Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

South Africa

Surf and Floral Wedding in South Africa: Nick & Kelli

Kat

Tyrone Bradley

June 13, 2014

Wanting to combine two of their biggest passions for their big day, Nick and Kelli had a surf and flower inspired wedding. All the guys wore colourful Hawaiian shirts and the girls were in brightly patterned summer dresses! Kelli's dress was vintage, from the 1940s and cost her $8! The day was held outdoors, at The Litchi Orchard in Salt Rock, Durban. "Our wedding was surf inspired", wrote Kelli, "as we both surf and after watching the 80s classic North Shore together, we knew the theme we wanted straight away! Light, fun, floral, colourful and full of love!"
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Organic Nature-Inspired Johannesburg Wedding: Robin & Tamarin

Kat

Jacki Bruniquel

March 2, 2014

The work of South African wedding photographer Jacki Bruniquel never fails to blow me away. The way she captures things is so unique and wonderful, I love looking at weddings through her eyes. So I was thrilled when Robin and Tamarin's gorgeous day landed in my inbox. Not only did Jacki's beautiful photographs make my heart go a-flutter, but the wedding itself is too gorgeous for words! If you're looking for some really organic and nature-inspired wedding ideas then this one is for you...
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Small Town DIY High School Wedding: Ben & Irene

Kat

Adrian Shields

January 18, 2014

Ben and Irene were married at Pietersburg High School, in Polokwane, South Africa. The ceremony was held on the front lawn and the reception in the gym. "Our wedding was described to me by one of my friends as one of the most 'sharing' he has ever seen. Meaning that the theme was us, as well as our friends and family", began the groom. "Everything there was something we loved, or something that meant something to ourselves or our guests, and in most cases both."
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South African Woodland Wedding: Terri & Brad

Kat

Vanilla

August 7, 2013

Terri and Brad had a woodland themed wedding in - surprisingly - a woodland! The venue for both their ceremony and reception was the Pecanwood Estate. "We wanted our wedding to be casual and symbolise the reason for celebrating the day, which was our love for each other", explained Terri. "Our budget was small and wanted to utilise things that we already had or things that we could make out of wood or paper keep it simple. The theme was based around swallows because they symbolise our love for each other. The day before Brad proposed to me we were at a tattoo convention in Cape Town and he suggested we get matching swallow tattoos. Swallows choose a mate for life, and will only nest with that bird and no other, we had them placed on his hand and my wrist as if they were flying into each other."
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Completely Casual White on White South African Wedding: Kyle & Lauren

Kat

Fiona Clair

June 12, 2013

Kyle and Lauren wanted a completely casual wedding and that meant no DIY! "How do people find the time?!" Lauren laughed, "We both work very stressful full time jobs and as much as I would have loved to do a variety of cute and quirky crafty bits, we simply did not have the time." This attitude filtered through to the rest of their wedding with the simple cocktail style tables, the finger food and the bring your own bar.
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Ribbons & Rainbows – A Candy Coloured Wedding: Angelo & Candice

Kat

Erna Loock

May 13, 2013

For their March wedding, South Africans Angelo & Candice wanted a colourful day that oozed fun...so a rainbow theme it was! "Angelo and I are generally out of the box thinkers and the 'same old same old' wedding décor was not what we wanted", began the bride. "We knew we wanted colour and fun and we went from there. There were a few elements I needed to 'sell' to my parents but they went with most of my ideas (thankfully). Angelo and I are both involved in film and TV (Angelo is an actor and I am a Junior Creative Producer) so a strong film element had to be prevalent in our day. We had popcorn holding up our table numbers and a picture of a clapper board on our invites."
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Sweet Yet Edgy South African Wedding: Darren & Taryn

Kat

Jake & Jane

May 6, 2013

Darren & Taryn were married on 03/03/13 and 3 minutes past 3... and although they had a limited budget, they created a wedding that was both sweet and beautiful but edgy and fun! "We chose all the 3's because we loved the symbolism of the energy surrounding the number", explained the bride. "In numerology the energy of the number 3 is optimistic and fun-loving, and strives to uplift and colour its surroundings. They tend to be the 'joker', have a wonderful sense of humour and are very charismatic."
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Bohemian Chic & Floral Overload: Brink & Meagan

Kat

December 3, 2012

Brink & Meagan's South African wedding is a gorgeous mix of floral overload and bohemian chic. I mean, what's not to love?! I'm just dying over the location, the details and the bride's awesome style. Orange flowers in her hair and a lace wedding dress that dreams are made of? Oh God yes. "Our wedding was a reflection of all the things we love", began Meagan. "So to make the day as real as possible we brought elements of our life into it. I didn't want a predictable 'white' wedding. The things I love most in life are colour, texture, pattern, fabric and flowers - anything tactile. So the more colour the better. I love combining things together that contrast so combining colour and texture worked really well!"
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A Sexy South African Winter Wedding: Tertius & Melissa

Kat

October 23, 2012

I hate to be the one to break it to you, but it's going to be full on winter soon. I personally don't mind when it starts to get all icy and crisp outside - it's the perfect excuse to wear something knitted and cute, order a ridiculous sounding coffee drink (Cream! Caramel! Sugar! Marshmallows!) and snuggle up close with your lover. Perfect. Plus we get to see weddings like Tertius & Melissa's... The wedding took place at Oakfield Farm in South Africa. The ceremony was held in the onsite chapel, and the reception in the homestead. For the decor, the couple went for a dramatic look with deep reds and earthy tones. "I'm not fond of the idea of 'colour schemes', but I love textures so we went for the earthy feel with just a little dash red", explained the bride." We added deep red roses and the bridesmaids wore red jackets. The rest we left up to mother nature!"
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An Elegant Fashion-Inspired South African Wedding: Matt & Sarah

Kat

August 10, 2012

Dear South Africa, you have the most wonderful weddings, Love Kat. Seriously... seriously... Look at these guys! Matt & Sarah were married at Rain Farm Game & Lodge. The ceremony was held by the picturesque infinity pool with the reception inside, in the venue's 'boma', an enclosure traditionally used for livestock. To decorate the space the couple hung a Swarovski crystal chandelier. The table settings were simple and elegant. "We hung a 3 metre long Swarovski crystal chandelier over an elevated central fire", explained Sarah. "Instead of flowers I chose to decorate each table with over 40 pillar candles, some were floating in water, as a contrast to the fire theme. Each candle was set in a unique clear glass vessel. Some as tall as 40 cm down to small votives. I was inspired by the alter in a cathedral. I chose fire and candle light to be the focal point of the wedding to create drama and almost a gothic type of feel. This is why I decided to do the bridesmaid's gowns and neck pieces in metallic bronze as it carried the heat
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A Multi-Coloured South African Wedding: Mark & Manilla

Kat

March 22, 2012

When Mark & Manilla's colourful wedding landed in my inbox I just about burst with excitement. There's nothing quite like a rainbow wedding in my opinion! The South African wedding was held at The View Boutique Hotel, a glamorous hotel in the heart of Johannesburg. "I felt that the ceremony should be the serious part of the day but I wanted the rest to be a very relaxed and festive carnival style celebration!" the bride told me.
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