Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Wedding

A Sparkly Rockabilly Campsite Romance

Kat

August 12, 2010

Ooh what a lovely sparkly rockabilly wedding! Lucia & Paul got married at Arundel Town Hall, West Sussex which was followed by an outdoorsy reception at the bride's sisters camp site - Billycan Camping, Arundel - which specialises in bringing back traditional camping, with bell tents, safari lounge tents and Teepees! "We wanted to create a family orientated wedding" Lucia told me. It was held in my hometown, my Mum did our photos, my Dad made the rings, my Mother in law made the cake and the whole thing was held at my sisters campsite. Fun, laughter and a relaxed environment was important to us. We'd been to so many weddings where we felt on edge (due to not knowing everyone) and we didn't want that from ours. It was a buffet lunch that was solely Vegetarian and the tables were decorated with gold sweetie bags with fake tattoos beside them- these were red hearts with a scroll across- reading "Pete & Lucia" something that went down amazingly well with the children."
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Take me to City Hall

Kat

August 11, 2010

I have a lot of love for cute, intimate and quirky wedding stories right now and Kristen & Alex's super stylish affair is no different. The pair had ceremony, just the two of them, at San Francisco City Hall followed by a small reception at Orson Restaurant, where they decided to have another small dedication ceremony in front of their gathered friends and family. "My favorite moments were the separation of the ceremonies" Kristen told me. "We had stressed for months on how to please both ourselves and our families (we wanted to elope, they didn't want us to) The idea of 2 ceremonies was the perfect solution. My favorite tradition was the fact that we were so non-traditional. It took me a while while planning to realize that we had the freedom to do things the way we wanted, there was no rule that we had to do things in a certain way."
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Their Big Fat Leopard Print Lesbian Wedding

Kat

August 10, 2010

One of the things that really stood out in your survey responses was that a lot of you wanted more Rock n Roll same sex weddings. Well my dears, you ask and I deliver! I have actually been dying to feature Lindsey & Amanda's wedding for a while now but with wedding season being in full flow I have been a trifle busy! Patience is a virtue though my little kittens and I think you'll realise that wait was worth it when you see these two kick ass chicks!
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Nicola & Ed’s Scottish/London Fusion Wedding

Kat

August 10, 2010

Nicola & Ed wanted a diy wedding that really reflected them. The took from Nicola's Scottish heritage and had a thistle theme for their flowers and decor, all of which they sourced themselves. For their invites and order of service they used a photograph from the Bolivian Salt Flats which they had taken themselves when they were away travelling the year before that was really special to them. For the London aspect of their wedding (they married in London) they booked a double decker bus to transport all their guests and as a final touch they named each table after a London tube stop and bought postcards to add to the centrepieces.
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A Vintage, Diy, Bowling Alley Beaut.

Kat

August 6, 2010

I found Aurora & Ben's wedding when a blog reader sent me the link to the couple's blog. I was in instant love and sent them an email right away demanding to know more details! I am muchly exited to share those details with you all. I've been reading all your comments that are coming through on the readers survey and judging by your responses methinks you will like this wedding a lot - diy budget and locally-sourced loveliness!
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London Punks vs Americana Kitsch

Kat

August 6, 2010

Kate & Mike's London punk wedding took place a few weeks before the couple moved to LA (Jealous!) so it had a distinctly punk rock vs Americana theme. The couple booked Celine Chaplin to take some portraits and to document their fun-filled reception. Kate told me all about their day - including a very funny story about Mike's wedding day hair cut! "Since we were moving to Los Angeles a couple of weeks after the wedding, Mike & I were totally hectic so we really needed some help with the wedding. My sister and my Mum were amazing at putting the wedding together. My Dad even chipped in and sorted the meal out! i'm a total control freak but on this occasion, I'm glad i let someone else take over because they did such an awesome job."
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A Cotton Candy Sweet, Truly Scrumptious Brighton Wedding

Kat

August 5, 2010

Oh. My. Gaaaawd! You are going to go utterly c-c-craaaazy for Ant & Clare's way-beyond-anything-I-have-ever-seen-awesome wedding. The pair went down to Brighton to have a personal ceremony with just the two of them. They didn't have a reception, instead opting for a fabulous photo shoot around the town with their photographer Jacqui McSweeney. This is yet another wedding to back my theory that 'blog-worthy' details are not 'all that'. Just grab yourself an wicked dress, customise yourself some shoes and get hitched in perfect Rock n Roll style! Prepare to be inspired...
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“Feelin’ Good” – An Anti-Cookie Cutter Armenian Wedding

Kat

August 5, 2010

Christine & Ara met in August 2009. Ara proposed in October 2009 and they married in April of this year. The couple, both Armenian, may be proud of their heritage but neither of them wanted anything to do with the traditional 'cookie cutter' Armenian wedding and so went all out to make sure their wedding was different. "They all consist of the same cookie cutter agenda: hour long church ceremony/reception at a tacky banquet hall/an entourage of bridesmaids/groomsman/endless supply of cheap appetizers and shish kabab.....and a horrible wedding dj who plays generic music" the bride told me.
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THIS is What it’s All About – Forget the Details & the ‘Blog-Worthy Wedding’ Obsession

Kat

July 30, 2010

There is always a lot of chatter around blog land about details details details. Photographers are obsessed with getting couples with detail-heavy weddings so that the blogs and magazine will want to feature them. While this is true (after all wedding blogs and mags are primarily read by brides-to-be who want to see weddings with ideas they can steal for their own big day) do you ever think that this obsession to have a 'blog-worthy' detail heavy wedding might be a little excessive? I'm not one to slag aaaanybody's wedding off but I do see some weddings circulating around blog land that just seem so...well...contrived. Like a circus almost. Like a made-for-blogs-wedding-circus. The results are pretty much always gorgeous and inspiring but do you ever look at weddings like that and feel depressed or inadequate about your own wedding?
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Married On a Texan Mountain at Sunset

Kat

July 30, 2010

Jacklyn & Noah got married at Cibolo Creek, just outside of Marfa, Texas. It was just the two of them and their little boy Ace. They decided they wanted their wedding to be just about them, "under the big sky". Jacklyn wore a vintage Mexican dress from the 70's, a 1930's diamond bracelet that both belonged to her mother and a lace shawl that she had found in Italy at an open air antique market. She carried pink roses and gardenia from their garden for her bouquet which she put with some wildflowers that she collected on the way down. Noah wore a shirt from the 70's which they found the day before they left for Marfa.
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The Colour Purple

Kat

July 30, 2010

Jenni & George are another 'inspired by Rock n Roll Bride' couple who found their photographer Shan after she was featured on the blog. The couple, who got married on the Isle of Man, wanted to incorporate he things they love into their day - the colour purple and all things eclectic, antique and vintage. "I have a love of all things antique and vintage and my favourite colour is purple! So that's where it began. I bought a lot of the antique bottles from places like eBay, Jurby Junk (!!) and our friend Roger Leece, who found a whole stack of bottles and jars buried somewhere up North apparently!" the bride told me.
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London Calling – Lindsey & Alex’s Quadrophenia Wedding

Kat

July 28, 2010

I've branded this the 'Quadrophenia wedding' because of all the fabulous retro British details. Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside to be English doesn't it? The couple embarked in a lot of diy to make it all super personal and everything from the pub they held it in being called The Britannia to the pork pie 'cake'; from the Vivienne Westwood shoes (a national treasure in my eyes!) to the red, white a blue throughout were put together to make their theme perfect. The bunting had a union jack vibe, the table plans were quintsentially British themed and the guests were even transported in a open top double decker routemaster red bus.
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Day of the Dead and Lots & Lots of Lovely Balloons

Kat

July 28, 2010

Beatriz & Ricardo got married early this month in Cartagena, a colonial city on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. Born here, Beatriz knew she wanted to return back to this special place to get married. They had a gorgeous civil service a few days before the wedding. "Weddings tend to be so cookie cutter and sooo traditional, we were sure we didn’t want that" the bride told me. "The first tradition we broke was not getting married in a church, we decided to just have a civil ceremony; but a friend of us told us that civil ceremonies were so plain and that we should do something special, so we decided to go to the notary to get married in Bogotá a few days before the actual wedding in Cartagena and to have a very special ceremony."
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Rules are Made to be Broken

Kat

July 27, 2010

As many of you will already know, I like to pride myself and my blog on individuality and posting some of the best, exclusive and new weddings out there. However rules are made to be broken right?! I actually saw and loved Alicia & Jack's wedding a while back on another wedding blog (I even included it in a Thursday Treats post) but when their videographer Thomas of Vantage Point Films sent me the link to their gorgeous video (which hasn't been seen elsewhere) I couldn't help but as if I could share some of the photographs taken by Carla Ten Eyck Photography too. Sound good?
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Olivia & Mark’s Shabby Chic Detailed, Outdoor Elegant, Rock n Roll Wedding

Kat

July 27, 2010

I was excited when I featured Olivia & Mark's engagement session a few weeks ago (they are another Rock n Roll Bride couple and found their photographer Lisa Devlin on the blog) but when Lisa sent me in their wedding the other day I was even more excited! I really do have the best readers don't I!? "Olivia & Mark are originally from LA and wanted to give their friend's and family a quintessentially English experience for their wedding" Lisa told me. "When we woke up in The Cotswolds to the sound of lashing rain, I thought they were going to get the full glory of a British Summer and it would be wellies all round. Their optimism was infectious and everything was set up for an outdoor ceremony in the grounds of Barnsley House, although some bin bags were left on their paper lanterns until the last moment. This has got to be one of the most gorgeous venues in England and the sun came out as Olivia crossed the lawn with her Dad, causing Mark to well up. I loved that she went for full-on glamour with lashes and deep red lips, it went well with her dramatic dress. Her close friend, Josh was the 'bridesmaid' and did such a stirling job, I'm thinking of hiring him for other weddings."
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Laura & Harry’s Locally Sourced, Eco-Friendly, Midsummer’s Nights Dream, Vintage & Totally Rock n Roll Wedding

Kat

July 26, 2010

Excuse me one second while I scream "EEEEEEEK!" at the top of my lungs, because that's exactly how I felt when I first saw Laura & Harry's eco-friendly, vintage-heavy, Rock n Roll inspired backyard wedding. Oh yes, I really do love to feature true Rock n Roll Bride weddings - ie weddings of those that I was able to help and inspire with my little blog. Laura & Harry actually found their fabulous photographer Rosie Parsons and Laura's gorgeous vintage Fur Coat No Knickers dress after seeing them on the site. Yey!
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