Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Kat

An East London Wedding with an Industrial Vibe: Bianca & Paul

Kat

August 28, 2012

I often daydream about what our wedding would be like if we were to do it now (embarrassing admission alert!) and I think I've hit the daydream wedding jackpot with Bianca & Paul. The industrial vibe of their Shoreditch venue is just perfect perfect perrrfect. The space in question is Village Underground, an "evolving project building an international platform for creativity and culture" as the website describes it. SWOON.
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An Independence Day Picnic Wedding: Sarah & Mike

Kat

August 27, 2012

Sarah & Mike were married on the weekend after Independence Day. They wanted a relaxed wedding that was a celebration, and one that all their family and friends would enjoy. "I would describe our wedding theme as a 'rural, homemade, Independence Day picnic'," began the bride. "We first looked at historic mansions in the area but quickly realized they would be out of our price range and we wouldn’t have much flexibility customizing our wedding. They would pick the DJ, and we’d have to select a meal from their menu for example. Then, when driving home from Baltimore one night, we drove past a park in Carroll County that was covered with beautiful flowers and several 18th century buildings, including a working gristmill. We stopped and walked around and discussed how perfect this place would be to get married and we decided to look into it. Luckily, they did allow weddings and after all the quotes we had from the mansions we were shocked at how affordable this place was!"
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A Trailer Trash Bridal Shoot with a Vintage Airstream

Kat

August 25, 2012

"Ever since I spent time travelling from Nashville to San Francisco last Autumn, I've benn obsessed with wanting to recreate vintage Americana!" wrote stylist Lynsey Le Keux. "This summer I had the pleasure of making it happen. I got together with some serious wedding industry talent including Sassy of Assassynation and Jo of The Couture Company. Our theme was 'trailer trash chic' which basically meant coney neck beers, dust-caked American cars, sweat smudged make up and broad blue skies. The aim was to portray unique bridal beauty against a backdrop of pure gritty trash... We wanted to inspire bridal styling outside of tradition and show our customers that they don't have to follow convention to rock a wedding - bridal beauty is subjective and one thing all the collaborators agreed on was how much we loved customers who did things their way."
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An Intimate Ohio Wedding: Ashley & Jon

Kat

August 24, 2012

"Jon & I were married on a scorching hot day (temperatures just shy of 100F!) in September of last year in Columbus, Ohio", wrote Ashley. "This was the culmination of a year and a half of UK to USA long distance relationshipping! We met while living and teaching ESL in South Korea 3 years ago, and after 8 months of dating while there decided to keep trying even as we returned to our respective continents. After Korea, I started a master's degree course in Ohio while Jon returned to Brighton and found a job. The year and a half apart was tough but we kept the love alive with lots and lots of Skyping and daily gchats. We got engaged when Jon surprised me by secretly flying to Ohio (an impressive collaboration between himself and one of my best friends/roommate) on February 13th, 2011 with a vintage ring he'd bought at an antique shop in the Brighton Lanes. I was absolutely shocked, believe me!"
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A Colourful Festival Wedding at Ridge Farm: Layla & Dan

Kat

August 24, 2012

Layla & Daniel were married in Rusper, Sussex in St Mary Magdalene's Church, followed by a festival style wedding at Ridge Farm. I've featured weddings at this iconic wedding venue before - why so iconic you ask? Well the farm has a recording studio where Oasis, Queen (Bohemian Rhapsody was written here!) Roxy Music, Thin Lizzie, Black Sabbath and many many others have recorded albums! AHHHMAZING. "The wedding was all personalised by me & Dan", wrote Layla, "including the wine glasses, the moustaches & lips, the heart decor, the table plan & numbers, the 'LOVE' sign and the bunting. We had a two-day wedding. From the start we knew we didn’t want everything to be over with in just one day! Ridge Farm was the PERFECT venue as we were able to hire it exclusively from Friday to Monday which meant our parents, brothers & sisters, bridesmaids and best men could share the whole time with us. We also had some friends of ours camping on the grounds. Friday was set-up day, with everyone mucking in; Saturday was the wedding; and on Sunday we had about 100 of our guests returning for a Hog Roast, DJ’s and dancing till the wee hours!"
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Thursday Treats: 23rd August 2012 – The Blogcademy Update & Other Yumminess

Kat

August 23, 2012

Well that was an insane experience. Insane is a good way, but still erring on the side of needing to be committed. So on Monday Gala, Nubby & I unleashed our collective baby on to the world. And we held our breath. We weren't sure how it would go down. We hoped people would be excited and that we'd sell a few spaces but oh boy, I think it's safe to say that none of us expected the reaction that we got. The first space was sold within an hour... then the second... then the third... Within 24 hours we'd sold half the available spaces. Someone from Australia booked in and is flying over especially... then one from the UK... then one from Belgium. OH MY GOD. I'm so pleased to report that we've been blown away by the response so far. We still have a few spaces available so be sure to check out The Blogcademy site for more info. Also, don't forget about our scholarship programme! We're offering one free space to a deserving blogger. For more info on how to enter for your chance to win, head over to the site as well.
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Running a Business with a Full Time Job

Kat

August 22, 2012

Some of you may already be aware of my story. I've written about it many times before. Gareth has even shared his side of my journey from full time shopping TV producer to full time wedding blogger. While, looking back it may all seem very idealistic and easy, it was far from it. Trying to kick start a business whilst holding down a full time job is hard. There were times when I didn't sleep. There were times when I cried. There were times when I was constantly sick.
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A Retro Americana Wedding: Ralph & Carly

Kat

August 22, 2012

Ralph & Carly love all things Americana and retro and so the theme for their wedding was easy to decide on. They wanted to incorporate the feeling of driving through America in an open top car - something they love to do in real life. Ralph had even proposed on a road trip through Arizona, one of their favourite places in the USA. "We love Americana and we feel that there is a big difference between what is retro and what is vintage", Carly explained. "We wanted our wedding to be all things that we love. We love nothing more than booking a flight and a car in the US and then exploring, although sometimes we end up in very peculiar places and cannot wait for daylight to arrive so that we can head out! For the most part though it's the way that we have discovered some of our favourite places. Each table was named after a hotel or motel that we have stayed in on our trips, there have been many others but these had the coolest signs."
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The Blogcademy: New York City!

Kat

August 20, 2012

Isn't it amazing when a plan comes together? In the weeks running up to today's announcement I've been literally seconds away from tweeting my excitement and giving the whole game away. In fact anyone that knows me 'in real life' will be well aware about how rubbish I am at keeping secrets. Like... literally terrible. I actually don't know why anyone would ever tell me anything because I'm the first person to accidentally say "OMG you will never guess what I just heard..." Which is why it has been utter torture for me not to scream this from the rooftops I'M GOING TO NEW YORK AND DOING A TWO DAY BLOGGING WORKSHOP WITH GALA & NUBBY!!!! Phew... that felt goooooooood. You'll have to excuse me for being so damn uncool about it all...
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An Elopement-Style Ceremony with Friends & Family: Teresa & Russell

Kat

August 20, 2012

"Teresa & Russell’s wedding was like an elopement which included family and close friends", wrote wedding photographer Melina of Lucinda Photography. "They left their East Vancouver home with suitcases packed for their Montreal honeymoon for which they were leaving only a couple of hours after the ceremony! We did some whirlwind portraits in their neighbourhood before heading to Vanier Park to help friends set up some chairs and refreshments. Guests arrived, they were married, the mingled and they left. It was great."
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Red, Polka Dots & An Ice Cream Van – A Budget-Friendly DIY Wedding: Kelly & Matt

Kat

August 17, 2012

With a budget of just £8500, Kelly & Matt pulled of a wedding that perfectly encapsulated everything about them. From the cute red colour scheme, the DIY details and the relaxed photography, their wedding was one to remember. "We did absolutely everything ourselves for as little money as possible!," began the bride. "We wanted the day to represent us as a couple and to be really personal. We wanted to make it a really relaxed atmosphere and make sure all our guests and we had fun. The theme was slightly retro, with red as the main colour set around black and white polka dots and loads of red love hearts! Everything looked exactly as we had imagined and seeing it all for the first time was one of my favourite parts of the day. All the details looked amazing and we were glad we put so much time and effort into them."
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