Rennie & Joe’s Vintage Styling with a Quirky Edge

Kat

November 10, 2010

Rennie & Joe are the coolest. The couple, who have known each other for 19 years and were first loves, still felt marriage was important to them even after all that time. "Most would think that it must be boring to marry after such a long time and that we might just be going through the motions," Rennie told me. "On the contrary, our decision to marry was not because we felt we "had to" - we decided to marry after all this time because we are more madly in love than ever and still best friends. We created our ceremony around our wishes to deepen our commitment to each other and profess our love in the presence of those who are most important to us."

A Cinderella Themed Rockstar Wedding

Kat

November 9, 2010

Heather & Jonathan’s Arthouse Café Wedding

Kat

November 9, 2010

Heather & Jonathan got married at Southampton Civic Centre, followed by a reception at The Art House Gallery Café. They chose this venue as it's ethos ran true with them and the style of wedding they wanted. "The Art House Gallery Café is a volunteer run, multi-disciplinary arts venue and café in the heart of Southampton’s evolving cultural quarter. We are a welcoming, vibrant and quirky community space serving delicious, organic food and drink in inspiring surroundings" they say. They also only served vegetarian food which suited the couple perfectly.

Danielle & Carl’s Incredibly Gorgeous Red & White Vintage Wedding

Kat

November 8, 2010

I am a little bit over excited about featuring Danielle & Carl's vintage wedding today. As soon as I laid eyes on her amazing dress I knew this wedding was going to be incredible... and you know what? I was right! The couple, who met at school, got married in June at St Peter's Church in Doddington, Lincolnshire. A 1950's vintage theme was really important to the couple as it really reflected their everyday style. "Having been to a few 'traditional' weddings, as soon as we started to plan our wedding, we knew that we wanted to do things differently," Danielle told me. "We wanted every part of our wedding to be personal to us, and be able to show our personalities. We didn't just want to do something because it was the way people usually do things at weddings, we wanted to put our stamp on it. We both love all things vintage, particularly the era of the 50's and 60's, after all, our first car was a 1969 Volkswagen Beetle. For this reason, having a vintage rock 'n' roll 50's style wedding just seemed to come naturally to us. Our inspiration came out of our love not only for the 50's fashion, but the music and the whole lifestyle. Having a dancing vicar was not something we planned but that was an added bonus!"

Sarah & Matt’s Red & Black, Gothic Wedding

Kat

November 8, 2010

Gloomy and grey weather doesn't have to spell disaster for your wedding day - and in actual fact I think the darker atmosphere and evening-only event worked perfectly for Sarah & Matt's gothic-inspired wedding! The wedding took place at Riverlife, an outdoor activity centre in Brisbane which also has a number of gorgeous venues, perfect for a wedding! The evening event started with pre-ceremony drinks and canapes for the guests. "We’ve been told that our absence at the start really added to the atmosphere, especially with our DIY decorations adorning the venue," said Sarah when I asked about their idea behind this. "Neither of us were at the venue when the event started. We arrived after the guests had an hour of canapes. While the guests were awaiting our arrival, the decorations served as a talking point, and since they could see that we’d gone to so much effort on the tables, it added to their anticipation to see our outfits and everything else that was to follow."

Sarah & Jonathan’s Hipster London Wedding

Kat

November 6, 2010

Sarah & Jonathan found the perfect photographer to capture their modern London wedding though Rock n Roll Bride so I was over the moon when Annamarie Stepney asked if I'd like to feature their wedding! The couple chose to have their wedding in their local borough of Islington, North London as they both felt it was very important to support their local businesses and friends. "The fact the venue and all suppliers were local in Angel was very important to us and this is why we chose them. Jonathan's business and our lives in Islington are important and it was all about a sense of community. We also wanted a relaxed inclusive wedding, but not casual. We involved as many people as we could with 18 ushers and bridesmaids altogether, four readers and roles for everyone individually. We have been together for 9 years and have many great friends together who we wanted to be very involved."

Rachel & Dale’s Fabulously Theatrical Goth Wedding

Kat

November 4, 2010

Rachel & Dale may have got married in Vegas first, but having a goth perfect UK wedding was also very important to them. The couple, who's outrageous punk rock engagement session I featured back in July, told me all about their awesome wedding, both here and in Viva Las Vegas! Rock music, choreographed lights, smoke machines and dry ice were what was required for this fabulously theatrical wedding!

James & Kassie’s “Earthy-Vintage” Wedding

Kat

November 4, 2010

James & Kassie got married at Casa Blanca on Brushy Creek, Texas in an "earthy-vintage" themed wedding. The couple chose their venue because they felt it completely reflected the vibe they wanted for their day. "The outside ceremony site, decks for guests to hang out, trees everywhere…..it was just perfect," began the bride. " The venue allowed for simple accents and decorations, which was just what I wanted. The colors were bright and happy, however allowed for that earthy theme to mix right in. Down our aisle I had 1 ½ - 2ft tree trunks set along each side, with simple vintage bottles and daisy’s just to add the earthy-vintage flare. Our archway was designed with lilies and shells, with vines and curly willow, which added that perfect backdrop for our quick ceremony."

Emma & Matt’s Detail-Perfect BBQ Wedding

Kat

November 3, 2010

It's the little details that excite me, details like all that attention and love put into Emma & Matt's Rock n Roll Wedding. The couple, who found their photographer Caro Hutchings through a feature on Rock n Roll Bride, got married St Mary’s Church in Yorkshire. After the ceremony, the whole party boarded a vintage double decker bus which took them to the reception, held at The Blue Lion, East Witton.

Jessica & Forbes’ Retro Rockabilly Brighton Wedding

Kat

November 3, 2010

Brighton was the location for Jessica & Forbes' rockabilly wedding this summer. They chose May 1st as their date as it was Jessica's late Grandmother's birthday and having it on this day was their way of inviting her to the wedding. All the guests were invited to dress up in their finest retro get-up," Absolutely everyone joined in," the bride told me, "We were so convincing a hotel guest asked if we were a convention!"

Rom & Will’s DIY, Humanist, 1970’s Vintage Wedding

Kat

November 2, 2010

You might recognise the gorgeous Rom & Will as I featured their engagement session back in August. I knew their wedding would be awesome as soon as I saw those shots so you can imagine my excitement when I got an email from photographer Steve Gerrard asking if I'd like to feature their wedding that took place a few weeks ago in Somerset. The couple had two ceremonies - a legal ceremony at Hestercombe Gardens, followed the next day by a humanist ceremony and reception at Huntstile Organic Farm (a humanist ceremony isn't legal in England at present.) Rom wore a different dress for each part of their day. For the civil service she wore an original 70s Ossie Clark dress which she had hunted high and low for. She finally found in a treasure trove of a shop called Hope & Harlequin in Brighton. "The owner Lou has original vintage dresses and she also makes bespoke vintage replicas," Rom explained. "With this is also wore Gold cork platforms by Miu Miu and a vintage garland headband from The Vintage Wedding Dress Company."

Mia & Matt’s Super Kitsch, Super Gorgeous 1960’s Wedding

Kat

November 1, 2010

I think I possibly have one of the cutest weddings ever to round of today's posts. When I first laid eyes on Mia & Matthew's 60's inspired wedding, I kid you not, I literally squealed with delight. How happy do these photos make you feel?! I KNOW! Adore... The wedding took place in Devon at St Gregory's RC Church in Kingskerswell. The reception then followed at Colehayes Park in Bovey Tracey, a Georgian House in beautiful grounds. As soon as the couple got engaged they knew their wedding would have a 60's theme. Mia is obsessed with everything from this era and even had her dress made by a friend to an authentic 1960's dress pattern. Mia explained, "I'm obsessed with vintage so it had to be that way! I also wore a floral headband of golden coloured alstroemeria which was made by our florist, gold t-bar sandals which I found in the Miss KG by Kurt Geiger. I wore yellow plastic daisy earrings from Spitalfields Market, a silver engraved locket which Matt gave me on the morning of our wedding and an amazing wedding cartoon bracelet which I bought from Da Da Dreams on Etsy. My sister also gave me a lovely bluebird bracelet and matching garter on the morning of the wedding, which she'd had handmade for me. They're amazing! In the evening I changed into a 1960s lace mini dress with cape which I found on Ebay and borrowed a vintage faux fur cape from my sister."

Josie & Nic’s San Francisco Soiree

Kat

November 1, 2010

Josie & Nic wanted their wedding to be for them and what they wanted - screw traditions! The couple, who own a rockabilly store in Berkley, California decided to close the shop for the day (they hung up hand drawn signs to warn customers they were closed as they were getting married!) and get ready together in their own environment - something they had built up together.

Sophie & Barney’s Silly & Fun, Vintage & Rock n Roll North London Wedding

Kat

October 29, 2010

I sneak peeked Sophie & Barney's wedding on Twitter and Facebook as soon as their photographer Lisa Devlin emailed me to ask if I wanted to blog them - hello!? Look at these two...Like she even had to ask!! The best bit though? Sophie & Barney found Lisa via Rock n Roll Bride - I love love love featuring the weddings of bona fide Rock n Roll Bride readers! Oh I can hardly contain my excitement over this one... "We did everything we wanted do and didn't care if anyone else thought it was right," the couple explained. "We put together all of our loves and didn't worry about a colour scheme or any thing particularly weddingy, we love autumn and Halloween and London and glamour and silliness and fur and penguinbooks and skulls so we chucked them all in. Is that Rock n Roll??!" Simple answer - yes! Sophie looked every bit the Rock n Roll princess in a genuine vintage dress which she bought from My Sugarland in North London. "It was the first and only dress I tried on," said Sophie "and its beyond special having been a museum piece and nearly 100 years old! It was covered in mould and little rips, I owe Zoe at My Sugarland a massive thank you because she helped my Dad see beyond the grubbiness of it and talked him into buying it for me! She also passed me on to the wonderfully stern but kind Jacqueline Byrne who used to be a seamstress for the Queen no less (!) who tidied the dress up perfectly, even recovering all the buttons on the sleeves." With her perfect dress, Sophie wore a custom made headdress from Lilly Lewis which she customized with a brooch belonging to her Mother. She also also wore her Mother's silver fox fur jacket which was a gift from her Dad on the day she was born!

A Hippy Chic Family Affair

Kat

October 29, 2010

Rissy & Mike's wedding was a real hippy and family affair. They involved everyone that was important to them in order to make it totally perfect. First off, Rissy carried their son, Casey down the aisle with her. "I was wearing Casey in a sakura bloom sling," Rissy explained. "Wearing him down the aisle and during the ceremony was very important to us because we wanted him to be with us as we all became an even closer family. We also practice attachment parenting which puts a lot of emphasis on the importance of baby wearing." With having a young baby, it was hard for the couple to go out and buy everything they could for the wedding, therefore about 99% of their wedding supplies were bought online. "Clothes and decorations pretty much everything else as far as decorations I bought at Anthropologie and World Market," Rissy continued. "I didn't want to hire a wedding planner as we didn't want to pay for one and I really wanted the event to be "us". I felt like I could do it best. The few things that were really important for us to have was an outside wedding on the water or in the woods and a dress that buttoned down the front so I could breast feed in my dress."

A Fairytale Wedding for a Tattooed Princess

Kat

October 29, 2010

"My husband Dewald and I were both engaged to other people a year ago – but when we met it was really a fairytale!" Mona, the bride began. "When they say that opposites attract they are sourly mistaken, my husband and I are soulmates, body, mind and soul! We both have an affinity to all things that are unconventional, covered in tattoos and piercings and we adore all things vintage. After only two months we became engaged and I had his name tattooed on me as a symbol of my lifelong dedication to making the world rock together!"

Sarah & Chris’ Handcrafted Tipi Wedding

Kat

October 28, 2010

Sarah & Chris got married at Croft Castle, Herefordshire followed by a Tipi reception in Sarah's Father's field. I have a serious wedding crush on this 'venue'! The whole wedding was a locally-sourced and handcrafted affair as this was very important to the couple. The tipi was decorated top to toe by Sarah and her Mother (her Mum is the lady wearing the fabulous handmade patchwork coat!) "We wanted our wedding to have a handcrafted feel and it was important that our friends and families were as involved as they could be" Sarah explained. "My inspiration for the feel of the day came from that, from getting those peoples input and spending time with them. My mother made the amazing patchwork coat that you can see her wearing, from thousands of small squares of lovely fabric, and she announced just after we got engaged that she was going to turn it into a quilt for our first baby after the wedding - this pretty much encapsulates the feel I wanted of the wedding. I wanted to make as much as I could myself and took immense pleasure in spending hours stitching and crafting, using old family photos or random things picked up over the years to make everything as unique as it could be - it was so important to me that it all came, well, from the heart. Is that too cheesy? I don't care, it was my wedding day and I loved every second of it."

Patti & Frank’s Tattoo-Heavy, DIY-Crazy, Totally Rock n Roll Wedding

Kat

October 27, 2010

Patti & Frank are just the epitome of Rock n Roll Bride! Whenever people ask me what my favourite type of weddings are, weddings like this one are what I describe - tattoos, DIY, short wedding dresses, fabulous bridesmaids and happy, smiling faces! Patti wore an original 1950's vintage dress, awesome shoes by Harajuku Lovers and feathers in hair. "I originally spent $2,000 on a custom made dress which I had designed myself," the bride told me. "Well I had someone who specialized in wedding dresses make it (first problem) and I guess our vision was not the same and I didn't like what she made at all! I went to Cambridge Antique market looking for some vintage brooches to jazz it up and the first thing I saw see when I turned the corner was this dress. I think it had a light shining on it with my name! It was meant to be and just a week before the wedding and it fit like a glove! Oh and the best part? It only cost me $150!"

Tamar & Jon’s “Hot Mess” Wedding

Kat

October 26, 2010

"Jon & I met in New York City, live in LA, and had our wedding in Toronto - where he grew up and I went to grad school," Tamah, the bride, began. "Our overall vision for the wedding was that it would be urban, comfortable, fun, and very "us". We love music and vintage stuff, so we definitely had some of that style infused but there are so many other weddings out there that are more "vintage" than ours. We're Rock 'n Roll and unique because instead of trying to unnaturally contort ourselves and our wedding into a neat little category, we accepted the fact that we're "all over the place" and went with it. That meant having some traditional elements - a chuppah, wedding party, sit-down dinner, and bouquet toss - with other details that had special meaning to us regardless on whether or not it conformed to a wedding norm." "If there was one thing I was adamant about, it was taking the subway to the wedding (I'm a transportation planner) and making it easy for our guests to our wedding using transit. So we picked a space right in the city that was only a couple of blocks from a busy subway station; even if it would be the only time in our lives that we "should" take a limo. Both Jon & I wore "flair" on our backpacks throughout high school and college so we designed some of our own for the wedding with the Toronto & NY skylines. There were video monitors throughout the venue, which are usually used for wedding slideshows. Feeling awkward about our faces being broadcast throughout the night, we instead screened Andy Warhol's "Screen Tests", which are beautiful and intriguing."

Jim & Katy’s DIY-Fabulous Whimsical Beach Themed Wedding

Kat

October 25, 2010

I hosted a very special offer from Willow Tree Photography a while ago for free wedding photography to any lucky 2010 couples who maybe hadn't planned to, or couldn't afford a professional photographer. While I got a bit of stick on certain photography forums (apparently I was encouraging newbie photographers to undercut the market...well, anyone who read the post I published on Saturday will know this is certainly not the case!) I am over the moon that through running this very special offer I, and photographer Kathryn, were able to offer some awesome couples without the budget to spend on photography, the chance to have professional wedding photographs.