding party afterwards with their friends and family at a biker bar in Palm Springs, but then Joli got pregnant and everything changed. So 7 months pregant, the couple had a kick ass celebration in the backyard of their Los Angeles home. They described their party as a celebration of "Love, Freedom, Wild, Raw, Family, FUN, Village, Community!" and that's exactly what it was.
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Kristin & Brian’s Black & White & 1940’s Themed Wedding

Kat

June 28, 2011

"We got engaged in prison. Well...that's what my Mom likes to say - we got engaged on Alcatraz!" newlywed Kristin told me. "We both have a fascination with prison documentaries and we ADORE San Francisco. So, Brian took me to Alcatraz and surprised me with a ring. If you walk to the back of the prison by the water, you get the MOST gorgeous view of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. This is where he asked me to marry him." Kristin & Brian's unconventional but beautiful engagement was perfectly reflected in their glamorous wedding on Friday 13th May. "Our inspiration was a combination of vintage, old Hollywood glam, and a bit of Rock n Roll! I wanted to be in black and white," continued the bride. An all-white dress was never an option for me."
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