Spring may be on it’s way (apparently!) but I’m still lusting over the prettiness of snowy winter weddings…although would you believe, there was actually some snow in parts of the UK this weekend!? Ridiculous.
There was quite a bit of snow-induced drama surrounding Peri & Ryan’s wedding. The ceremony was supposed to start at 3pm, but due to the weather the bride didn’t arrive until 5pm. Also, a lot of guests couldn’t make the day for the same reason and after the ceremony they couldn’t physically get from the church to their reception because of the snow dump and road closures. However a lovely local pub opened their doors to the couple and provided an impromptu reception to remember! I have to say, from these gorgeous shots by Shell de Mar I’d like to think they made the best of it (and I personally LOVE the pub venue – what great ‘art’ on the walls!)
“I can’t really say I am really a quirky person because I’m not but I have always liked to be a bit different in the way I dress,” explained the bride. “Nothing to crazy but just not like most of my friends, I don’t do brands and If I like something I will wear it! I love all things vintage and always have done! When we were planning I had originally wanted a vintage bunting, candy floss, ice cream type wedding in May but Ryan bless him couldn’t get his head around it so when he said how about a winter I thought it sounded lovely. However I still really wanted all the polka dot and vintage feel to it, so instead of doing the traditional long dress and winter colours we went for red and white colours.”
“Our centrepieces were red and white xmas baubles with led lights going through them with polka dot doilies on the tables and silver baubles as place name holders. Sadly no one got to see any of that due to the snow but it look stunning and transformed the room. Ryan’s Mother had made a 3 tier polka dot wedding cake that no one saw either, but we did enjoy it after the wedding! We had chosen Delilah the Beetle to transport us because we own a 1970’s green 1300 Beetle ourselves, but is at the moment being lovingly restored by Ryan so we knew that we had to have one as our wedding car. However again it don’t turn out like (in the end we were transported in a Land Rover! The good news is that we get to use him again for our Summer blessing! Similarly the lovely vicar and the church where we were married will also perform a blessing for us later this year…so in the end I’ll get to have the summer bunting, candy floss, village hall wedding I wanted in the first place!”
This shoot was organised by photographer Jennifer Whalen who wanted to showcase a different style of valentine’s shoot (note: I know valentine’s was over a week ago, but I loved the punky style of these images so much I still had to still share them!)
The idea was to show a gorgeous alternative girl celebrating the day by causing a bit of chaos and enjoying her own company with wine and chocolates…something you wouldn’t normally see when looking for ideas of inspiration for the international day of love! However it’s this point of difference that made me love the shoot in the first place.
They didn’t spend a fortune on the styling or outfits, choosing to DIY the set design and clothes. The tights were created using plain white tights with red hearts drawn on them, the tutu was also handmade and the tee-shirt was from Target, “I wanted the outfit and the whole shoot to have a graphic, quirky look that was also valentine’s themed without being too cute,” explained Jennifer.
Jacqueline & Erik were the lucky models who got to play dress up with Michelle Logan of Urban Shutter Bug Photography. Jacqueline had this killer idea to have a shoot styled around the Mexican holiday Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead). What might seem like a morbid theme to some, Dia De Los Muertos is in fact the exact opposite – it is a celebration to honour your loved ones who have passed.
My inspiration for this shoot came from the fact that I had seen a lot of big brands in The States using fashion bloggers to model for and promote their new lines. I loved the idea and thought it could really work for the UK wedding market. After all, wedding blogs are the new wedding magazines right?! I approached Rachel at Wimbledon-based Luella’s Boudoir if she’d be up for letting us run wild in her shop and thankfully she loved the idea!
“OMG Huge congratulations!” I squealed, remembering how she’d once told me that winning a photography award was on her list of things she wanted to achieve in her career. “I know” she replied, “and the best thing? I’ve won my DREAM kit from Hasselblad who sponsored the awards…and we can use it for our shoot!” (and they even offered a wind machine…Lisa didn’t have to ask me twice whether I wanted to use it for my shot!)
For those non-photography geeks out there, getting lent a Hasselblad is kind of a big deal. Not only is this a camera worth about £30,ooo (and that’s not including the lights, wind machine and Mac that they also let us borrow!) but it pretty much blows any other DSLR out of the water in the quality of image!
Lisa explained all the techy goodness to me, “In layman’s terms, Hasselblad is a medium format camera and its all about the increase in image quality due to its massive sensor. The files are much bigger than 35mm DSLR and there are a lot more pixels. This is a camera for high end fashion and advertising work, the detail is phenomenal even when you crop in a lot. You get a lot more in the shadows and highlights and if you need to do any image recovery (if you’ve shot too light or dark) there is a whole lot more there to work with. The latest camera, which is what they gave us has a fancy focus system called True Focus which allows you to lock focus on any part of the image then recompose your shot. Once you get the hang of it, it is pretty useful especially when shooting at wide apertures which I do most of the time.”
“You can also shoot straight to computer into their dedicated processing software, which is what we did. This is very useful as you see exactly what is going on and can even control everything from the screen. So if you wanted to, you can shoot from a directors chair with a flunky doing the camera work! It has an eye-level viewfinder and can be held pretty much in the same way as a 35mm DSLR so I found it surprisingly easy to handle.”
Fancy huh?!
Everything seemed to be falling nicely into place. Now all I needed was willing models.
It was important to me to pick bloggers who really stood out – bloggers with a strong sense of identity, both in themselves and their blog themes and ideas. Then I thought that having each of them styled to match the genre of their blogs would work really well. Not only then would the images be authentic, but we could use them to show some different bridal style ideas.
So I asked Charley of London Bride (quirky, British, cute bride), Kelly of Boho Weddings and Events (bohemian bride), Amma of Beyond Beyond (modern bride), Annabel of Love my Dress (vintage bride) and Alexis of OMG I’m Getting Married (bridesmaid – Alexis is getting married this year and didn’t want to be seen as a bride just yet!) if they’d like to come play dress up…and guess what? They all said yes!
You absolutely MUST head over to all these girl’s blogs to see their full set of images and to find out exactly what they are all wearing…(you can get a sneak peek in the behind the scenes video below, but be assured, you will want to go check out all of their images. These girls are SMOKIN’) Click the links below to see their full sets…
But wait! There appears to be a certain pink haired blogger missing from this list! Well, as you all know I am always well up for a bit of posing. Oh I do love a good photo shoot. For this shoot I (obviously) still wanted to share some alternative/Rock n Roll Bridal styles… but I had to do something different.
First up I decided to add some more colours to my hair – I have been lusting over rainbow hair for months now and I was so excited when my hairdresser, Elbie Van Eeden said she’d be over the moon to do it for me! We dyed bits of my own hair (my base colour is Baby Pink by Stargazer and the highlights are Crazy Colour – Peacock Blue, Violette and Cyclamen) as well as adding clip in extensions dyed with the same colours.
Pretty awesome huh?!
In a similar way, we wanted me to wear something different to anything you’d seen me in before. I have to admit, it took a little bit of persuasion from stylist Kate Barbour that I looked OK in a slinky number but after looking at these images, I might have to admit that she was right! The dress is by Caroline Atelier and is called Emmy (available through Luella’s Boudoir) and I wore it with a Camelia Organza Flower by Victoria Fergusson.
For the group shot I wore an original blush vintage dress, created by Marilyn Monroe’s favourite designer, a gold shooting star band by Jane Taylor Millinery and shoes by Emmy (full list of what everyone is wearing below the gallery.)
But wait…there’s more! I also asked my friend Richard of FX Films to do the honours and film some behind the scenes action for us. I think you’ll agree the result is amazing! This man is a video genius (and I guarantee you will be humming this song all day now)
At the end of the day, we got together for one final group shot. Being a blogger and working from home alone, can sometimes be a very lonely career path. However having these girls on the end of the phone/hanging about on Twitter/eager to respond to an ‘omg I need your advice’ email, makes being a wedding blogger the absolute best job in the world.
I love these girls for their individuality, for their spark and for their passion for their jobs.
I love these girls for the support they give me and their genuine attitudes. These are the girls that make the UK wedding blogging industry great…and they’re all pretty foxy too!!
Pop by tomorrow, 9am (GMT) for the final reveal of the epicness that is The Big Fat Wedding Blogger’s Photo Shoot. I promise, it will be worth the wait (and all the teasing…)
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve read an email or comment from a bride-to-be, stressing that her wedding wouldn’t be “blog-worthy enough” and that totally makes me sad. I LOVE to feature all kinds of weddings, detail-heavy or not. I actually back this up on my About page:
“There is no ideal Rock n Roll Bride. What I love isn’t necessarily what floats your boat. What makes the weddings (and therefore my site) so fab is YOU! I try to share a diverse variety of weddings, photo shoots and general gorgeousness so I know you’ll find something you love here. The only thing I ask is that each feature is a perfect representation of the couple and their individuality. Think tattooed punk brides next to eco hippy chic weddings and DIY extravaganzas placed side by side with elaborate Alice in Wonderland themed weddings and your half way there.”
“It’s not about being ‘cool’, being a rebel or even thinking of the most unique idea you can, it’s about planning a wedding that reflects you and your partner and declaring your love in your way. To be featured on this site, you don’t have to be cool. You don’t have to be ‘out-there’ or ‘offbeat’, you just have to be you.”
I got chatting to my friend Carina Romano of Love Me Do Photography about this very subject a little while back and she had some great things to say on the subject. We’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject in the comments!
♥ ♥ ♥
“Your wedding is going be awesome because it’s YOUR WEDDING. Like. Really. It’s meaningful and beautiful and wonderful because you’re getting married.
We wedding blog folks are so surrounded with wedding photos and details, I think in a way we start to think weddings are… usual, or something. Un-special. Especially when we compare ours to all of the gorgeous or unique or expensive or handmade weddings we get to see all the time.But you don’t need all that junk to make your wedding special. Because it just is.” (quote from Liz, one of our past brides)
Wedding blogs are great (especially this one, duh!). They are full of ideas and inspirations for the wedding you are planning. They make you look forward to how great your wedding will be, and you’re thankful for a culture that shares and spreads ideas and how-to’s for the creation of your perfect day, done without having to hire a team of designers and being able to do it yourself, your way.
When Austin photographer Nadine emailed me a selection of her work, I was seriously excited. Not only does this girl have great flair and photographic style but she gets to photograph the coolest Rock n Roll couples!
“My style is unobtrusive and documentary… though I do throw in a few traditional shots in there to appease the older relatives,” she told me. “To me it’s all about moments. Grabbing the shot when people are unaware of you, so it’s truly the actual scene, frozen in time. I love how Joe Buissinck says: “To capture those moments, I would suggest that one should be in the moment.” So I try to get caught up in the flow of the wedding. To enjoy the happiness and love, even the drama that happens. I try to be swept away, and to photograph from inside those moments.”
“I think it’s important to keep a sense of playfulness about the work you’re doing, and it keeps me enjoying and in love with wedding photography.”
Be sure to go check out Nadine’s website and blog for more examples of her work. Her prices start from $1900 for wedding coverage and she is also available on an hourly rate of $300, with a minimum of 2 hours. Nadine would also like to offer the readers of Rock n Roll Bride 10% off any of her packages when booked before May 2011. Please quote ‘Rock n Roll Bride’ when contacting her to qualify.
She can be contacted by phone on 512 576 3558 or by emailing nadinestudio@gmail.com. Nadine Photography is based in Austin, Texas and is available for local and destination weddings.
Jennie & Mark’s country casual wedding took place at St. Andrew’s Church, Prestwold and Quorn Village Hall in Leicestershire in January. Jennie found her perfect dress at a boutique that was closing down so she got it for a great price.
The couple gave their guests the loose dress code of ‘country casual’ for the men and ‘tea dresses’ for the ladies. I’ve heard both sides of the story when it comes to asking guests to dress to fit a theme, but I do think the overall result is quite a beautiful one!
The majority of the reception décor was a DIY effort. Jennie had spent the week before decorating with birdcages, wild flowers, chinese lanterns, paper chains, handmade cushions and vintage knick-knacks which she’d collected herself (Jennie is now hiring out her beautiful collection to other brides, if you are interested in hiring any of the items for your own wedding, be sure to drop Jennie an email to jennie.preece@monsterenergy.com)
The day was a windy one (it was January after all!) so guests were treated to a warming hot chocolate on arrival at the hall. The couple served a hog roast in lieu of a traditional wedding breakfast and instead of dessert, everyone was asked to bake a cake to share! They even had a ‘Judge the Cake’ competition to finish the meal off! After the speeches and cake judging there was an enormous game of ‘Pass the Parcel’ among the 80 guests before the evenings entertainment kicked off with Leicester based Rock n Roll group ‘Daddy Longlegs’.
Lori & Nick were married in Hawaii in November and weren’t 100% happy with their professional photographs. While they were lovely, they didn’t have any pictures of Lori getting ready, and very few pictures that broke any boundaries.
Lori loved her dress, and she really wanted to have some more shots taken that she could really treasure, “That’s when they found me,” explained photographer Sarah Maren. “We got together at the lovely Citizen Hotel in downtown Sacramento where Lori and her Mom had spent a girls night.”
“We were able to get pictures of Lori’s Mom helping her get dressed (something she missed out on doing at the actual wedding because she was busy setting up the ceremony space.) We then braved the cold and rain and rocked out an incredible portrait session of this beautiful couple. We ended things under the freeway with Lori lying next to a drainage grate. It was perfect!”
It’s been another mental but fabulous week in the life of Rock n Roll Bride. First off I’ve been organising like mad thing for the Rock n Roll party in April. Applications for tickets are now closed and invites have been emailed to the lucky 200 today. I am so sorry for those of you that didn’t get a ticket but I had close to 500 applications (463 to be exact) and the venue only holds 200…next time I’m booking Wembley Stadium!
Please check your inboxes/junk folders/under your mattresses to see if you’ve got a ticket! I hope all the emails got through OK and I look forward to seeing you there.
I’ve also been frantically preparing myself for my first ever bridal show (well the first one where I’ve actually got a stand as opposed to just swanning around like I own the place!) This weekend I’m heading up to Birmingham for the most anticipated bridal show of the year – The Designer Vintage Bridal Show at Highbury Hall, which will be taking place on both Saturday and Sunday. To say I’m excited is a bit of an understatement! Tickets are still available online for just £8 (or £12 on the door).
I hope to see loads of you there. My stand will definitely be worth a visit as in lieu on anything to actually sell, I’m pretty much just transforming it into a pink sweet shop! Free sweeties for all….(bribery)
Until then, here are some more tasty treats for all to enjoy!
Jemima & Jacko’s vintage wedding took place in Australia in January. They wanted to create a wedding that was a true reflection of them as a couple and the vintage theme just fitted! “We started out wanting to have a feel that was uniquely ourselves. We wanted to do things differently but didn’t know how to go about it. In the end, we chose everything by our own taste and the whole vintage/antique theme just fell into place purely by accident,” Jemima told me.
The bride wore a genuine vintage dress and jewellery which she was gifted by a friend who owns a vintage store after she’d modelled for her. Her reception dress was by Fleur Wood. Jemima’s bridesmaid also wore a vintage dress from Ruby Lane and to keep the theme going, the couple made all their invitations using a vintage typewriter on hondmade paper, “Time consuming but really a joy to type up. Also cost effective” Jemima concluded.
Jazelyn & Darren’s modern vintage wedding took place in London in November. Their inspiration came from the fact that they are a young city couple, who somehow fell in love in London through chance. “He’s originally from Nottingham, England and I’m from the other side of the pond in Seattle, WA USA,” explained Jazelyn. “Our invitations had a London skyline and the top of it read: “Northern Lad and West Coast Lady”. Darren bought my engagement ring from Bentley and Skinner. And it’s a beautiful old-cut platinum solitaire from the 1920’s. Very vintage and unique. So that really was the start. We wanted a wedding that was very “us”. We planned it ourselves, down to every detail. Even the guest book… We wrote down personal questions on index cards and had friends answer them (ex: where do you see us in 10 years? what’s your favorite memory of us?) We wanted a mix of vintage and modern, mix of British and American, because that is us!”
The wedding day started at Chelsea Old Town Hall to sign their legal papers, they then moved to their religious ceremony at our Kingdom Hall off of Westbourne Grove. The reception was held at The Commander Porterhouse and Oyster Bar.
“I had two dresses,” continued the bride. “My first dress, a short Oscar De La Renta inspired dress (custom made by a seamstress I know) was used for our registry appointment and a photo shoot with Lauren straight after. And then I changed into my long dress for our religious wedding and reception. The long dress was made from 2 vintage dresses (circa 1920’s) I had bought on a trip back home to Seattle, WA USA from a charity shop. I brought them back to London and had my amazing seamstress put them together!”
“I wanted a really sweet fur cape or jacket and looked everywhere. I found such a sweet vintage fox cape in the Portobello Market (just around the corner from our house), for such a bargain! And I still wear it when we go out sometimes! It’s gorgeous. I found amazing Jimmy Choo (super sparkly) shoes that were perfect and just what I had been looking for for months (and my amazing fiancé bought them for me!). Can you believe it was actually HIS idea to go into Jimmy Choo to look? haha! Good man. But I wore my trusty uggs while tromping around the street hailing cabs.”
Sarah’s bridal shoot was super kick ass so I’m more than a little excited to be sharing her wedding today too. She married Barrett at Barr Mansion, Austin. She explained, “As for location, as I said several times, I didn’t want to be in the middle of a field with a bunch of grass and trees because that just isn’t me! I love cities and urban living and wanted my photos to reflect my love for those quirky little places you find around Austin.”
“I loved the recycling plant idea with those huge piles of twisted metal! My inspiration for my entire wedding look just came from my love for pin up girl looks along with the very intense desire to not look at my wedding photos in 20 years and say “Oh my gosh! What was I thinking wearing that ______ (insert crazy, over trendy item here)!” I truly wanted a look that was me, just prettier!”
Sarah wore a Pronovias gown with flat Irregular Choice shoes (my kinda gal!) and made her own bouquet from jewellery. ” My necklace was actually found at one of those crazy bridal extravaganzas from Stella Dot. Saw it there, tried it on, and decided within 5 minutes that it was THE necklace! My shoes were none other than Irregular Choice! Love them! I really wanted something fun, quirky, and comfortable…and flat, as Barrett is only about an inch taller than me!”
“The Great Gatsby was my inspiration (minus the abundance of alcohol and affairs!)” bride Katelyn told me. “Our style for our wedding was very glamorous, but not without that 1920’s quirk. I like to think my style is quirky too, so this was perfect for our wedding day. Plus, I love fashion and culture from the past! Now, I could never justify spending as much money on a party as Jay Gatsby, but I still wanted my reception to be as unique and fun. So, I replaced stuffy details like flowers with more lively ideas like bright peacock feathers, and I picked a beautiful venue (that happened to be brimming with vintage touches!) where everyone would feel at home – The Guild House, Bakersfield, CA.”
“The wonderful thing about our venue too is, unlike Gatsby’s money, ours is not wasted when spent at The Guild House. Every person working at house is a volunteer, and the proceeds benefit the Henrietta Weill Memorial Child Guidance Clinic. The multi-course meal was delicious, and I know Gatsby would have approved! The overflowing wine was purchased at a local grocer, Green Frog Market, and was absolutely wonderful as well!”
Katelyn wore a Maggie Sottero gown (these will always hold a special place in my heart as I was a “Maggie bride” too!) and carried a vintage brooch bouquet (some were antiques that had been in the family for over 100 years!) instead of a floral one which she made herself. The bride’s Mother made all of the centerpieces, boutonnières and other bouquets from feathers instead of flowers.
Rachael was married a year ago and fell pregnant right away so wasn’t able to do her bridal shoot straight after the wedding. These shots were taken a few months after her baby was born, and just over her 1 year anniversary.
“She is in love with vintage, 50’s style and we carried this theme into the feel of the shoot,” explained photographer Kat. “Between her half-veil, pin-up style curls and 2 vintage dresses, the feel of the session was designed to capture the fun, daring side of their love. Best of all, these photos were used as a gift to her husband for their 1-year honeymoon celebration.”
“The session was taken near the slums of San Antonio, TX – a perfectly unique side of town full of rebellion that mirrors her personality. Everything about this was designed to stand out and overflow with happiness and joy. We started the photo shoot in a hotel, where she got ready – a hotel appropriately called Hotel Indigo. The hotel has an antique-modern feel to it, it’s a gem that stands out in a city filled with commercialized hotels. She was wearing a vintage, 1950’s Sak’s Fifth Aveneue dress, as well as the original veil, jewellery and flower from her wedding day.”
“First off, Rachael is SUPER athletic! She was a pole-vaulter in her school years, and it was her idea to climb into the window for a few photos before jumping onto the bed. She got some damn good air – huh?? After that, she changed into another amazingly beautiful vintage dress (a green A-line) and we started our trek out to the streets. Before heading out, we stopped at the “indigo wall” at the hotel, where the sun was shining through the window just perfectly. We started the 2nd half of our session with some balloons and headed to Broadway St – by the landmark (and VERY old) Rodeo Motel. We would have gone inside but we were shooed away by the owner (haha!!).”
“The next stop was another very old building, which was recently purchased and renovated with some fantastically bright colors. The building is always a showcase for local graffiti artists, which the city promptly covers up with more paint. It was nice to see some of the graffiti faintly show through in the photos – mainly because Rachael and I both live in a very “uptight” part of Houston where tattoos and pinkish hair is most certainly frowned upon… And yet, Rachael stands out as a diamond in the rough… Just like the graffiti – no matter how much you try to cover up beauty, it always finds a way to shine. For the last leg of our session, we headed to some back alleys. Here, she really stood out with her bright dress and hair matched up against the dull and washed out city-buildings. Every part of the shoot was meant to celebrate her uniqueness, and to highlight how amazingly fun of a woman she is.”
Knot Couture is an Atlanta, GA based design house that specialises in “Custom Clothing for the Alternative Bride and Groom”. They are officially launching their Spring 2011 collection right here and as a special treat, they would like to give one lucky Rock n Roll Bride reader a FREE custom fit wedding dress!
Cindy Mason & Cherry Star
There are a total of 8 dresses in the Spring 2011 collection, and one additional haute couture piece called ‘Bambi’ (which is one-of-a-kind and NOT included in the giveaway). The winner of the contest gets to choose any one of the 8 gowns featured in Knot Couture’s Etsy shop, the dress choices include: Cherry Star, Crystal Dawn, Roxy Thrasher, Chastity Rose, Honey Meadow, Sierra Raven, Amber Haze and Cindy Manson. The dresses are valued between $500-$700!
Honey Meadow
The dress will be custom made to your specific measurements and you can even make slight alterations to the designs by making them a little longer or adding straps for example. Be sure to check out Knot Couture’s Etsy shop and the website for more info on the collection and for additional photos of each wonderful design.
Crystal Dawn & Roxy Thrasher
Check out this awesome video the super talented Erin & Nancy (the brains behind this operation) had made for this contest. I’m excited just watching it!
To enter simply, go check out all the wonderful designs on the Knot Couture website and comment below and tell us why YOU deserve a free wedding dress
This contest is open worldwide. Shipping is free of charge to the continental United States, a $20 shipping fee for international clients must be paid via paypal to Knot Couture.
Contest closes on the Tuesday 22nd February 2011 and the winner will be announced in Thursday Treats on Thursday 24th February
I am a huge Feather Love Photography fan…HUGE. So when photographer Noa emailed me last week asking if I’d like to feature her newest wedding – I didn’t even have to look at the images to know that I would. Then, when she informed me that this intimate waterside wedding included a bride wearing an incredible vintage hat…complete with birds AND a vintage green veil – well as you can imagine, I practically squealed with excitement.
Lisa & Theis were married in November on Malibu Pier, CA by followed by a small, informal dinner at Beachcomber Restaurant. “Our officiant was our dear friend Bill Handley, who is a literature professor at the University of Southern California,” expalined Lisa. “Bill sponsored Theis to come to the US (he is originally from Denmark) as a visiting scholar in 2009 and has been an important mentor to me in my academic career.”
Lisa wore a dress from J Crew which she had altered to add straps and of course that awesome bird hat! It was custom-made especially for Lisa by Brenda Waites Bolling, a milliner with a store at the Plaza Shops in New York City. She also added a unique green veil, which her Mother had found on eBay. It was dated back to 1831 and originally belonged to a woman named Elizabeth Litchfield, who received it as a gift from her “Aunt Ret,” according to the message inside the box that it came in.
“Theis and I met on Labor Day 2009 at a friend’s bbq,” Lisa told me. “We had both just moved to Los Angeles: I was beginning my PhD in Creative Writing and English Literature at USC, and Theis was a visiting scholar, at USC for six months to do research for his master’s thesis in Comparative Literature. I am originally from Chicago, but I had spent the previous six years in New York City; Theis is from northern Denmark, but had lived in Copenhagen for the previous six years. We fell deeply in love almost immediately, and became engaged in December 2009; Theis came home with me for Christmas and proposed to me in my childhood bedroom.”
“Theis’ visa ended in January, and he had to return to Denmark. For the next nine months, we conducted our love affair at a transatlantic long distance. We Skyped twice a day, at 9 AM and midnight California time, to cope with the nine-hour time difference. We also began the lengthy process of bringing Theis back to the United States legally. I was lucky enough to be able to visit Denmark twice, in March and July, and meet Theis’s wonderful family and friends. Despite growing up very far from each other, Theis and I have found we have a remarkable number of things in common, and we attribute some of our similarity to how alike north Denmark and the upper American Midwest are. Both places have long, cold winters, beautiful vibrant summers, and a strong emphasis on family and community. We also share a great love of literature, cinema and music, and a devoted belief in the other’s talents.”
“In October 2010, Theis was finally able to return to the US on a fiance visa. We wanted our wedding to be intimate and beautiful, a relaxing day on which we could celebrate our greatest dream coming true: being together. We had initially planned to have the ceremony in Griffith Park, but our desire to have dinner at Saddle Peak Lodge (saddlepeaklodge.com) made us decide to change the location to the Malibu Pier, a beautiful place that Theis and I had visited together several times in the first few months of our relationship. It turned out to be the perfect setting, very calm on the day before Thanksgiving. In the company of my parents and sister and our friend Bill Handley, we were married on the pier. We read the Walt Whitman poem “To A Stranger” to each other as vows.”
“Afterwards we had oysters and champagne with my family at the great Beachcomber Restaurant on the pier. It was a beautiful day.”
Renae & Albert were married on 10.10.10 in Australia. Their 5 minute ceremony took place on Renae’s parent’s porch and their reception was held in a renovented old pub in Caboolture Historical Village, Australia. They were supposed to be married at a secluded park and creek at Rocksberg but due to torrential rains, it got flooded so had to be moved. “We could not even get to the suburb let alone the park,” Renae told me. “Many tears were had the day before the wedding but my parents stepped up and offered their place. They actually had a friend’s wedding there the day before ours.”
“We wrote our own vows which included Albert accepting he may come second to our dogs (on occasions) and me promising to look interested when he starts talking about tranestification of lipid analysis of fatty acids. Everyone had a laugh and it really did summarised us and our relationship.”
The bride wore a custom-made dress, made for her my a friend of her Mother. She explains “The first day I got engaged I googled ‘1950 wedding dresses’ and the first picture was the dress I wanted. It was in the UK and there was no way I could get it to Australia. A friend’s Mum offered to make it for me (along with the changes I needed) I think by the end she was not a fan of all the petticoats! I was a bit sick the week before the wedding (it was not the hen night I swear) and lost quite a bit of weight. I tried hard to put it back on (thanks hun for the pop tarts) but the dress still did not fit me as perfect as it once had. I still loved the dress and would not have changed it.” With her perfect gown she added a handmade headpiece, made for her by her sister Lucy and made from an antique brooch she brought in the Barossa Valley SA Australia.
It was important to Ranae that her bridesmaid’s were happy and comfortable. They even got to carry the cutest accessory going – Renae’s doggies! “The girls had a variety of shapes and sizes and I was stressing to get one that suited all. I found a dress I loved and that was it. They came from a random outlet shops and I brought one for myself. One of my bridesmaids was not keen on the dress or the sizing. I called the supplier and all the stores that stocked the dresses but they were all sold out, so we were going to get them tailored. Luckily the same store had the dresses 6 months later and it was all sorted out. While on honeymoon we were in Laos and we saw another traveller wearing the same dress! The necklaces were from an amazing artist Kurt Halsey and I used some of his art around my wedding (table decorations, order of service, invites etc). I also have a tattoo of his work on my arm.”
“My three dogs (Two Chihuahuas, Pikelet and Biscuit, and Cricket the Daschund) were the girls’ accessories. They had custom black leather collars, decorated with their names in diamantes!”
The couple put a lot of effort into their reception details, DIYing most of it. Renae explained, “I made personalised nametags for everyone that included conversation starters eg. Hi my name is Renae and I am the bride. If I was a camel would I rather eat ice cream of yoghurt? Albert is a forensic chemist so we had old chemistry glassware on the tables filled with coloured water and assorted beans. We also had a giant 20L beaker that held the order of service memos. We tried to keep it an eco green wedding wherever possible. I did not buy anything that could not be used again. My invitations were made out of recycled beer labels and we gave rosemary seedlings as wedding favours. I hand made hundreds of origami paper cranes to scatter down the isle and hang from the trees. Because of the weather we ended up handing them out and filling assorted glassware with them. We had a Photobooth! It was so awesome and it made the best guestbook.”
“We made a gag prop box and we have the funniest photos. Albert loves tequila and we had a tequila toast. Even our fathers got in on it. Lolly table! Everyone loved it. I had little bags and everyone got to take some home (except us). The wishing well. I have a small collection of vintage containers and wanted to incorporate them. I decided to use my four pack (flour, sugar, tea and salt) and label them. As Albert and myself have been living together for some time we have everything you could need. We thought it would be better for everyone to see where the cash goes so we had: Mortgage, House and Garden, Honeymoon and Shits and Giggles.”
After Tuesday’s wedding blogger’s shoot came Mark Niemierko‘s Valentine’s Party, hosted by Caroline Burstein of Browns Bride (pictured above). Let me get one thing straight here… I was more than a little bit surprised to receive an invite to such an event.
“Seriously? Me? a pink (well rainbow) haired slightly-punky-in-no-way ‘high end’ wedding blogger…really?! You want ME so come and cover the event? Erm… OK then” Was pretty much the thought process I had when the invitation landed through my door.
So it was with some trepidation that I headed to Browns Bride in Marylebone, London on Tuesday evening accompanied by a couple of the girls also involved in the blogger’s shoot. We were a little late (photo shoots never run to time + taxi fail!) but as soon as I arrived a cocktail was thrust in my hand (hey, I could get used to this!) and Mark excitedly told me all about what was going on…who I simply must meet…why he was so excited to be working with wedding bloggers…and which dresses I should try on (OK I made that last bit up. The room was filled with Oscar de la Renta, Monique Luillier, Peter Langner, Carolina Herrera and Vera Wang, a girl can dream right?!)
It was great to meet so many people including Helen, the bride-to-be who won my competition to attend (well now she’s a newlywed as she got married on Saturday…and yes I’ve told he she must send me the photos. After hearing all about her plans I am very excited to see them indeed!)
But that’s not all. I am thrilled to reveal that not only did they actually let me in the door (!) but Mark commissioned the fabulous Allora Visuals to create a special behind the scenes video EXCLUSIVELY (yeah big letters…I’m that excited) for Rock n Roll Bride. That’s pretty darn ace huh! You won’t see this video anywhere else. Rock n Roll Bride is where it’s at baby…
(You should spot a familiar face at about 1 min 39!)
I’m a little bit gutted that I wasn’t able to get in the interview video (boohoohoo I hate being late) but luckily for you lot, Mark still sent it over to me so share with you all.
…And, in case you’re interested, my perfect Valentine’s Day would be pink champagne, a thai take away and a movie marathon with Gareth & the kittens. And my prediction for 2011 wedding trends would be that we’ll be seeing a lot more opulence and extravagance in weddings, but still with quirky, DIY and Rock n Roll touches. It will definitely still be all about the personal details and putting your own stamp on your wedding day… just with a little bit of Marie Antoinette thrown in for good measure!
Be sure to check out all the photos…this is the wedding elite right here…and me! haha
So last Tuesday I headed up to Luella’s Boudoir in Wimbledon to meet the all time UK wedding blogging greats. I’d had this little idea to organise a photo shoot with all my favourite wedding bloggers and some amazing suppliers (of course!) late last year and I was so excited to see it all pulled off. A lot of organisation went into this day and I’m so thrilled with how it all turned out.
One word – EPIC!
My little idea turned into a day-long shoot fest of love (there was some seriously gushing “OMG I love your blog, it’s so great to meet you in real life”) and amazing teamwork. I am literally chomping at the bit to share the final images (shot on a Hasselblad no less…more on this + how on earth we got our hands on one to come!) and the incredible behind the scenes video (and it is believe me!)
Gush gush gush!
After the shoot, I was whisked off to Mark Niemierko’s Valentines Party at Browns Bride. All the details on this fabulous party will be hitting the blog later today.
HUGE LOVE to everyone that was involved on the day (full list below – check them out!) and stand by for the final epic reveal next Monday 9am. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK. So excited!!
