Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Wedding

The English Way

Kat

August 4, 2009

In many ways the UK is a very forward thinking, literal place to live. Gay marriage is legal, you can drink at 18 and not attending church every Sunday is generally not frowned upon. However when it comes to wedding legalities, Britain can be a little strict on the rules. You can't, for example, legally marry outdoors. You are only able to wed at an officially consecrated place with an officially appointed person officiating the ceremony. However Lucy and J's dream was to have an outdoor humanist ceremony at Oxon Hoath in Kent, so despite the English weather and the English laws, they did just that (they did of course have to do the legal thing as well.) I am loving the following details about this wedding - Lucy's dress and shrug combo was from Joanne Fleming Design in Brighton, UK and their completely unique rings were designed and made by the couple themselves. Lucy's gorgeous bouquet was from Darling and Wild with the rest of the flowers all being done themselves who visited Covent Garden wholesale flower market to buy the blooms. Their uber cool twist on the traditional boutonnerie were again made by the couple themselves using white peacock feathers, leaves from the grounds of the venue and old buttons are pretty damn gorgeous though right? Ahh England, I still love you.
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Retro Italy Wedding

Kat

August 3, 2009

I'm well aware it's very unlike me to blog so little on a Monday but I have been a bit of a busy bee today. Please forgive me and fret not because Janel & Jim's 'retro italian' wedding is here y'all! (I don't know where that 'y'all' came from either) The couple continued to rock their awesome kitch/rockabilly style whist still managing to pull of a pretty damn elegant wedding. The dog was of course there being his cutie-pie self and the styling was second to none. From the vintage vespas (again) to the retro suitcase, from the kinky killer heels to the merrygoround - this wedding is one of pure rock n roll class.
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Elopement Joy

Kat

August 2, 2009

I got sent a great photo session and a sweet sweet story from photographer Heather Kincaid yesterday and I just had to share. About a month ago I received an email from Amanda asking if I was available “for a photo shoot the last week of July.” Kind of a cryptic email… Having already shot their engagement session last year, I knew it wasn’t for that. So I had no clue what she was talking about. In a second email she revealed that she and Viet were planning to get married at the courthouse– just the two of them — and wanted me to come along to document their very intimate wedding day. I was so surprised! They made the decision that after eight years of being together, they didn’t want to wait any longer to be husband and wife and decided that on July 27th, their eight-year anniversary, they would make it official. It would be just the two of them making their commitment and celebrating their love for one another.
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Tulle Is Always A Good Thing

Kat

August 1, 2009

After featuring Kent & Roberta's cute engagements, I knew their wedding would be equally adorable but little prepared me for this. I am all about Roberta's own personal twist on her 'Weddings by Debbie' dress with the addition of a pink tulle underskirt, painstakingly sewn it by her Mother in Law - aww. Photographer Debbie has told me they have since done an awesome trash the dress shoot involving a bathtub - I can't wait to see the results. Credit: Englexas Photography
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Offbeat Bride

Kat

July 30, 2009

Ron & Tessa got married at The Uptown Theater in Kansas City and I am crazy about their gorgeous offbeat wedding! The room they tied the knot in was called The Cabaret Room which dates back to the 1920's but is now used to host rock concerts. This pretty much perfectly reflected their vintage, rock n roll day! Tessa found a taffeta-free alternative vintage style dress by Allure Bridal and Ron wore a bowler hat and spectator shoes along with a vest and pocket watch, all of which added to their theme. The couple decided an over floral wedding was not for them and instead chose to incorporate feathers wherever they could. Although Tessa chose to take a walk down their beaten aisle carrying a traditional bouquet and Ron wore a boutonniere, they completely skipped the floral centrepieces, opting instead for a vast array of gorgeous ostrich plumes in teal and black to match their colour scheme. Tessa also wore a gorgeous feather hairpiece which she bought from Etsy seller YJdesign, and finally one of my favourite touches, the feather theme was rounded off by the cute bird cake topper made by Etsy seller cornflakegirl. Thanks to Tessa & Ron for sharing their gorgeous day with us!
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God Only Knows What I’d Be Without You

Kat

July 30, 2009

"Good morning, starshine... the earth says hello!" Boy am I one crazy blogger - got to bed at 3am last night and at 8.30 this morning I am raring to go again. Sleep? What's that? Prepare for another day of wowing by the way... Lets get going with this simple yet beautiful backyard wedding, given a little bit of a retro feel with Danielle's stunning dress which was made by Siri and Wade's suit which was from Banana Republic. Photographer Carey, loved telling me about this wedding: When Danielle came out to the Beach Boy's "God Only Knows', you knew it was going to be a great night. It was out at Wade's family farm (just outside of Regina, Saskatchewan), and was just a really relaxed fun day. There wasn't too much of a theme, but the little pieces added gave it a really comfy feeling. The food was bbq'd, little homemade Canadian honey was given to the guests, there was music and dancing all night, fireworks, a firepit with smores and weiner roasting, and people camping to stay the night. Thanks to Carey for sharing the love...
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Layered Grey Tulle

Kat

July 29, 2009

Right my lovelies, prepare to be wowed. I discovered Amanda & Jeffery's wedding when browsing Etsy for a tutu no less. I found seller Monique Martinez of Ouma Clothing who made Amanda's GORGEOUS layered grey, tulle dress and immediately knew I had to try and feature this wedding! The Bridesmaids were treated to similar dresses (but each with their own individual twist) from Ultra Suite and Jeffery and his boys wore suits from Req Square in Queens Plaza Brisbane. The Austrailian couple had their ceremony at the ultra modern Brisbane Powerhouse New Farm and choose local buskers (who were only 16!) to perform the music. Their reception took place at River Room Southbank. Jeffery's family come from Thailand, so in order to incorporate this into their big day, the couple infused their wedding with a beautiful Asian colour scheme. The wedding day was rounded off by a 80's disco that went on late into the night. Thanks so much to Amanda & Jeffery for taking the time to share their gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous day with us! Credit: Waikay Lau
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Holga Love

Kat

July 28, 2009

I am really feeling the Holga love right now and when I saw these I knew I had to feature them as soon as possible. Shooting a wedding with a toy camera must be a precarious and slightly unnerving job (what if the film doesn't load? what if the photos turn out badly? what if I loose the film? eeek!) but photographer Daniel Krieger appears to have got his skillZ down and pulled this one off seemingly without a hitch. These images are just making me even more excited about getting my very own piece of plastic joy soon..ahh the light, the texture, the soft focus - swoon! Daniela & Chris got married at the ridiculously stunning Mohonk Mountain House. Have you ever seen a location so picturesque? Daniela's beautiful dress is the Fontaine wedding gown from J Crew and she is actually selling it right now on Craigslist. It's a size 4 and you may well be able to snap it up for yourself (if you're quick!) you lucky lucky things. Daniela has also shared a few little tips of her own: Enjoy every minute and roll with it. The quirks of your wedding are what will make the memories that much better. On our day, it was so cold that the ipod playing the bridal march (dum, dum, da dum) froze (literally!) and the audience had to hum the music. Couldn’t have asked for anything better!! Thanks so much to the brilliant Daniel Krieger for the photography, and the couple Daniela & Chris for allowing me to share their day. Credit: Daniel Krieger
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Paivi ♥ Miikka

Kat

July 27, 2009

This Finnish wedding shot by photographer extraordinaire, Marianne Taylor (I have had the pleasure of meeting and being photographed by her - oh yes I am a lucky ducky) literally hit me straight between the eyes. What I adore so much about Marianne's work is how perfectly she captures atmosphere and the ambiance of a wedding. Her reportage work is seriously second to none. Even though a Finnish wedding has slightly different traditions to that of a British or American one, there is really not much difference when it comes to all the details. I adore the Bride, Miikka's red shoes and cuuute red, heart earrings for example, and the lovely 'Pam ♥ Miikka' sign is too adorable for words.
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A Bustling Flurry Of Exhilaration

Kat

July 27, 2009

When thinking about Mexico, the images that swim around my head (that is, after tequila and fajitas of course) are a fabulous and brightly colour hubbub of excitement. A bustling flurry of exhilaration. To me, my assumption is definitely reflected in their amazing portraits - just check out that yellow wall! The Bride, Dana, described their wedding vision to me: I am from Boston and my husband is from Mexico City. We live in Boston, but I wanted to share his amazing culture and the unique city with my family and friends so we decided to have a destination wedding. Our theme was modern meets classic with a major emphasis on something that has always bound us: our love of music. The ceremony was done set to our favorite songs—a mix of alternative rock and classic Mexican music. Mexico City is in itself, a huge mix of styles and old meets new, so we really played that up in our choices for the whole 4-day experience. Modern hotel and flashy nightclub outings, mixed with a traditional hacienda wedding locale and a live mariache band. When thinking about Mexico, the images that swim around my head (that is, after tequila and fajitas of course) are a fabulous and brightly colour hubbub of excitement. A bustling flurry of exhilaration. To me, my assumption is definitely reflected in their amazing portraits - just check out that yellow wall! The Bride, Dana, described their wedding vision to me: I am from Boston and my husband is from Mexico City. We live in Boston, but I wanted to share his amazing culture and the unique city with my family and friends so we decided to have a destination wedding. Our theme was modern meets classic with a major emphasis on something that has always bound us: our love of music. The ceremony was done set to our favorite songs—a mix of alternative rock and classic Mexican music. Mexico City is in itself, a huge mix of styles and old meets new, so we really played that up in our choices for the whole 4-day experience. Modern hotel and flashy nightclub outings, mixed with a traditional hacienda wedding locale and a live mariache band.
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Classic, Simple, Beautiful

Kat

July 24, 2009

You may have seen a few a snippets of this wedding gorgeousness on a number of other blogs, however I've gotta go that one step further and get you the full scoop on the wedding behind these glorious images. Katie & Nathan's wedding took place in the Groom's parent's back garden. They decided on a simple yet stunning green and white theme which was perfectly reflected in their surroundings. Katie's dress was a vintage find and Nathan wore a suit from Zara. Unconventionally the couple had their reception they day before their ceremony. They decided they would rather have a full day to perfectly engross themselves in their temple wedding without feeling at all distracted by the craziness of a reception to follow. Nathan said: It worked out perfect for us. Party hard the night before, and enjoy the simplicity of the temple ceremony with family and close friends the day after. Highly recommend it. A huge thank you to Nathan & Katie for allowing me to share their wedding. Images from this set can also be found on some of my other favourite blogs including {frolic} and {Casando Idieas} Credit: Julie Wallace
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Laid Back Lovelies

Kat

July 22, 2009

Karlie & Jamie only made the decision to get married three months before the day. A lot of their friends were getting married during the year and had spent months planning everybody else's weddings. So it wasn't until the very last minute, that the laid back couple decided to get engaged and then hitched literally straight away! Karlie's father is a pastor at their church so they started the day with a very heartfelt, personal service. They then went to a local park to have some cool portraits taken (they couple also had their engagement shoot here) and rounded off the day with a small reception in Karlie's parent's back garden. Special thanks to photographer Kate for sharing this beautiful day with me. Credit: Depict Photography
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Standing Out From The Crowd

Kat

July 22, 2009

What you'll probably first notice about this set (apart from the Bride's wicked tattoo and the wedding's cute daisy theme) is that the photography is a little different. Photographer Katie Malone uses a variety of techniques to make her work stand out from the crowd. First we have the Holga images, an inexpensive 'toy' camera that produces distorted and low-fidelity images. The effect is dramatic light leaks (the red intrusions) blurs and vignetting (the soft dark edged images). She accompanies this with the use of infra-red (in black and white and with complete colour washes) and TTV (Through the Viewfinder) images. The latter looks a little like a Polaroid and produce a vintage looking, square image with a dark black border. These techniques aren't for everyone, but I'm sure any Rock n Roll Bride can appreciate the originality and quirkiness of the result. Thanks to Katie for sharing...
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When She Used To Rock n Roll

Kat

July 20, 2009

Kirsten & Josh’s wedding not only had a fun, retro feel, but they really went all out with their 1950’s diner theme. I am crazy in love with the Brides entire outfit - from her Dorothy ruby slippers to her cute polka dot dress made by her Mother and friend Marnie Rogers, who designs clothes for Wintersun. The gorgeous Bridesmaid had a rockabilly style to them - especially their amazing hairdos! For the reception, the couple went all out for a 50's diner theme, where they designed and made everything themselves. The centrepieces were giant lolly jars and each table had a different type of old school lolly, which was the name of the table ("Sweethearts" "Milk bottles" "Ice creams" "Jelly beans" etc) The place cards were black & white candy striped lolly bags with everyone's names on them, each painstakingly tied with little red ribbons. The placemats were old records that they picked up in an op shop and they had little gifts for everyone on the table - mini erasers in the shape of burgers, fries, hotdogs and donuts, plus vintage metal wind up toys. Each table also had a diner style spring loaded napkin holder, salt and pepper shakers and tomato and mustard bottles. Then best of all, for dinner they served burgers, hotdogs, pizza and fries. I bet their guests were thrilled - no boring wedding food for them! The celebrations continued into the night with the couple having their first dance to 'I remember the Bride when she used to Rock n Roll' by the Stray Cats, finishing the night by swaying along to 'Earth Angel'. Thanks to the Groom's Mother Rhonda for sending me this wedding and to the couple for putting together all the awesome info for you all.
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