A Simple French Wedding with Homemade Touches: Virginie & Julien

Kat

September 7, 2012

This beautiful wedding was sent over the channel to me by French newlyweds Virginie & Julien. They were married at Church of Saint Joseph des Fins in Annecy. After cocktails at the adjoining church hall, their simple reception was held in a restaurant, La Ferme des Ollieres, in Les Ollieres. The bride handmade her outfit including her dress and headpiece and she wore shoes from H&M. "I own a ready-to-wear clothing line but I plan on making a bridal collection because I had so much fun making my own dress!" she explained. "I bought my shoes for 7€ (about £5) from the high street two days before the wedding! I was planning to wear off-white shoes but I found this pair much cuter."

Thursday Treats Lite: 6th September 2012

Kat

September 6, 2012

Oh hello September how glorious you've been so far! Anyone that follows me on twitter or instagram will know that this week I've been living it up at the Photography Farm retreat. Basically, everyone who comes on the Farm always wants to come back, so Lisa & I thought, hell, let's just hire it for a week and hang out! So we did. And it was fabulous.

A Tiny Homespun Wedding with a Wedding Cake Made of Steel: Taylor & James

Kat

September 6, 2012

Taylor & James kept things small... tiny in fact. They were married at home, the bride's father officiated, and their only guests were their immediate family - 6 adults in total, with one extra, Taylor's sister, who watched the ceremony over Skype.

A Rainbow Wedding inspired by their Living Room: Ruth & Alex

Kat

September 5, 2012

I think green is a totally underrated bridal colour. We see brides in white, red, even black, quite often, but rarely in green - and doesn't Ruth show us how wrong this is? She looks incredible! "I remember looking at photos of my Gran in her wedding dress from 1960 which was blue with a pink petticoat and telling myself that I was going to wear my favourite colour when I got married too", Ruth began, "and so the green dress was born. My something old was my Gran's actual pink underskirt from her wedding dress." "Finding a green dress was hard work though. At first I tried on bridesmaid dresses but I never really felt myself or special enough. I was also being pushed into trying on white dresses by everyone but I didn't recognise myself. I'm a total tomboy at heart and the concept of being feminine for the day felt alien to me. I still don’t understand the concept of feeling like a princess on your wedding day. The most important thing was to feel like me. I found Vivien of Holloway online after looking at the adverts on Rock n Roll Bride. After three trips trying on various Vivien of Holloway dresses, I ended up ordering from a limited run of only 4 (!) plain green circle dresses. I love the fact that I can and will be able to wear my dress again and that I'm only one of 4 people to have bought it!"

Collaborations that Work & Building a Strong Team

Kat

September 5, 2012

I was asked recently by a new blogger how I went about making my industry connections and friends. Like, how did I approach people and ask if they'd like to work together or collaborate on various projects and shoots without coming across as a bit of a weirdo? So I'm telling you what I told her... If it would be weird in real life...

A Crazy Cool Bali Wedding: Myles & Barbara

Kat

September 5, 2012

What is it was all the exotic weddings I'm getting submitted recently? I think the universe must be telling me I deserve a long, sunny holiday! Well when Myles & Barbara's Bali wedding landed in my inbox I just about spat out my cuppa with the anticipation of blogging it. Have you ever seen a wedding party so a) cool, b) expressive, & c) hilarious? No, me nigher. I couldn't wait to hear more... "Myles proposed whilst sitting on the toilet, pants around his ankle. In Elfish," explained Barbara. "It really was very romantic... I promise you. We just wanted our wedding to be a big party, fun and happy with a little bit of looseness mixed in."

An Old School Rock n Roll Wedding at The Ace Hotel, Palm Springs: Tasha & Curtis

Kat

September 4, 2012

Ahh Palm Springs you are on my travel wish list for sure, and seeing weddings like Tasha & Curtis' makes me yearn for your palm trees even more. The wedding was held at the achingly cool Ace Hotel in June. "I'd describe our wedding theme as 1970s Rock n Roll", explained the bride. "Curtis is much more traditional than I am (shockingly - he has long hair and tattoos covering most of his body!) so we wanted to find a way to use the traditional ceremony but make it feel really personal and our own. We had our parents walk in at the front of the wedding party, then all of our 'Allies', as we called them, came in separately (no boy/girl pairs - they each stand alone in awesomeness) and then we came in together.

The Inspirations: There will Always be People who don’t Like Peaches

Kat

September 4, 2012

Oh Dita you are so wise. There will always be someone, somewhere who doesn't agree with you or like what you do. But you know what? Screw 'em! The best lesson I've learnt through running my business is that I can't please everybody so I'm not going to waste my time trying.

A Glamorous Wedding with a Gothic Twist: Shep & Sarah

Kat

September 4, 2012

Shep & Sarah were married at Ettington Park Hotel, an elegant 4-star venue just outside Stratford Upon Avon. With its tranquil location and beautiful architecture it proved to be the perfect place for their glamorous wedding. The exterior of the hotel was actually used as the setting for the 1963 film The Haunting.

A Very Non Wedding: Whit & Colby

Kat

Blush

September 3, 2012

As a girl who's more than slightly obsessed with weddings and photography, there's pretty much nothing more thrilling to me than discovering new (to me) wedding photographer that is INCREDIBLE. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does I feel like I've won the wedding-blogging-lottery. And don't even get me started on what happens when I discover a videographer with as much talent as this. Actual tears people, there were actual tears.

A Movie Themed Wedding: Amy & Phil

Kat

September 3, 2012

After knowing each other for 16 years the couple were keen to walk down the aisle as soon as Phil proposed! So after just a 6 month engagement, the couple were wed in a movie themed wedding in July. The bride wore a custom made dress and yes... her bridesmaids wore dresses made of Star Wars fabric!!

A Sunday Kind of Love: Looking Forward

Kat

September 2, 2012

On Friday Gareth & I packed up the car (again!) and drove down to Brighton (again!) for another School of Rock blogging workshop. The event was fabulous, my class were ace, and the whole thing left me with a warm n fuzzy feeling inside. As we drove away that night (slightly topped up with the celebratory after-workshop-wines - don't worry Gareth was driving!) I turned to him and gushed away about how incredibly blessed I feel. Like, how is this my life? As someone who tentatively dipped her little toe into the blogosphere all those years ago, I can't quite believe that people now line up to come and hear me speak about my journey. Like seriously... this is nutso. Even Darren Rowse of Problogger is singing my praises. Yeah no big deal or anything...

‘Musikasalan’ – The Story of Two Weddings & Wedding Tattoos: Rob & Kit

Kat

September 1, 2012

Are any of you considering getting tattoos to commemorate your marriage? Well Rob & Kit not only did it, but they had their wedding photographer, John Nicolay, come along to take photographs of the event. Oh it's like all my favourite things rolled into one - I LOVE this idea. The couple's relationship and wedding plans were anything but standard - they actually had two weddings! - as Rob explained, "We met in September 2007 as office mates but we never really spoke to each other. Our first conversation lasted for 30 seconds and we only spoke a total of 5 words combined. I simply complimented the comic book that she was reading. Then in December I finally confessed my feelings for her but she told me she didn't want to be in a relationship. Gutted. But I was persistent. I wrote a poem for her daily for the next 4 months. In March 2008 she finally cracked and agreed to be my girlfriend but quickly after she had to leave the country to work in Qatar. We maintained a long distance relationship 5000 miles apart by writing each other daily emails.

A Simple, Sweet & Contemporary Wedding: Emma & Charlie

Kat

August 31, 2012

Emma & Charlie were hitched in style at The Crown Hotel in Dorset. Although their day didn't end up as they first imagined it might, it was totally perfect. "Our wedding was completely different to what we first had in mind," Emma wrote. "We nearly got married in a church but instead had a civil ceremony, and I originally pictured myself in a short vintage dress but instead fell in love with a long, floaty contemporary one. But I think it turned out so much better."

A Farm Wedding with Fancy Dress, Fun & Frolics: Lauren & Matt

Kat

August 31, 2012

Lauren & Matt's started their wedding planning knowing exactly what they wanted: something relaxed, stress-free and fun. They were lucky enough to have a friend whose parents own a farm, so everything else really stemmed from that. Lauren told me all about it. "As soon as we got engaged we knew how we wanted our wedding to be, we just didn't know how to do it! The first and most important thing was to find a photographer. Being a enthusiastic photographer myself, I spent weeks searching for one that she liked, we finally came across Sassy of Assassynation and sent an excited email straight away. She immediately told us to phone her for a chat as we hadn't set a date yet, but when she told us she only had 2 Saturdays free in the 3 months that we were looking at we booked her there and then! Everything else was then planned around her."

Thursday Treats: 30th August 2012 – Being a Sellout Never Felt So Good…

Kat

August 30, 2012

So it seems like I've started every Treats post recently with "wow what a week!" so sorry but... wow what a week! On Sunday night we sold the last Blogcademy space... yes that's right the very first Blogcademy sold out in under 7 days. Gala, Nubby & I are literally on cloud 9. We're so incredibly thrilled with the enthusiastic response we've received. We can't wait to meet everyone that's signed up and talk about our very favourite subject for two whole days. For those of you that weren't able to get booked in, fret not because we have options for you! Firstly, our Scholarship programme where one deserving guy or gal to win a free ticket to the event. All you have to do is make a short video telling us (or showing us) why you think you should win. We've had a few people say they're too shy to be in a video... well hell, be creative! Think outside the box, come up with something crazy. We want you to dazzle us!

An Art Deco Plaza Cinema Wedding: John & Aggie

Kat

August 30, 2012

Doesn't John & Aggie's wedding looks like it's stepped right out of the 1920s? I don't think I've ever seen an era executed quite so well in a real wedding of late. I am in awe! The wedding was held at the The Plaza Super Cinema & Variety Theatre in Stockport. The original art deco architecture and features remain which made it the perfect venue for their day. "Our venue was excellent value as the entire cinema including tea rooms can be hired for only £700", explained the bride. "Their three course meal started at only £15 per head too. Plus it was great to support such a wonderful art deco gem that has been lovingly restored!"

A Malibu Poolside Wedding: Frances & Arianne

Kat

August 29, 2012

Are you ready to partaaaay!? Well even if your answer is "er Kat, it's a Wednesday, who parties on a Wednesday?" I hope I might change your mind when you see Frances & Arianne's totally rad wedding. These guys make me wanna jump in a swimming pool and dance until dawn!

Image Use, Correct Crediting & The Minefield that is Image Copyright for Bloggers

Kat

August 29, 2012

I'm not sure why, but I'm feeling very reflective this week. Maybe it's because in prepping for The Blogcademy (which sold out within a week by the way - wooo!) I've been thinking about what I knew and, more importantly, didn't know when I started blogging. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. On one hand I'm sure every decision, journey and mistake I made got me to exactly where I am today, but on the other hand muddling along and hoping I was doing things right was a tough way to learn!

An After Show Party Themed Rock n Roll Wedding: Brett & Vicky

Kat

August 29, 2012

Brett & Vicky planned their Rock n Roll wedding for just £3,000. Yes, this pair crafted and saved their way to the perfect alternative music themed day for less than some brides spend on their dress! The couple were married in July in Darlington. "To look at our wedding you might say it was very obviously 'Rock n Roll', what with the rock music themed stuff everywhere, but to us our wedding was just us", explained Vicky. "It was the easiest and best party we have pulled off as we have some fabulous parties for any occasions! Our day was awesome, very laid back... it just went so fast! Brett was fabulous in front of the camera and Jade, our wedding photographer, made him feel so at ease. I love him so much for doing the photos, and love Jade for capturing my heart in the shots!"