Inspired by Wes Anderson, Jennie and Fergus planned a quirky wedding at Camp and Furnace in Liverpool. “Our wedding was Wes Anderson themed in the sense that small nods ran through the venue decoration, entertainment and outfits”, the groom explained. “We’re both massive fans of his films and the level of set design minutiae that goes into them lent itself quite nicely to an underlying theme for a wedding.”

“We used an Etsy-bought illustration of Moonrise Kingdom for our save the dates; had vintage film style cinema ticket invites and our wedding planner organised a Fantastic Mr Fox style wedding breakfast. We showed a few of the films in a little cinema corner we had set up and Jennie made pocket squares from fox print fabric for the groomsmen. Our favours, which Jennie also made, were fabric bookmarks with Wes Anderson film motifs on them.”

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When I think about the most alternative wedding suppliers in the UK, I always think of Sassy of Assassynation Photography and Jo from The Couture Company. These bodacious babes are repping the alt bridal world like NOBODY ELSE! Co-founders of the Eclectic Wedding Extravaganza (taking place in Birmingham next month) they wanted to do this photo shoot to showcase some of the coolest wedding stuff out there right now.

“I was bowled over when I discovered Tattlights“, said Sassy, “and I really wanted to do a shoot pulling together some of the awesome creatives types from our wedding show.”

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One of the things I get asked about more than anything else is my hair and some of the most popular articles I’ve ever written are about it too. Maybe I should just ditch the whole wedding thing and become a hair blogger instead!? HA!

Maybe not, but I got so many questions when I posted about my new pink-blue do, that I figured I’d do a quick Q&A.

How much does it cost to get your hair dyed?

The cost will vary depending on where you are based, the products used, the length of your hair and the expertise of your stylist. I get my roots bleached every 8-10 weeks at Blue Mango Salon in London, by Elbie. Elbie is at the top of her game, specialises in unnaturally coloured hair and is based in London, so the price I pay reflects that. Bleach, Olaplex (more on that below), cut and colour costs me around £150 a time.

I love the idea of having colourful hair but am holding off because I don’t want to destroy my locks with bleach. Any ideas on how to dye my hair a funky colour without bleaching it first?

The short answer is, unless your hair is naturally very light blonde, you can’t. Unnaturally coloured dyes such as blue, purple, green, pink etc only show up on light bases so the blonder you can get your hair before you add colour, the brighter the result will be. If your hair is light brown, some colour MAY take, but you certainly won’t get the vibrant results you want.

My hair is naturally very, very dark brown (see!) and it taken a long time to get it light enough to hold the colour that it does. When it comes to putting bleach on your hair I would always recommend going to a professional. Take that from a girl who used to bleach hers herself and completely destroyed it! You may also need to bleach it slowly over time to get it light enough (in order to keep it healthy) before you can get it to the colour you’re hoping for.

I also can not rave about the magical properties of Olaplex enough! It is a 3-step salon product meaning you need to go to a hairdressers that carries it to have it done. When your stylist uses it with bleach, it not only enables you to get your hair lighter in way less time, but it also protects it from the bleach’s damaging effects and repairs past damage. It is truly AMAZING and since using it, my hair is in almost as good condition as it was before bleach came anywhere near my head.

Olaplex isn’t cheap. The treatment on hair my length is £50 on top of the usual cost of having it dyed, and a 100ml bottle of the Step 3 (which you use regularly at home) is £37. I know this sounds mega expensive but it is soooo worth it. The instant Elbie used Olaplex on my hair it felt softer, smoother and unbelievably silky – and it’s stayed like that ever since. As long as you regularly use No. 3 in between going to your stylist to have your roots done, there’s no reason your hair shouldn’t stay happy and healthy forever!

What products did you use? Your hair always looks absolutely beautiful!

I think a lot of people think you can just bleach the shit out of your hair and then go back to using you supermarket shampoo and all will be fine. This is certainly not the case.

I want my hair to look the best it possibly can so I invest in the products I put on it. For shampoo I use Redken Extreme and for conditioner I rotate between Redken Extreme Strength Builder and Moroccanoil Intense Hydrating Mask. I also use Redken One United and Hask Placenta (which are both leave in conditioners) on my hair when its wet and a heat protector spray before I blow dry. I use Olaplex Step 3 about once a week as well.

Have a chat to your hairdresser though and ask for their recommendations. Everybody’s hair is different and other products may be more suitable for you.

I love the idea of having rainbow hair but I can’t be bothered faffing around with dying it every few weeks. Your hair is always so bright, do you just dye it all the time?

I used to but since discovering oVertone I NEVER HAVE TO DYE MY HAIR between root touch-ups! It’s a colour-depositing conditioner that comes in a range of unnatural colours (red, blue, teal, pink, purple, orange, yellow, green, silver) that are made to fight the fade. I use it every time I wash my hair, after shampooing and before I use a deep conditioner.

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Jenny and Steve were married at The Electric Cinema, the UKs oldest cinema, in Birmingham. “We’d have loved to have a festival style wedding”, said the bride. “We love going to festivals, seeing live music and I’m a big hippy at heart. However due to our budget and in the light of keeping things simple and as stress-free as possible, we had to ditch this idea.”

“It was really important to me that we handmade as much as we could. I’m pretty thrifty and I love making and creating! We are Brummies through and through and it made perfect sense to us to have hold our creative wedding in the heart of our fair city. Our wedding definitely had a 70s vintage vibe with my vintage dress, the flower crowns, sunflowers, bunting and camper van.”

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There are so many things I love about this photo shoot. The mood, the fog, slightly gothic vibe without being over the top… I just know you’re going to love it too.

“Wedding after wedding this year was blush, greys, and soft whites”, stylist Lauren explained. “They’re all very beautiful but we were ready to play around with something a little edgier for a change.”

“We found this dark metal, highly detailed crown and it got our minds reeling and dreaming of a moody, romantic, Lady of the Lake themed shoot. Once the concept was born, I pulled together some of my very favourite vendors to help make it a reality. We found a model with icy grey long hair and skin to die for. The Daughters of Simone gown we chose felt both current and old worldly at the same time. It also and allowed for light to filter through in the most fabulous way.”

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New Yorkers Jen and Drew nearly met through a friend who tried to set them up on a blind date, however Jen wasn’t into the idea. However, as luck would have it, about a month later they met at a party and really hit it off. I guess that friend says”I told you so” to them a lot now!

The were married in Brooklyn, at the Wythe Hotel which was originally a factory on the Williamsburg waterfront. The building was constructed in 1901 and has recently been converted into a 70-room hotel. The urban vibe was perfect for their modern themed day. “Our wedding was inspired by the beautiful simplicity of the hotel”, said the bride, “industrial meets modern. We used fresh, light, airy colours meets glitzy, glam sparkles. We embraced the neighbourhood (graffiti, ‘hipsters’, view of the city) and brought it into all aspects of the day. Both of us grew up in small country towns, where our families still reside, so we wanted them to experience ‘our city’.”

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Jessica and Eldon’s wedding was small, simple and fun. Their ceremony was held at Toronto city hall and afterwards the all rode bikes to their reception!

“I think what mattered most to us was that the wedding stay simple, be enjoyable for everyone involved and to reflect who we are”, explained the bride. “We tried to keep things interactive and celebratory (bike rides, confetti, noise-makers, champagne) and use spaces within our community that are frequented by us and our friends. After the ceremony we went to Dufferin Grove Park for pictures and our reception was at a restaurant we love called Me & Mine.”

“We both have such creative, talented and intelligent friends it’s really hard to see ourselves as ‘alternative’ or ‘unique’,” she continued. “We certainly we’re driven by the need to be different. Our wedding wasn’t traditional or formal simply because we’re not traditional or formal people. Eldon and I and our friends use bikes as a regular mode of transportation so it only seemed natural to use bike to get from City Hall to the restaurant. And who could pass up the opportunity to travel en-masse with their friends and family in a wedding day bike parade?”

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Unless you’ve been living in a hole with no WiFi for the past six months, you’ve probably already heard that I’m partnering with The National Wedding Show this season to create the Rock n Roll Bride collection, an alternative wedding showcase at their spring shows!

Let’s be honest, there are a lot of wedding fairs to choose from. Big ones, local ones, hipster ones, vintage ones, alternative ones… you’ve never had so much choice. So how on earth are you supposed to know which ones to actually go to? Well, today I want to let you know five reasons why I think you should come to this one!

1. The sheer size 

I love the cool, quirky, alt wedding fairs, but you just can’t beat The National Wedding Show for the sheer number of exhibitors. Not only is it taking place in three locations – Manchester, London and Birmingham – three consecutive weekends, but each show has over 300 exhibitors! Sure, not all of them will be your cup of tea, but if you want to go somewhere to see a hell of a lot of wedding ideas in one place, this is where you need to be.

2. Meet some amazing alternative suppliers!

In the past I’ve left many wedding shows always wishing there were more interesting and unusual suppliers to see. But that’s now all changing with the addition of the Rock n Roll Bride collection at The National Wedding Show.

I am in charge of the coolest area going, one that will showcase awesome bridal gowns, quirky wedding cakes, fabulous stationery, colourful jewellery and amazing photography. So far we have awesome exhibitors such as Crown and Glory, Jason Charles Jewellery, Leonie Claire Bridal Boutique, Claire Hill Design, Av A Go Booth, Art Cuts, Revival Live Productions and The Case of the Curious Bride… but that’s just for starters! You can see the full list of exhibitors right here.

If you have a wedding business yourself, we still have a few more stands available (particularly for Manchester – come on Northern contingent, don’t let us down!) If you’re interested in taking part, simply email sales@nationalweddingshow.co.uk or call 0207 772 8455. I’ll be at every show too and I can’t wait to talk about you on my social media throughout the weekend!

3. The largest selection of wedding dresses

Finding your dream wedding dress can be a long and laborious process, but the National Wedding Show has one of the largest collections of bridal gowns all in one place.

Featuring a Bridal Zone, Designer Boutique and Bridal Boutique, they bring together an unrivalled selection of bridal shops and designer labels, with something to cater for every taste, budget and style. From mainstream brands to designer labels and made-to-measure, the show holds the UK’s largest collection of wedding dresses under one roof.

You’ll be able to try on as many dresses as you like, with no appointments necessary. This is also the perfect opportunity to buy your dress as many exhibitors will be running exclusive show-only discounts and offers that you won’t find anywhere else.

4. DIY Workshops

One of the things I’m most excited about in the Rock n Roll Bride Collection, is the addition of workshops that you can take part in.

Nestled within the Rock n Roll Bride Café (yes, we get our own café!!) you’ll be able to take part in DIY wedding workshops – taking place on each day of the event. You will be able to choose between three sessions: creating quirky stationery, a cocktail masterclass (ahem, that’s where I’ll be) or a cupcake decorating workshop.

Workshops are free to take part in a first come, first served basis. They will take place at 11am, 2pm, and 3pm.

5. Come hang out with me!

I don’t want to toot my own horn too much, but I’m pretty cool and I love to meet my readers! I will be at all of the shows and I would be so thrilled to meet you. Selfies are always encouraged too so please don’t be shy!

If you haven’t been able to grab a copy of the magazine yet, we’ll be selling them on our stand where you’ll also be able to try on and order pieces from my veil collection with Crown and Glory. We are even working on an exclusive design that you will only be able to buy at the show!

Win a pair of tickets!

Just to prove how much I want you there, today am giving away five pairs of tickets to the show of your choice.

To enter, all you have to do is comment below and tell me what part of the event you’re most looking forward to. You have one week to enter, until Tuesday 2nd February, and the winner will be contacted via email with information on how to claim their prize.

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I have been a long-time Kitty & Dulcie fan. Stylish and quirky wedding dresses under £400 might seem too good to be true, but I promise it’s not! Today sees the launch of their newest collection, Ruby Bloom, and I’m pleased as punch to be sharing them.

The collection comprises of four fashionably stunning, retro-inspired dresses which can be purchased exclusively via kittyanddulcie.com.

Crimson Doll Bridal Gown – £395

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Nicole and James set £5000 as the budget for their September wedding, and remarkably they actually spent less than that! Having the day at a village hall, hiring a fish n chip van for catering, and asking guests to bring along dessert, was how they saved the majority of their money. They also didn’t spent a lot on fancy outfits.

“We’ve been to a LOT of weddings, so we had strong feelings about what we didn’t want for ours” Nicole began. “Probably our first decisions were what we wouldn’t have – speeches (boring and cringe), a seating plan (we like relaxed, informal affairs) or chair covers (yuk!) By knowing they were off the table, our more unusual wedding was the only way to go really. I think because we’d been together for so long (we met when we were 17!) we didn’t feel as much pressure to follow traditions that we didn’t see the point of.”

“We didn’t have a theme, just stuff we liked that we hoped would look OK when it was all in the same room!” she said. “It ended up a bit of a mix of Batman, dinosaurs, festivals, rock music, cake, dancing and games. Somehow it all came together and looked good! We took inspiration from lots of places including Rock n Roll Bride but we never got bogged down in what would ‘go’.”

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I’ve followed Helen Anderson; YouTuber, Instagram megastar and all round cool girl, for a few years now. I think I first found her when she did a video about how to get pink hair or something! I secretly always thought she was funny, awesome and that if we met we’d probably hit it off immediately.

When she got engaged last year I tweeted her to say congrats and offered to send her a magazine, and to my utter surprise she not only replied, but told me she’d been reading my blog for years too! What followed was a whirlwind internet romance of mutual fangirling (we’re both not ashamed to admit that we’re a little bit obsessed with each other – ha!) and messages like “OMG one day we have to actually meet OK?”

Then, a couple of weeks ago, she emailed me to ask if I’d like to film a video with her all about planning a festival wedding. It took me approximately 5 seconds to reply and we arranged for her to come down to Reading for the interview at my house following week!

As you can see, my predictions were very much correct. I LOVE her. Like, I’m pretty sure we’re officially best friends already. I’ve invited her to the National Wedding Show to come and hang out again too, so it’s not too long until we get to meet again. Yay, aren’t new friends just the best?

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Tara and Aaron had a woodland wedding in Canada. They wanted their day to feel natural, organic and to be as enjoyable for their guests as possible. “The theme for the day was really brought to life when I chose my wedding dress”, Tara said. “It was dip-dyed so that it had a very subtle purple ombre. That was the moment that our colour palette was chosen. We used lavender, grey, white and green. We wanted everything to look very natural since we were in the woods.”

The wedding was held at Sunwolf, a five acre woodland setting in the Coast Mountains, an hour from Vancouver. “Our wedding venue was beautiful on its own, so we didn’t need to overshadow that with any bright colours or over the top decorations. I think understated and ‘accidental’ beauty is often much harder to pull off than extravagant beauty. We wanted the event to be beautiful, but to feel natural and effortless, like it just kind of happened that way. We also loved the idea of using light to decorate. I wanted chandeliers in the trees during the ceremony to create a fun juxtaposition of nature meets elegance. I had no idea the chandeliers were actually going to light up; I didn’t learn that until I was walking down the aisle with my parents. I was just blown away by how something so simple could add so much to an outdoor space.”

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There’s just something about a Vegas elopement. Yes, for many people it might seem like a cliché, but I never fail to get excited about seeing a super cool, super in love couple getting hitched on their own terms. After all, there’s nowhere else in the world quite like Las Vegas!

“Our inspiration was Ainsley and Sebastian’s epic Vegas elopement AKA the coolest wedding you’ve ever blogged!” said Linda. “We had a trip to the US booked but weren’t planning on getting married there, in fact we weren’t even going to Vegas! One day, I was scrolling your blog, saw their wedding and showed it to Dan. We decided then and there to use the trip as an excuse to get married! When we saw that wedding blog we knew that it’s what we wanted to do too! We basically owe it to your blog that we got married at all and had the wedding that we did!”

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Helen and Mike had a homemade wedding in Slough, Berkshire. With just £3000 to spend they knew they had to do a lot of things themselves, and they relished that fact!

“We described our wedding as rickety, homemade, chaotic and lovely!”, said the bride. “We just wanted a day that reflected us. We don’t enjoy fine dining or formal event and we have been to so many weddings where you walk into the venue and see no sign of personality of the bride and groom. We wanted people to walk into our venue and think ‘This is so Helen and Mike’.”

“I feel like we saved money on every aspect of our wedding. Everyone who knows us is aware that we love our charity shops and jumble sales and enjoy being thrifty, so all the little details of the wedding came from second-hand shops or were homemade. Our biggest expense was feeding our 150 guests but instead of traditional caterers we had a fish n chip van and an ice cream van. I bought a pop corn maker and had boxes of popping corn so people could make their own pop corn during the drinks reception. These were all cheaper options and way more fun!”

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Philip and Stacy pulled off their awesome steampunk inspired wedding for just £5000! “Our venue, Papplewick Pumping Station was the perfect backdrop for a steampunk wedding”, the bride said. “The theme inspired the groomsmen’s styling. The bridal party were more traditional, but with an alternative twist, much to the surprise of my family who assumed I would wear a gothic or neon pink dress!”

“We both wanted the celebration of our marriage to be fun and memorable”, she continued. “The reception was akin to a children’s party with candy floss, lucky bags, games and toys. We gave guests raffle tickets at the ceremony, and during the speeches we drew it. The prizes were various toys and games we had collected in the previous year.”

“To keep costs to a manageable level, the majority of our accessories, such as the groomsmen’s buttonholes, were DIY. My Auntie and I had a crafty week before the wedding where we made the order of services booklets and customised all the bridal party accessories. We even bought a cheap bunch of roses to make a few buttonholes and for some guests which was the only expense on fresh flowers. My own bouquet consisted of skull buttons and feathers!”

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Although I spend most of my working week in sweatpants with only my cats for company, sometimes I’m lucky enough to be invited to visit people in much more glamorous locations. OK so the Holloway Road in London isn’t technically a very glam spot, but nestled in amongst the tattoo shops and greasy spoon cafés is a retro-lover’s oasis – Vivien of Holloway!

No doubt you’ve heard of them before. Their dresses are known far and wide as some of the best around. They have 12 main styles, and each of them comes in a huge range of different colours and prints, meaning they’re basically perfect for alternative bridesmaid outfits!

But did you know they also sell tops, cardigans, jeans and the dreamiest, fluffiest rainbow petticoats on the planet? They even have a wedding dress collection which starts from a mind-boggling £89! Best of all, everything is made right here in London.

I was in heaven… and overwhelmed with the choice. I wanted to try on EVERYTHING. Luckily I had shop assistants, Laura and Sandy, to help me narrow things down.

My go-to style is usually a maxi skirt and tee-shirt, but I also love the classic 50s shape. So that’s where we started. As soon as I slipped the halterneck wedding dress on I felt like a retro princess. We teamed it with a pink sash to match my shoes and a teal petticoat to match my hair.

I did NOT want to take this outfit off. If it was socially acceptable to rock a wedding dress every day of my life, this is the one I’d wear. Comfortable, classic and it gives you a killer shape. I literally could not believe it when they told me it cost £99. I was sure there had to be a zero missing off the end.

After I’d finished swishing and twirling away for a good 20 minutes, I was reluctantly ready to take it off and try something else. “Let’s do something fun!” I said, and to me, fun means SKULLS!

I went for the exact same shape dress but this time in the ‘pirate’, 100% cotton, fabric. Seriously, how amazing would your bridesmaids look in this? Maybe all wearing different coloured petticoats? Cuuuuute! The fabric also comes in tops, skirts and other shaped dresses too, all of which probably need to get in my wardrobe immediately.

I was ready to switch it up with a circle skirt and top for my next try on, and how could I resist this pink cat print? Did they design this with me in mind or what?

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Nay and Oli planned to marry in Vegas on a family holiday in October. “We decided to tie our wedding into a family trip to Vegas for my father’s 60th birthday,” the bride explained. “The priority for us was no fuss, we’d already hijacked the family holiday, we wanted it quick and simple.  We decided to do it this way as I thought it’d be a crime to go to Vegas and not get married, so I proposed to Oli using a ring which a jeweller friend had made, and stuck it in a fortune cookie which I’d made and decorated with our three year old son!”

“As weddings go, you don’t really have to have a big budget in Vegas, it’s all so cheap!” she continued. “We spent $60 on a marriage license and $170 on the ceremony which including the added extra of 18 (cheesy) photos. We originally weren’t going to get another photographer, but in the end we changed our minds and I’m so glad we did! Our families paid for her as our wedding gift.”

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There’s nothing quite like a circus wedding! The fashion designer bride made her own dress as well as her groom’s attire, and the bridesmaid dresses. She also did all the reception décor, what a wonder woman!

“Our wedding was very colourful”, said bride, Yasmin. “I create 350 decorated hats for the guests. The wedding was very unique and wild. We had circus acts that entertained the crowd and no-one was expecting it!”

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There’s definitely a fascination with Marilyn going on at the moment. Just two weeks ago I shared a shoot recreating her wedding, and today I have another, this time of some of her most iconic boudoir photo shoots!

The concept and styling came from the mind of Corie of Vigilante Cosmetics. It was photographed by William of Six Hearts Photography and the model was his wife Schellie! “I wanted to do this shoot because it turned me on”, William explained.

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Anna and James were married in Anna’s parents’ garden. After the ceremony they hosted their village fête inspired reception at Elham Village Hall.

“Above all we wanted a celebratory feel, and for everyone to have a fun and relaxed day”, began the bride. “We wanted a combination of natural, relaxed, homely, village fête style, and also some really heartfelt bits with personal vows and our love story during the ceremony.”

“There were quite a few musical performance elements throughout the day. For example, dancing entrances by the groom and groomsmaids (to the track Whatta Man), and the bridespeople (to the track I’m Every Woman). We also also sang during our vows to our favourite duet, Islands in the Stream. We also put on a surprise choreographed dance to Gett Off by Prince to kick off the dancing later! Plus we had a walking New Orleans-style jazz band to take us from the garden to the village hall. Lots of people from the village came out to watch, which was really lovely.”

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