Black & White

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Cole & Mike were married at The Mercury Cafe in Denver which is is actually they first met. When I asked the couple how they’d describe their wedding they replied, “A gypsy rocking vintage dancing celebration of love!”

“I don’t know if we could ever NOT do things differently, but with our wedding, this was especially important,” Cole continued. “The venue itself created a unique atmosphere. It’s this gorgeous ballroom above a local-healthy-organic-delicious cafe, and they have dancing there almost every night of the week. The place is strung with lights all over, and the walls are painted with gorgeous murals. The whole place is a bit bohemian and romantic, and in a lot of ways it dictated the style we went with-a very eclectic and romantic theme. The only thing that was really consistent throughout was. . . peacocks.”

“We had peacock feathers and peacock colors counteracting all the red tones in the room. I started collecting glass bottles a year before the wedding, and I had quite a mix on the tables, which I loved. Our family friends made these amazing peacock-fan candelabras  for the altar too! It’s funny, because we didn’t think of ourselves as ‘Rock n Roll’ until we started thinking about our outfits.”

Cole wore a stunning black and ivory Ian Stuart gown but it was actually the third one she purchased (third time lucky hey!?) “I didn’t feel comfortable wearing a white or even off-white dress. I knew I wanted something black and ivory, but I didn’t find anything I wanted. I actually purchased two VERY cheap dresses that weren’t quite right before I found this one. Only problem? I tried it on without checking the price. Yowza! Luckily, the sample was much smaller than most and was very close to my size. I inquired at the bridal shop, and they told me they would sell me the sample at 60% off. My Dad, who had cried when I tried it on, offered to buy it for me. I was so touched, and I cherished every moment I wore the dress!”

“The funny thing is, Rock n Roll Bride convinced me to get my dress!” she continued. “While I was still debating whether I should get it, I was searching for pictures of other brides who were wearing it. Lo and behold, Rock n Roll Bride came up! The bride was soooo gorgeous and so glam in that dress, I fell in love all over again! So thank you!”

The couple chose a friend who officiate their ceremony which they felt made this part of the day even more special. “We’ve known him since before we knew each other, and he’s been through a lot with us. He was incredible. He stayed with us leading up to the wedding, and that gave us time to talk about relationships, marriage, and what we expect in our shared future together. We wrote our vows with him, and he really captured the essence of who we are as a couple, as well as the expectations we were both bringing to the altar. My advice would be to choose someone who really knows you as a couple to do this job. I think it makes all the difference.”

“We had the most. incredible. ceremony. ever. My made of honor, who happens to be an AMAZING vocalist, sang several songs throughout, accompanied by my longtime family friend, Dan. My bridesmaid Lara did a reading by Kahlil Gibran, and my brother did a reading by Madeleine L’Engle, who was one of our favorite authors growing up.  We have a very emotionally-open family and circle of friends, and the love and warmth in the room was so raw and present. Maybe it’s because we’re all ‘creatives”, but I feel like this was one of the most emotionally honest gatherings I’ve ever been to. It was breathtaking to feel that kind of love and support so open and free.”

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“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.”

“I had a very specific idea of what I wanted my dress to look like from day one. I knew I would have to customize one. I found a plain dress that I loved the shape of, and then altered it completely to make it my dream dress. I was slightly nervous because I didn’t actually see the final product until 3 days before my wedding. I ordered the dress about 8 sizes too big so they could cut out the back. Originally, it laced up. We added a zipper and then 90 black swarovski crystal buttons all the way down the long train. Originally, the seamstress just wanted to put them halfway down. I said, nope, all the way down, give me some drama! Then we added the black sash and vintage brooch. The look was EXACTLY what I had imagined in my head.”

The wedding took place at The Citizen Hotel, Sacramento, a art deco inspired building that also added a lot to the theme of their day. “Our starting point for our theme was our venue. The lobby looks like somewhere the Rat Pack would be hanging out, smoking cigars and drinking martinis. We took this and ran with it. My whole look was 40′s inspired – from my platinum hair, red lips, and vintage jewelry. We kept up that theme for the reception decor, with crystal lamps and dark red roses. The result, although 40′s inspired, was also very timeless and classic.”

“Instead of a champagne toast, we did a whiskey shot. Whiskey is us, and we knew champagne just wouldn’t do for the most important toast of our lives. Our first dance was a HIM song, “When Love and Death Embrace.” It was beautiful, but also intense, a bit gothic, and PERFECT for us. The bridal party walked out to Led Zeppelin, and I walked down the aisle to an acoustic version of “Everlong” by the Foo Fighters.”

“We wanted our pictures to be city-inspired and a bit gritty. We went back behind alleys and took the most gorgeous pictures on streets lined with dumpsters and grafitti. We wanted edge, and our photographer gave us the most gorgeous, edgy pictures we could have imagined. We also wanted to incorporate rock music where we could, as we are HUGE fans. We cut the cake to Motley Crue and we played string quartet versions of songs by Metallica, Guns n Roses, etc before the ceremony. We wanted people to leave that night thinking that our wedding was “So Brian and Kristin.” I think we accomplished that!”

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Anna Lee & Jeremy were engaged and married within 3 1/2 months. After Anna Lee moved away to teach in Rwanda, the couple realised they couldn’t live without each other and set a wedding date before she’d even come back. Even though they we’re technically already engaged, when Anna Lee returned after 10 months, Jeremy proposed properly and did so in the car park of their favourite restaurant because he couldn’t wait one second longer!

Anna Lee told me all about their vintage-inspired DIY wedding. “I think I would describe our wedding as DIY vintage and it wouldn’t have been possible to put together a wedding on a budget in 3 months without the help of my awesome family and friends. The only “vendors” we hired were the DJ and photographer. I hit up every craft store, thrift shop, and dollar store in the area.  My Mom, sister, and I made everything: the invitations and programs, bridesmaid’s bouquets, boutonnieres, and decorations. I created the mothers wrist corsages out of fabric hair pieces from Forever21. The only flowers used were babies breath, purchased from a local grocery store. Instead of large floral arrangements at the reception, I bought manzanita branches online, spray painted them black, and attached tissue paper flowers and moss. A local landscaping nursery let us borrow two small trees we set up inside to soften the reception hall area. We saved a ton of money on flowers this way!”

“Each of our centerpieces featured old wedding photos of our family members and it was very special to be able to include them in this way. My Dad built a wall covering to go over an ugly door at the entrance of the reception and we attached old mirrors and white cabinet doors to it for a unique backdrop. I painted several old chairs from my great-grandparents house and placed them around the reception hall to add to the “vintage” feel. My Dad also built the ceremony arch and enlisted the help of several family friends to help us set up everything on the wedding day. Our beautiful event lighting was a gift from family friends that have a business in landscape lighting and it completely transformed the reception area!”

With time not on their side, getting a dress custom-made was out of the question for Anna Lee. Instead she found one on sale and customised it herself. “ I wanted a dress that was different from any dress I’d ever seen, but since we were engaged and married within only 3 1/2 months, ordering something specially made for me was out of the question. After searching a million bridal shops, I found a last season 2BeBride dress that was half price! I made the black sash out of ribbon and netting that had actually been tied around one of my shower gifts – it was exactly what I was looking for and it was FREE!”

Anna Lee & Jeremy planned the perfect wedding for them and they wouldn’t have changed a thing about it. Just goes to show that a little bit of imagination and a whole lotta love and you can create the wedding of your dreams in no time at all! “During the wedding planning, it was easy to feel stressed out about completing all the DIY projects and stay within the budget,” Anna Lee concluded. “Wedding blogs like Rock n Roll Bride were such a inspiration in trying to pull everything together! We didn’t want “the norm” for weddings in our area and several people who heard some of our ideas before the wedding seemed a little shocked because it wasn’t what they were used to. But I’m so glad we didn’t change anything because it was perfect for us, and after the wedding many of our guests couldn’t stop talking about how unique and special the ceremony was.”

“A DIY wedding is a whole lot of work, but completely worth it! Our wedding really felt like a personal event, not put together by random vendors but truly a time of celebration with family and sweet friends.”

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I’ve featured the gorgeous Paula & Teddy before. Their pre-wedding shoot made my heart sing but their actual wedding blows everything out of the water! Blue Point Bay Chapel played host to their intimate ceremony and the reception that followed was held at the pool side of the same venue. Paula wore a Jessica McClintock gown with stunning Balenciaga shoes and a handmade veil.

The personal touches came in spades at this wedding which the bride worked tirelessly on. Their super cute lego cake topper came from etsy, and Teddy’s boutonniere and the moustache and bow tie favours were handmade by the Bride (she made over 80 of them!) The guest book and stationery were designed by the groom. The guests even took home vintage popcorn wrappers (filled with Indonesian snacks that the couple had both enjoyed since childhood) and Polaroid pictures. The chic black and white theme was seen throughout their day.

“We didn’t want our wedding to be normal,” the couple told me. “We love detailed diy stuff. Rock n Roll Bride gave us so many ideas. We love Rock n Roll Bride! It really gave us the confidence and inspiration to plan our retro black and white stripy diy wedding in Bali.

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One of the (many) things I love about Rock n Roll Brides is how different you all are. You are diverse and fabulous in you own unique ways and that makes me so happy! I love the way I see you all bring who you are to the table, to create the perfect wedding for YOU. It’s great to get inspiration from wedding blogs like this one, but at the end of the day it’s you + your fiancé who should create YOUR perfect wedding.

Sarah & Jason did just that.

“What made us Rock n Roll, was that from the beginning, we just couldn’t picture us having a traditional wedding. We felt like it would have been fake for us,” began the bride. “That’s fine for some people, and we don’t begrudge anyone the right to the kind of wedding they want, but we wanted something that was all about us. There are very few things I love more than being the center of attention, so it was really important to me that our personalities were on display from beginning to end. From the black envelopes our invitations went out in, to the amount of glitter on the tables, everything was picked and placed specifically by us. We had a vision for what we wanted and what we didn’t care about, and we met with very little resistance from anyone. We weren’t planning a “wedding” so much as planning our dream party.


“Planning our wedding wasn’t the joyous event a lot of people make wedding planning out to be. My sisters and mom had moved out of state, so I was on my own a lot,” Sarah continued. “I was planning a wedding in Bakersfield, while living in LA. It was really overwhelming, and I was lucky that my bridesmaids were helpful in any way they could be. I stressed out about it a lot, and then just decided that as long as everyone had fun, as long as our wedding was full of love, nothing else really mattered. We had a small budget, that we mostly funded ourselves. I learned that we didn’t need all the stuff the bridal “machine” pushes on brides. We spent our money on things that were most important to us, and cut corners where we could. Little touches, that speak to your personalities, make a big impact.”

Be sure to check out their beautiful wedding video after the ‘jump’ too.

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