Gothic

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An Undead Steampunk Wedding: Renee & Ian

November 28, 2011 in Wedding | 10 comments

So where do I begin trying to explain the awesomeness of Renee & Ian’s undead steampunk wedding? I think maybe the title gives away just how amazing this wedding is going to be doesn’t it?

The couple were married at Catalyst, a private live/work artist community in Chicago. “We actually had to ‘audition’ for the space,” Renee told me. “The members have a delicate relationship with the community and can’t risk any trouble. We had to prove to them over several months that we talented and responsible enough to be able to use their space. We had to foster a personal relationship with them before they would even consider us. It was tedious, but worth it in the end.”

“We gained some more wonderful friends for our already stellar collection, and the space allowed us freedom that traditional venues could not (like staying until 6am and coming back later in the week to help clean up).”

The bride made her dress herself from a 1880′s corset pattern. She tea stained dupioni silk and lace and designed the skirt and blouse herself. Her headpiece was a pair of vintage goggles that she bought from a flea market which Ian ‘steampunked’ by using random pieces including a magnifying glass that belonged to his Grandmother.

“We love Halloween and costumes!” the bride continued. “It’s truly the only time of year that we have any pictures together. We plan all year for it! We’re not really big on the institution of marriage. We partly decided to ‘make it official’ (though our love and commitment was official enough for us) because Ian’s dad was diagnosed with cancer, and the outlook was grim. We knew he would love to see us married. On a lighter note, Greg is doing very well these days in remission.”

“Our choice of theme started a bit of an uproar in our families. We were made fun of, called sacrilegious, and many of our family from WI didn’t show up (some for financial reasons, but I assume many of our very catholic family members just didn’t approve). We were asked to have a separate ‘family wedding’ in WI, but refused. Our wedding was going to be a celebration of our love, our way and a way for us to show our families that we are proud of who we are. We didn’t WANT to dis-include or hurt them, but we didn’t want to compromise ourselves on our day! In the end, the family that did show up really seemed to enjoy themselves.”

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Giant Nests, Smoke Machines & A Bath of Feathers – An Advanced Flash Workshop at The Photography Farm

November 23, 2011 in Events, Styled Photo Shoots | 19 comments

The second Photography Farm (remember the first one which I took part in?) took place earlier this month. The subject was advanced flash techniques and using off-camera flash. Organiser Lisa Devlin invited Adam Bronkhorst of Viva Photography, an expert in the field, to teach the latest ‘farmers’ all about using it in their own work.

As part of the experience the students were treated to another amazing styled shoot set up by Hannah of The Tea Set. The inspiration for the shoot was a dark gothic winter vibe, as Lisa explained, “We always knew this Farm was going to have a very different feel to the last one. This time we were exploring advanced flash techniques as opposed to working with available light and it would be a night shoot in the winter. So I got to thinking gothic and got to pinning.”

“The look also started with our couple, the beautiful Martina and Leslie. Martina has great strong features and hair the colour of swan feathers. Once we found the right dresses from the amazing Hope and Harlequin the direction started to be winter/gothic/nordic/gypsy/feathers.”

“We went to The Farm with our awesome stylist Hannah from The Tea Set and after discussing shooting down with the couple laying on the floor, the idea of a big giant nest out in the woods was born. When I saw the Bird of Paradise Hat from Jane Taylor Millinery it was the perfect finishing touch, it is a work of art. Hannah and Jayne once again worked their magic and came up with sets that translated the theme through antique taxidermy, fire, food and a brace of pheasants.”

Isn’t the vibe of these shots just incredible? If you are interested in taking part in the next Advanced Flash workshop at The Photography Farm, it will be taking place between 3st January and 2nd February 2012 and the next Engagement & Wedding farm will be taking place between the 13th-15th March (which I’ll be speaking at).

The price for both two & a half day workshops is just £950 and accommodation and all meals are included. For further info or to book your place, Lisa can be contacted via email or by phone on 01273 231047.

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‘Lola the Bird’: An Art Deco Photo Shoot

November 23, 2011 in Styled Photo Shoots | 12 comments

This beautiful shoot was set up by headpiece designer Natasha Jane to promote her amazing ‘Lola the Bird’ headpiece (I’ve seen it in real life and it is an amazing piece, I’d love to see a real Rock n Roll Bride wearing it!)

The shoot took place at the UK’s oldest cinema, Birmingham’s Electric Cinema, which has been open for over 100 years. The art deco cinema is even available to hire for weddings so it really was the perfect venue to show off this new wedding collection.

Model Anna wore two stunning dresses, the first cream ruffled skirt and dress from The Wedding Club; and the second black dress by Justin Alexander.

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A Gothic Masked Ball: Debs & Sean

November 22, 2011 in British Brides, Wedding | 25 comments

Sean & Deb’s masked ball wedding took place at the beginning on November at Brownsover Hall Hotel, Brownsover, Rugby. “We stumbled on the venue by accident after previously reserving two other venues”, the bride told me. “We were on our way up to my parents for christmas and made a detour to see the hall – it was amazing! Gothic, yet romantic. We fell in love with it as soon as we saw the giant Elk’s skull in the entrance hall!”

The venue fitted their wedding theme perfectly – slightly gothic and masqueradey (I’m pretty sure I just made up that word) with a 1920′s/30′s vibe.

“We were never going to have a conventional wedding – it’s just not us,” Debs continued. “Our original idea was to have a viking themed wedding, but we knew that we would have to agree on something that guests would be happy to take part in (and I really couldn’t see my Dad wearing leather and horns to walk me down the aisle!) I am obsessed with the 20′s/30′s/40′s, I think I must have been a wartime wife in a past life so when Sean presented me with my 1920′s engagement ring everything just seem to slot perfectly into place.”

“The 20′s and 30′s were so glamourous, it would give guests the perfect opportunity to dress up without feeling uncomfortable. We decided it would be like a country house party with a touch of romantic gothic…and then we decided we wanted to make it mysterious so added the masked ball element to the day and night. We just had to have the ceremony in masks! One of the best men did phone up one night though and said he had been thinking and the wedding would be like the upper deck of the Titanic in the day, and the lower deck in the evening….he wasn’t far wrong!”

Asking the guests to dress to fit their theme was something the couple thought long and hard about as they knew it would make their wedding really special. “I know some guests found it difficult knowing what to wear, so after a conversation with Sean’s Mum stating his gran was coming dressed as a goth, I knew I had to try and help those who were struggling,” Debs laughed. “I did my own blog, updating it everyday for the three weeks running up to the wedding, suggesting outfits, accessories, make up and inspirations. It worked! The wedding wouldn’t have been half as good without all the effort our guests made with their outfits. When I walked down the aisle and everyone had their masks on I was awestruck, and after the ceremony, when we were greeted by all our guests I turned to Sean and said ‘It really does look like a 1920′s houseparty…the guests look incredible’.”

Debs wore a dress made for her by Liliia. Having a custom made gown really doesn’t have to be an expensive option is you do your research. After the ceremony the bride crowd-surfed over the guests (in her full wedding attire) which certainly made for some much more Rock n Roll photographs than the traditional confetti shot!

Despite the opulent outcome, the wedding cost the couple less than £6000. “So much of our wedding was DIY as we wanted to put our stamp on it as much as possible. We are quite quirky and artistic so we did have loads of fun dying tags with tea bags, making button holes with feathers, drying out rose petals for months on end…plus we got to spend lots of time in antique shops, vintage stores and car boots which is a favourite past time! I would warn DIY brides that handmaking everything is very time consuming, but worth every second! I think another important factor is the venue. Be aware of your budget and barter! Also, we wanted a venue that looked authentic throughout so we wouldn’t have to spend too much on decorating the place.”

“We knew we wanted 20/30′s events for the table names so I decided to do a little explaination as well so guests knew how they were relevant to the wedding. The keys and luggage name tags added a touch of gothic to the tables. We made the confetti cones out of stained music sheets and we dried all the rose petals ourselves (donated by friends and family throughout the summer!)”

I adore this couple and this wedding don’t you? I’m so excited to share it with you today so thank you to the amazing Sassy of Assassynation for sending over her photos this week. Of Sassy, the bride said, “I found Sassy by accident on a bridal chat room and from the moment I met her I knew she was the photographer for us. She was totally on our wave length and we booked her even before we had found a venue and named a date! I would truthfully have chosen a wedding date based on Sassy’s availability as we were so confident she was the photographer for us!”

They also had Frank of Sassy ‘n’ Frank on board to shoot their fabulous wedding video…

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A Black Wedding Dress, A Traditional Church Wedding & A Burlesque Themed Reception: Scarlet & Craig

November 21, 2011 in British Brides, Wedding | 34 comments

Scarlet & Craig’s wedding wowed me as soon as I spied that dress. I was so excited to be able to share this incredible Goth extravaganza and luckily for you lot, so were the newlyweds. In fact Craig’s reply when I emailed him back saying ‘Yes yes, hell yes (ps your wife is hot)’ was something along the lines of ‘OMG so excited that you’re going to feature us!!! Squeeee’.

“I’d never really thought about my wedding day growing up, so when Craig proposed on a trip to Amsterdam (with a tattoo that simply said ‘Marry Me’ on his wrists!) I was thrown into a bit of a panic!” Scarlet explained. “But as soon as we started planning we knew we wanted to do things our own way. Luckily we found Rock n Roll Bride, which made us realise there really are no ‘rules’ for a wedding, and then we just went all out! We didn’t start out with one, but as we went along we developed a kind of pink and black gothic fairytale theme, pink being my favourite colour, and black being Craig’s!”

“We didn’t have a huge budget, and didn’t want to waste money on things that people ‘expect’ to have at weddings which arent really necessary (for us, flowers were one of these things!) It took some convincing my parents that the bridesmaids would look great in £35 high street dresses and Primark shoes, and that the best men didn’t need buttonholes! Wherever possible we enlisted the help of friends and family, from the dress to the cake to the reception decor and catering. I’m a make up artist so I did my own hair and makeup, and I let the bridesmaids have free reign with their looks as I didn’t want them to look to ‘matchy’.”

As I said above, Scarlet’s dress was what really caught my attention when I first saw this wedding…and it turns out I wasn’t the only one! “The theme for the wedding really revolved around my dress, which was designed and handmade by the amazingly talented Kim Denman,” the bride continued. “I knew straight away that I would never find anything in a bridal dress shop, so didn’t even bother looking! Kim is a family friend who is based in LA, but also has a house in Hastings. I approached her about making the dress, and after an initial brain storming session, we decided on a kind of 50′s underwear themed colour scheme of dusty pink and black, with plenty of feathers, beads, and netting thrown in! Oh, and a massive stuffed pink bow on the back! I travelled to Hastings several times for fittings, but unfortunately didn’t get to accompany the dress on it’s trips to LA and back! Several times during the fitting process I wondered whether I’d taken it too far (my Mum was particulaly against the idea of a black dress) but in the end everyone loved it, even our most conservative guests and (suprisingly) our Vicar!”

After a ceremony at St Mary’s Church, the reception as held at The Suffolk Barn. ”We instantly loved the idea of having the reception in a barn, and wanted a venue where we could create exactly what we wanted. Luckily we found the amazing 14th Century Suffolk Barn in Hawstead. The owner only allows a handful of events to be held there each year, and it has pretty much been left with all its original features, meaning it was a blank canvas for our ideas. My Dad is a production designer for film and TV, and without him, we could never have created anything so magical as our reception decor. From the fairy lit trees guiding the way to the entrance, to the handmade globes of foliage and pink ribbon hanging from the ceiling, to the enormous gilt frame that made our stage look absolutely surreal, he worked so hard (along with my brother and cousins) to make the venue look like something from a fairytale! The colour theme from my dress popped up everywhere: the beautiful cake made by my extremely talented cousin Maddie even had the lace design from the dress incorporated into it.”

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