Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Kat

The Ace Hotel is… er… Ace!

Kat

April 15, 2013

Booking a hotel as your wedding venue is no longer the number one choice for engaged couples. The bland conference-style rooms, the package deals and the dodgy carpet have fallen out of favour, and somewhere with more personality, where they can really put their own stamp on their day, has taken it's place. In many instances this bad rep is understandable. I've visited more soulless and lacklustre hotel wedding venues charging extortionate rates than I'd care to admit. Luckily these days, brides & grooms seem to be quickly realising that they don't have to go with a traditional wedding venue, and smaller spaces like studios, pubs, restaurants and galleries are getting more of a look in.
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The Photography Farm & The Catastrophic Rise of the Styled Wedding Shoot

Kat

Devlin Photos

April 15, 2013

The Photography Farm is a three-day workshop for wedding photographers, hosted by Lisa Devlin on a beautiful 12-acre farm near Gatwick. I've been involved with The Farm since it's inception, helping to style the shoots and speaking to the 'farmers' about blogging, working with wedding blogs, advertising & marketing and building a successful online brand. I love The Farm. It's quickly become my home away from home, a place I look forward to escaping to and somewhere I get to meet a whole host of new and exciting emerging wedding photography talent. I always leave the safe confines of the 16th century farmhouse with a head full of ideas, a new jolt of inspiration and a renewed invigoration for where the UK wedding industry is heading.
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Homespun DIY Wedding with a Tattoo Booth: Katie & Michael

Kat

Homer Horowitz

April 13, 2013

A simple and low-key wedding at home was just the ticket for Katie & Michael, who were married in October last year. The day was held at Katie's parent's house and the entire thing was planned by the couple themselves. Katie put her own wedding outfit together from an American Eagle cream crochet top, a matching crochet skirt and vintage cowboy boots. Each piece only cost $25 each and were sown together to create a dress by Michael's mother.
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Offline

Kat

April 11, 2013

It’s getting to be quite the regular occurrence for me when I’m travelling. Every time I return home after some far flung adventure, I start to daydream about the benefits of spending less time online and more time, you know, actually out living my life. I don’t know if it’s the sunshine, spending so much time with friends or all the new experiences, but I always land at Heathrow with a surge of ambition to spend more time away from the artificial glare of my computer screen.
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Networking Like a Pro

Kat

Sacco & Sacco

April 9, 2013

Another one of those topics that I seem to get asked about over and over is networking. "How do I get my name out there?", "How do I network without coming across as a a weirdo?" and "How do I get people to know I exist?!" With the majority of us doing a most of our business online these days, thinking about networking and meeting people 'in real life' can be a scary and intimidating thing. But (and this is a big but!) I honestly believe that getting my backside off my computer, out of the safe confines of my house and going to meet people in real life was the number one thing which truly got my name out there
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Bespoke Illustrated Wedding Stationery from Story House

Kat

April 9, 2013

I loved art at school, and while it was clear from an early age that I had very little obvious talent myself, an appreciation for it - in whatever medium - certainly didn't pass me by. In fact used to lie on my bed as a lovestruck teenager, desperately attempting to create sketches and renderings of my celebrity crushes (don't ask), hanging them on my bedroom wall with such pride, despite their lack of accuracy. I experimented with drawing, painting, charcoals, cross stitch (again, don't ask!) and finally photography. As I said, I was never really very good at any of them, but the desire to tell stories in my own haphazard way was something that I always felt I needed to do. Thank God I discovered writing later in life or I might still be plaguing the world with my sketches of Christian Slater...
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Private Island Retreat Wedding: Sana & Derek

Kat

HRM

April 8, 2013

Sana & Derek were married on an island. Artscape Gibraltar Point is located in the former Toronto Island Public and offers 35,000 square feet of affordable retreat space, artist studios and accommodations for artists and creative thinkers. The tranquil and idyllic setting was perfect for their intimate and artistic wedding. The day started with the entire wedding party taking the ferry over to the island together. "We knew immediately that we wanted to hold the wedding on the island - it's the perfect escape from Toronto, and a place where we have spent countless summer days swimming, biking and hanging out on the beach," wrote Sana. "Artscape had the perfect laid-back and nostalgic feeling that we wanted in a venue, and they even let us have a bonfire outside on the beach!"
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A Macabre Sweeney Todd Inspired Wedding Shoot: Amy & Paul

Kat

Assassynation

April 5, 2013

I'm not going to lie, I'm a little freaked out by this shoot... in fact I'm damn right scared. I don't think I'd like to get stuck in a dark alley with this pair as lovely as I bet they are when they're not covered in fake blood. Amy & Paul went all out with this post-wedding shoot - murder, fake blood, suicide and all! Warning: this baby is not for the faint hearted. I'm under no disillusion that not everybody is going to like or 'get' this. But Paul & Amy do and really, that's all that matters isn't it?!
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Homespun Backyard Wedding: Matt & Dannie

Kat

Dear To My Art

April 4, 2013

Matt & Dannie were married at the groom's Grandmother's house in in the Sonoma Wine Country, California. After a memorable proposal (that was captured on film!) the couple set to planning a day that was a true reflection of them as a couple. "The most special thing for us was our wedding location," Dannie began. "It was at Matt's grandparents house. His grandfather built the house, and he had so many good memories there as a child. It was an honor for us to be able to be married there. His grandfather passed away in early 2011, so it was a very emotional night for his grandmother and family. The house was beautiful and was the perfect location for us."
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Eclectic Indoor/Outdoor Wedding: Lou & Stu

Kat

Modern Vintage Weddings

April 3, 2013

Fancy having an eclectic outdoor wedding? Well have I got the inspiration for you today! With a hearty dose of elbow grease and a firm plan of action, Lou & Stu coordinated their Sheffield Botanical Gardens wedding mostly themselves. "I'm a vintage events organiser so the vintage vibe was a natural way to go", began the bride. "We’re both big 50s & 60s fans so we tried to combine the two in terms of the fashion but we didn't want a fancy dress wedding. My dress was late 50s/early 60s in style (vintage, which I had altered to fit) and Stu’s suit was a 60s style tonic suit from Mod shop Jump the Gun in Brighton."
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