Birdcage Veil

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When photographer Emma Case emails me with “eeek’s!” and “wooohoo’s!” when talking about her latest wedding I stand by and prepare myself for greatness. I am SO EXCITED to share Debs & Richie’s wedding on my blog as not only did I blog their fabulous engagement session just before Christmas, but they used Rock n Roll Bride as inspiration for their awesome vintage wedding.

“When Richie & I got engaged we did not have a clue what we wanted our wedding to be like, all we knew was that we wanted it quite small, with only close family and friends, good food, good music, and wanted it to reflect on us as a couple as much as possible.  Our budget was small and we began to panic! How are we going to manage to create a wedding on such a small budget, that’s when I turned to the Internet and found a number of wedding blogs (Rock n Roll Bride was one of the first) that gave me loads of inspiration on how different weddings can be, and how much of your own personality you can add to your special day!  I became obsessed with the blogging world, I had bookmarked hundreds of images made folders upon folders and my inspiration began to expand.”

The couple’s budget was small but they totally rocked it! By being creative, by DIYing everything, thrifting and visiting charity shops, they were able to craft the vintage wedding of their dreams!”Having a small budget I knew that alot of the work would have to be done by myself and with a little help from friends and family,” continued the bride. “So I began my journey of crafting everyday, I would craft on the underground, in work on lunch breaks, as soon as I came home from work, my weekends off, visits to friends and family, my whole world became the wedding.  Being in a creative job there are loads of talented people, and I had people in my work making my wedding cake, the invites and arranging my wedding bouquet.  I also used my work colleagues contacts to get the flowers cheaply at the market for then me and my sister to arrange them late into the night before the wedding.”

“We wanted our day to be as relaxed as possible (this isn’t always easy and does not happen when you have a small adorable son though!!)” she continued. “We wanted the decorations and small touches to reflect our love for vintage, we love vintage clothes, vintage furniture, vintage accessories.  I love the beauty and history behind old items, I love that they have a story behind them.  That someone has loved these objects and that they are getting passed along to make new memories, in this case our memories for our wedding day.”

“For my degree show I studied photography for my last part of my final and photographed tea cups, I had a small collection started and I love the beauty of the china tea cup and how they were all different!  So I was on a mission to collect as many as I could, as these would be my favours by melting wax into them and making them into sweet candles for guests to take away.  Everything was hand crafted by myself from the favours, to the felt love heart badges guest wore, to the pom poms and flower garlands that hung in the hall.”

Debs loved collecting all the little bits and pieces in the run up to their wedding. Her vision was an eclectic mis-matched one, with the reception tables full of items they had collected themselves.

Debs wore a vintage dress which she found in a charity shop for just £15! She even got to meet the original owner of the gown and she her wedding photographs! What a magical moment that must have been!

She explained, “Having 6 months left before the big day I had still no clue what I wanted my dress to be like, all I knew was that I wanted it to be different and my favourite word again Vintage!!! Someone had told me about a small charity shop in Govan (Glasgow), which is not renowned for being lets say…. stylish, but I knew with an older generation, there would be a few treasures in the shop.  The shop was called Magpie’s Nest which was a prefect name for me! I was amazed by the selection and quickly filled my bags with teacups, I got talking to the lady behind the counter and asked if she specialises in wedding dresses or knew any places as there were a few wedding dresses hanging up! We got talking and she went into the back and came out shortly holding a beautiful dress, I knew that this was the one that I was getting married in!  It was tiny and asked to try it on, in a small bathroom I squeezed it on and to my disappointment I could not get the back up, but I knew that I wanted it and thought there must be a way to get this dress to fit.  It was elegant, long shelves for the winter and was simple so I could accessorise.  My beautiful dress came to the grand total of £15 and as she packed it away in a Farmfoods bag, I skipped down the road with the biggest smile on my face, greeted by Richie saying what’s in the Farmfoods bag? and I said “my wedding dress!!!”

“I really would like to give a big thanks to Sarah from Magpie’s Nest in Glasgow without her help, I would not have been able to get as much as what I got for the wedding. I went nearly every week to her shop and there were times when I got to go into the back of the Charity shop to the ‘unseen’ and rummage until my heart was content.  Sarah does a brilliant job for her charity and believes in pricing the goods that come into the shop fairly (not west-end prices), so locals can afford to buy and therefore helping to regenerate the local community.  She also knew the woman who handed in the wedding dress and arranged for me to meet up with her. She told me the story behind the dress, that she bought the dress in Watt Brothers in town for 9 Shillings!”

The dress was altered by Dragonfly Dress Design. She added a petticoat (for showing off the Vivienne Westwood shoes of course!) “She specialises in vintage dresses,” Debs told me, “and through her whole  time in the dress business has only ever once came across a dress like mine!  It is a very rare dress from the late 1940′s but with a 1950′s style, as it was very simple and classic.  I also came across dragonfly through Rock n Roll Bride, again a big thank you for helping me source what is so close to home that I would never have known about.”

The ceremony took place at Park Circus in the West End of Glasgow, with the reception being held at Cail Bruich Restaurant in Bridge of Weir. The restaurant not only had a gorgeous scenic view, but vintage and retro touches throughout which perfectly matched their theme.

Finally, Debs & Richie found the fabulous Emma Case through her first ever feature on Rock n Roll Bride. Long time readers of the blog will remember this gorgeous ‘Second Time Lucky’ wedding that I posted back in October 2009 – the first time I was introduced to her work. Who could have known back then that we would become such good friends!? Aww I love blogland!

“I saw this wedding on Rock n Roll Bride whilst researching the wedding and I bookmarked it. I thought that’s the style I want my wedding photographer to have relaxed, capturing a beautiful moment and everyone looking so happy and comfortable.  I bookmarked the photograph that I loved and was in awe with it, but thought nothing of it! (the one with the bride running) I went into work and my friend knew I was looking for an alternative photographer and gave me the name Emma Case to check out.  I went home and I was amazed that the photograph which I loved, was taken by the talented Emma Case, I knew I had to have her and contacted her straight away.  Emma got back and said that the date we were originally planned getting married on, was booked! Arrragh, so without speaking to Richie I took a risk and I asked what dates were available, and the 4th of December was what Emma came back with…That was the date I was going for, so I could get my prefect photographer, and can I just say she is prefect.  Richie and myself are in love with Emma and Pete, they made us feel so comfortable and relaxed…Our budget was so small, but the one thing we were willing to spend the most money on, was a photographer.  It’s so important to have magical photographs that capture your special day, and capture all your hard work.  I cannot say enough nice things about Emma and her talent and how much more special she has made our wedding day and memories.”

Serious love for Debs & Richie over here!

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Crystal & Chip’s pink and white themed wedding gave me actual goosebumps as I looked at the photos. Seriously.

The couple were married in October at The Rusty Pelican in Miami and had one of my all time favourite Rock n Roll photographers, Matt Miller for  Our Labor Of Love, shooting the wedding. “Being half Filipino I have always loved Asian art and culture, so I wanted it to be part of the wedding” Crystal told me when I asked about their wedding day inspiration. “So it was a pink and black Asian themed wedding. When I was younger, I had a hard time being half Filipino. I grew up in a very small town where kids weren’t always nice about people being different. So over time I learned to embrace and be proud of my culture, and who I am.”

“The decorations and flowers were all in tune with the Asian inspiration. We used large garden roses and orchids. We wanted to used peonies but they were not in season at the time. Garden roses were the closest that we could find. The wedding favors were take-out boxes with cherry blossom chopsticks, and of course inside there was Japanese candies called Hi-chews and chocolate dipped fortune cookies. The wedding aisle had pink and black paper lanterns on Shepard hooks all leading to large planters that had bamboo and flowers where the ceremony took place. Also our cake toppers were unique. I have a great love for the brand Tokidoki. So we used 2 of their vinyl figures named Adios and Ciao Ciao as the toppers.”

“So all in all, my husband and I wanted friends and family who are from all walks being tattooed hooligans, lawyers, doctors, straight edge kids, band mates, conservatives, etc. to have an amazing time. I think that we were able to pull it off and everyone had a good time. Both my husband being creative in our own ways, him being music, with many bands and dj-ing, mine being more crafty and artsy, we wanted our personalities to be shown throughout the wedding. With that we feel we succeeded.”

“I had a major hand 98% of the crafty stuff from the wedding. I personally handmade my birdcage veil with kanzashi flowers, the bamboo table number signs, all the invitations, name cards, favors, card box, and many more things that are currently slipping my mind. Many of these were made from scratch. I take pride in how well things turned out.”

It turned our fabulously I say!

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I have a certain affinity with this bride…can anyone work out why?! Cryptic huh? In fact you lot know me so well that I was sent links to this wedding by no less than five readers telling me I had to feature it as they all wanted to know more about this gorgeous wedding. Well, you asked…and I delivered. I’m so chuffed!

Melinda & Stu were married in September at Thornewood Castle, Tacoma, WA. “My husband had always envisioned getting married in a European Castle,” began the bride. ”Unfortunately, I knew if we did that we’d have a very lonely wedding with just us and our parents, so we had to set our sights closer to… well, this continent. I didn’t think it would be possible to find what Stu was envisioning in the Pacific Northwest, until I stumbled across Thornewood Castle. The Tudor manor house was originally build in England in the 1500′s, but in 1910 it was moved brick by brick and reassembled on it’s current site on American Lake in Tacoma, WA. We had the ceremony in the sunken rose garden, and the reception in the great hall, dining room, and loggia.”

Melinda wore a stunning Justin Alexander dress (number 8465) which looks incredible on her. A total Rock n Roll princess dress! She continued, “When I was growing up, my Mother used to have a business designing and tailoring custom wedding gowns. I think because I’d grown up around them and the Bridezilla customers she worked for, I shied away from ever envisioning myself as an eventual bride. So when Stu popped the question, I had a lot of catching up to do in terms of even just nailing down what a wedding is actually made of, and what felt right for Stu and I as a couple.”

“My Mom actually was the one to find my dress for me. I had tried on numerous dresses at 4 or 5 different shops and was starting to feel like the right dress for me just didn’t exist.  Every dress I tried on seemed to either try to make me look like a sex-bomb, woodland nymph, or a girly-girl princess – not to say those are bad things to be, but they weren’t me. I wanted something fun, classic, informal, and retro. I was almost to the point of attempting to sew something myself, when my Mom sent me an email full of dress links for me. Right at the bottom was a link to Justin Alexander 8465 and from the moment I saw the dress I knew that it was the one for me, no doubts in my mind.”

With her perfect dress Melinda wore sparkly red, custom made ‘Ruby Slippers’ replicas from Cybertosh on etsy. “I loved the look of wedding dresses with bright shoes, and ruby slippers just seemed right for me. The Wizard of Oz was the first movie I think I ever saw and I’ve loved it for as long as I can remember. I think these are probably at least the 10th pair of ruby slippers I’ve owned over my lifetime (although these are certainly the most accurate!)” She made her own veil and head piece and wore heirloom jewellery. To match his bride, who actually dyed her hair pink especially for the wedding (and she’s kept it pink since!) Stu wore a white dinner jacket and pink bow tie which Melinda made herself.

Their wedding party consisted of 4 bridesmaids and a groomsmaid (instead of a groomsman!) They were all asked to choose their own black dress so they would be happy with what they wore, and the groomsmaid surprised them on the day bu wearing a black bow tie!

The reception was a Rock n Rollin’ party with cupcakes and dancing. The couple booked a Jazz band to play them into the night. “The first two things we booked for our wedding that set the tone for everything else were the castle itself, and the Uptown Lowdown Jazz Band. I was amazed that they were local, available on our date, and within our price range. They were one of my favorite things about the wedding. Loved it.”

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Mo & Chris wedding inspiration came from the 1940′s and the fact that Chris is an old Ska kid. The bride explained, “For our clothes we decided we wanted a vintage feel. Chris wanted to stay away from tuxedos and suits and being an old ska kid at heart he wanted to have a vintage swingers kind of style. He gave the groomsmen their flat caps as a gift, they all picked their own colors, and he wore a black fedora with a feather in it. He told them to get grey shirts and black pants. The suspenders were my favorite part.”

Mo wore a tea length dress with amazing purple shoes which actually set the colour scheme for the entire day! “My dress was actually from David’s Bridal and so were the bridesmaid dresses. I was really set on a tea length dress. I have this affinity for the corporate wedding money machine but didn’t want to buy my dress online. It all came down to convenience. My friends were all different body types and some live in other parts of the country so I wanted to make sure they could all pick styles that made them feel dead sexy. We got a discount on the bridesmaid dresses because I bought my dress there. My veil and feather hairpiece were also from David’s Bridal. The sales lady put them in my hair when I tried on my dress and it made my Mom cry so we got them. That was a smart sales lady.”

“My necklace and earrings were a gift from my Sister-in-law. My diamond tennis bracelet was my Grandmother’s. I have a big Irish Catholic family and it’s tradition for the women of our family to wear her bracelet at our weddings. My Aunt Mad loans it to us on the day of the wedding but there’s hell to pay if she doesn’t get it back afterwards! I pinned Chris’ Grandmother’s brooch to the bow on the back of my dress. The birdcage for the cards is another thing that gets passed around our family for weddings.” 

The gorgeous silk ribbon fabric flowers came from JoeNet2 on etsy, “The seller, Annette, was great,” continued Mo. ”I told her my ideas and she sent me an envelope filled with color swatches of ribbon for me to choose the colors from. She even threw in a free flower girl bouquet and boutonniere for Chris.”

The decor and reception ideas were all DIY’ed by the couple and their friends & family. Mo explained, “My Dad made his amazing meatballs and my Mom brought munchies for the cocktail hour. My Mom was a HUGE help in organizing set up the morning of the wedding. My Uncle Rich BBQs competitively and offered his BBQing skills as a wedding gift. He BBQed his delicious pulled pork and chicken. Aunt Terry pitched in and made the Baked Ziti with my Aunt Kathy.  I surprised Chris with his favorite chocolate cake from Honey’s Sit N Eat. Friends of ours offered their catering skills to manage the potluck table and keep everything flowing. Another friend offered to bar-tend in exchange for a tip jar. We had our favorite Yards beer selections and handpicked the wine. My Aunt Pat donated the coffee and rolls as a wedding gift. My family loves to cook and so do many of my friends so I had no doubt the potluck would be awesome. The rest of the food for side dishes and desserts was all potluck from my guests. We gave them recipe cards with the invitations so we could build a wedding recipe box to keep.” 

“Chris’ Mom handmade all the table runners and embroidered the napkin holders with our initials. She is crafter by profession so I gave her full reign to decorate the room any way she wanted. She lives in North Carolina so we worked for months over the phone to plan out what she wanted to do. She came up with the all the ideas for decorations. Mums are my favorite flowers because they bloom in the fall! Chris’ brother Bobby made origami birds of all different colors to hang above the fireplace. Apparently they had a hell of a time figuring out how to hang them that morning but I loved how it looked!” 

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I sneak peeked Jamie & Miguel’s wedding on my facebook page as soon as I got a sniff of how awesome their wedding was going to be. I am now so thrilled to now share the whole cantata (in all its glory) with you today! They certainly haven’t disappointed.

The wedding took place the day before Halloween at Serenity Oaks Ranch, California. The time of year really dictated their theme, with gothic and spooky influences being injected alongside the couple’s own quirky personal taste. What I love about their theme is that there is nothing tacky about their spooky wedding – no Day-Glo decorations or obvious Halloween plastic tat here!

“My initial inspiration was Sleepy Hollow meets a carnival meets a dark wonderland,” explained the bride. “The photographs were really important to me, and when I found Made U Look Photography, I just about died. I love those girls, they’re amazing and knew exactly what I wanted – they’re mind readers!  I also wanted all the guests to wear all black! All I have to say is DIY weddings are totally worth it because it ends up really making your day!”

Jamie’s incredible dress and veil were handmade by her Mother. Every rose and every strip of lace was sewn by hand – that’s some serious love and commitment there, and the result is utterly fabulous! Her Mum now plans to open her own etsy store soon to sell her creations. I hope they will let me know when she does so I can point you all in her direction! Jamie’s perfectly matched jewellery came from Tales of Camelot on etsy. It was an old Theatre piece and reminded Jamie of Scarlett O’ Hara who she loves.

The bride let the bridesmaids choose their own dresses and wanted them to pick something they really loved. Inspired by the 1930’s cabaret look, she found their necklaces at Charlotte Russe. They gave their styling a really “dark” twist which perfectly matched the spooky theme. The bride’s Mum continued her DIY epic by making the girl’s hats from supplies found most at Hat Shadows on etsy.

“My Mom made the table cloths and found all the old china from yard sales and thrift shops,” continued the bride. “I used some of my favourite CD artwork to make the table numbers. I really love the white stripes so I wanted white apples like in their blue orchid video, so instead of using spray paint we did white chocolate! The invitations were done by JK Designs, another etsy store, and I drew up the design to have a tarot card look.”

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