2012, The Year That Was {Part One: January – June}

Kat

December 26, 2012

2012 has been, without a shadow of a doubt, the best year of my life. Words can't describe how immensely thankful I am for every amazing opportunity I've been given because of this blog and YOU LOT. So as this incredible 365 days draws to a close and we hurtle towards 2013 with the utmost vigour, I wanted to share with you some of the year's highlights as well as my favourite weddings and blog posts. Some of which you might want to review and others that you might have missed. What were your favourite weddings I blogged?

Christmas Love & Sparkle

Kat

December 24, 2012

Whatever you're up to tomorrow I hope you have a fantastic day full of love and laughter. We're off to my parent's house tonight (I'm making cocktails - yey!) and tomorrow we're back there for all the traditional fare. I'm particularly looking forward to the homemade cracker game that Gareth had put together (!) Who knew I married someone so creative?!

Rustic Winter Wedding on a Farm: Katie & Nicholas

Kat

December 21, 2012

Getting married on December 1st, Katie & Nicholas had a rustic winter themed wedding. The day was held at Karnes Stables in Florida. "According to our guests, our wedding felt like 'Twilight' meets 'Pinterest' which I am NOT offended by at all!" laughed the bride. "I wanted our day to feel magical and very comfortable and I think through the months of planning and creating, we achieved what we wanted perfectly. The hard work and creativity did not go unnoticed by our guests." "We've always been very creative and didn't want a normal clichéd or traditional wedding. Pinterest was a huge inspiration but we didn't want to copy what everyone else had done. So we just brainstormed a lot on ideas how to make it feel like 'us'. We hunted down every item at the Salvation Army and second hand stores and turned other people's trash into our treasures!"

Business Bites: We’re all Still Alive Right?

Kat

December 21, 2012

I would imagine that most of you are winding down for Christmas today, and that if you haven't knocked off already then today is probably your last day of work. HURRAH! But the internet has been awash with great business advice this week - I think everyone's thinking about next year and how they're going to make everything so much better! Assuming the world hasn't ended today (we're all still here right?) let's use this new age to make our 2013 plans. I'm personally so ready to forge into 2013 with renewed vigour!

Handmade Huntington Beach Wedding: Mandie & Mike

Kat

December 21, 2012

Thursday Treats: The 2012 Finale!

Kat

December 20, 2012

Wahh! Welcome to the last Thursday Treats of 2012. I'll likely be spending most of next week laying like broccoli (or something more festive sounding). So yes, apart from a couple of 2012 round up posts (what was your favourite wedding that I blogged?) I'm actually talking a full week off! Let's go out with a bang shall we? What are your plans my little Christmas puddings?

Geeky Robot Wedding: Nick & Barbara

Kat

December 20, 2012

Nick & Barbara's Pennsylvania wedding took place in August. "We started out telling people it was 'classy nerd picnic', began the bride. "But I think it ended up having a lightly late 40s, early 50s DIY aesthetic in bright colors with robots, Lego and family references everywhere. I can remember trying to explain this to our day-of planners for the first time and the poor man told me I needed to go and figure out what I wanted. But this was what we wanted! I like things where the theme isn't neatly tied up in a bow, and I think when everything was put together it radiated joy and silliness." "We met in marching band in high school. We really rocked that trumpet section, and by 'rocked', I mean we didn't pay attention and mostly made fun of each other", she continued "I awkwardly asked Nick to a dance, Nick awkwardly asked me to be his girlfriend almost a year later, and nine years after that we got married. If our wedding is a testament to anything, it is to how many jokes you can accrue in ten years and to how much we were already a part of each other's families."

Colourful Manor House Wedding with just 34 Guests: Amy & Ray

Kat

December 19, 2012

I'm seeing a huge shift in a lot of the weddings that I'm being submitted of late. While large and lavish detail-heavy weddings were, and in many cases still are, wedding blog perfection, I am noticing that these days it's the smaller ones that a catching my eye. It seems that lot of my readers are completely swinging the other way and are planning small, intimate and personality-heavy nuptials. I know what it is though - my readers are rebels, just like me! You don't want to do what everyone else is doing - you want your weddings to be different and to be a perfect reflection of your love and your relationship. And that, dear readers, is why I friggin' love each and every one of you! I've known Amy for a while now. She is one third of Ava - a wedding styling company based in Birmingham, and we've actually worked together on many occasions. The biggest collaboration we've done has got to be my Rock n Riot shoot where she even commissioned a graffiti artist to paint me on a giant wall!

Achievements & Pride

Kat

December 19, 2012

Scare-Fest Wedding & Searching for ‘The One’: Sarah & Colin

Kat

December 19, 2012

For their October wedding at Whittington Castle and Wattlesborough Village Hall, Sarah & Colin wanted a scare-fest. Halloween, pumpkins, zombies & vintage circus horror were their inspirations. "When you first start to plan a wedding you are given strict instructions by every bride you know to research research research. You read magazines, you trawl through websites, you create a scrapbook of what you think your wedding should be", wrote newlywed Sarah. "I had 2 ½ years to plan my big day, and no matter what I saw I just didn't feel like it could be part of our day! Everything was so beautiful, classic, elegant... and so not us! I am mad about vintage but after heading to a vintage wedding fair I had started to lose hope. It was all too twee, too perfect. I am a rummage in the hay bales listing to The Coasters kinda vintage and it just wasn't there for me. Then after seeing a lady flying round the fair with pink hair, I was informed of Rock n Roll Bride by my friend Ffion and my world was changed! I saw couples who broke convention, who played their wedding their way and weren't afraid to let the world see their personalities through their big day!"

Angry Panda Boudoir {NSFW}

Kat

The Willinghams

December 18, 2012

That may well be the oddest blog post title I've ever written but either way... I have a love/hate relationship with boudoir. I'm sure I've written about this before, but while I love the thought of girls celebrating their bodies, stripping off and feeling sexy, I've just seen all to many boudoir shoots that are, forgive me, but so so wrong. A bit tacky, kinda cheesy or just plain slutty. Yeah, I said it... so sue me. But this is not one of those cases.

CMYK Wedding: Dave & Angela

Kat

December 18, 2012

CMYK - aka Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-blacK (I'm trying not to be pedantic but shouldn't that be CMYB?!) was the theme for Dave & Angela's November wedding. If you're having a winter wedding you might have thought that forest greens, burgundy and plum were your best options but these guys prove that, seriously, that isn't the case! Bring a little sunshine into your life whydontya?! The wedding was held at Grace E. Simons Lodge, just 10 minutes from where the couple live in LA. "Our wedding theme was CMYK with dash of birds & cameras", began the bride. "Or, as my husband just said, 'Awesomeville, population: 2.' My husband is a cameraman & photographer and suggested that we use the vibrant palette of basic printing colors. I love me some color so I was into it from the start."

Icelandic Elopement: Dean & Lindsay

Kat

December 17, 2012

With all the detail and theme obsessions that come with the wedding blogging territory, sometimes it's just really awesome to get a super simple and fuss-free wedding in my inbox. So when Dean & Lindsay's Icelandic elopement was sent my way, I couldn't wait to feature it. I've said it before and undoubtedly I'll say it again, but honestly, this is what it's all about people - two people in love saying "I will love you forever". Spending just $1200, Dean & Lindsay flew to Iceland from the US and were married at Solfar (Sun Voyager) a sculpture located by Sæbraut, by the sea in the centre of Reykjavík

The Blogcademy Updates & Scholarship Winner Announcement!

Kat

December 16, 2012

Why happy Sunday one and all. I trust you've had a fantastic weekend so far? I thought I'd just pop by this morning to give you a few Blogcademy updates because it's all go go go over here! After we wrapped NYC and got the photos, video and some pretty awesome testimonials from all of our lovely graduates (we love you!) Shauna felt that the website could do with a bit of an overhaul. I swear to God that woman doesn't actually sleep. Ever. One morning I woke up to an email from the lady herself saying "So girls, I must be mad cos I completely redesigned the website over night!" Now, mad she may be, but oh so bloomin' talented as well. We love you babe.

Equestrian Wedding Shoot in Italy

Kat

December 15, 2012

Horses and weddings. Not an obvious combination of inspiration for a shoot (unless you're thinking horse-drawn carriage) but needless to say it works really well. The Autumnal colours, the soft tones and the moody setting make this shoot beautiful and really different. "Everything took place at the old Ippodrome of San Marone located in Civitanova Marche, Italy", wrote wedding photographer Paolo Manzi. "It's an amazing racecourse in the middle of the countryside. There are only a few race every year, but it's still a lovely place and was perfect for what we had in mind for the shoot."

Beach & Colourful Marquee Cornish Wedding: Sarah & Doug {Part Two}

Kat

December 14, 2012

Here we go then - part two of Sarah & Doug's Cornish wedding and things are about to get colourful! On Saturday 16th June the couple hosted a humanist ceremony and reception at Rosewastis Manor in St Columb Major. They had a quirky tent marquee from Ashley Events which they decorated themselves. In fact the couple and some of their guests actually rented the manor for the whole week before to set up and just enjoy spending some time together before the wedding. For this second part of the wedding, Sarah wore a Lisa Redman wedding gown which she found at a charity bridal sale in London. Her shoes were from Irregular Choice, her headpiece was made by her and a friend from vintage pieces and her ring was her Grandmothers.

Business Bites: Properly Preparing for 2013

Kat

December 14, 2012

Welcome to another delicious instalment of Business Bites - ha! How's your December going so far? 2013 is not long off so I hope you've all been making your business plans and setting yourself some goals for the year ahead. It's actually one of my favourite things to do (nerd!)

Beach & Colourful Marquee Cornish Wedding: Sarah & Doug {Part One}

Kat

December 14, 2012

It's unusual for me to split a wedding feature into two parts, but as Sarah & Doug had a two day wedding celebration with each event styled very differently, I felt it was quite appropriate. The first part of the wedding took place on Friday 15th June where they had their legal ceremony surrounded by just a few close family and friends on the beautiful Lusty Glaze Beach in Newquay. Lusty Glaze is a gorgeous secluded horseshoe cove surrounded by 135 foot cliffs - perfect for their intimate ceremony.

Thursday Treats: I Think I’m a Christmas Scrooge

Kat

December 13, 2012

Dear reader I have a terrible confession and I hope you'll still love me after I admit this but... I think I'm a Christmas Scrooge. I'm not a huge fan of Christmas trees (they make a mess), I don't like turkey (too dry), Christmas pudding (gross) or mulled wine (vom)...

Homespun DIY Farm Wedding: Nicole & Greg

Kat

December 13, 2012

Nicole & Greg were married at home, at their own farm in Port Orchard, Washington. The wedding was a DIY family affair. The maid of honour's mother baked the cake, Greg’s Aunt baked the pies and family and friends catered the event with home cooked food. A very good friend officiated the ceremony and Nicole’s mother played the harp for the processional. Greg’s mother made all the bouquets and boutonnieres and Nicole designed the invitations and RSVP cards, as well as all the decor and reception details!