August 17, 2012
Yesterday's School of Rock was magical. We were a room full of girls (and er... Gareth - although I don't think he minded at all!) chatting about business, blogging and everything in between. I left on a total high, feeling proud of the little space I was able to create and excited to have made a gaggle of new friends.Read more...
August 17, 2012
Fiona & Andrew's DIY wedding in Victoria, Australia was themed around the things they love - vintage items, 1950s styling, cherries, hearts and flowers. They took these ideas as the starting point and built their wedding around them. "We wanted the guests to be able to feel as much a part of the day as possible, hence the small guest list of only 45 and the extended weekend long celebration", began the bride. "We made a lot ourselves. I made a ring cushion from the same fabric as my sash/bolero and a piece of fabric from my mum's wedding dress. We had a ring warming ceremony before I arrived where the cushion was brought around my my 5 year old nephew, Oliver, and guests where asked to send a blessing our way."Read more...
August 16, 2012
Helloooooooooooooo! So today I've hotfooted it down to Brighton for the latest School of Rock blogging workshop. As always I'm cacking it but I know once I meet the lovely group of attendees I'll be fine (here's hoping...) There's so much going down at Rock n Roll Bride HQ (hum... not sure I love this phrase... can we think of a better one?) right now. The magazines have been flying out at a rate of knots and Gareth has basically spent the last 2 weeks surrounded by boxes, shiny pink envelopes, his trust label printer and photos of my face! If you haven't nabbed a copy yet, you still can, and the free worldwide shipping still applies! All the info can be found here. What else? What else? Well Lisa & I have been furiously planning the next Photography Farm, taking place from thr 18th-20th September. If you'd like to learn more or come along, all the info can be found on the Farm website. We also have plans to get one very lucky reader of this blog along as our model for the styled shoot. How cool would that be? Keep your peepers peeled because I'll be letting you know how you can put yourself forward for it in the next few weeks.Read more...
August 16, 2012
Cecilia & Luciano wanted a simple wedding inspired by their choice of venue, Pousada Estrela D'água, in Trancoso, Brazil. "My inspiration was the wedding venue", explained the bride. "The village of Trancoso, Bahia, is beautiful and simple at the same time. That's what I sought in all my wedding decisions. I did not want anything too pretentious. For the decorations we used photos of family and tablecloths that belonged to our great grandmothers. The decor had a bit of our history and showed a lot of our personality." Cecilia made her own dress from the lace of the veil that her mother-in-law wore when she married. She also designed and made the bridesmaid's dresses. "There was no specific theme to anything really", she continued. "We just tried to do everything as simple as possible."Read more...
August 16, 2012
Natalie & Mike met on the side of a road, whilst travelling to Mozambique. His car was broken down and she rescued him! After 9 months of a long distance relationship he moved to Johannesburg to be with her. They now live in the North Coast of KZN with their 2 year old son.Read more...
August 15, 2012
When Jane & Jessie started planning their wedding they knew exactly where (in the country) they wanted to be, they just had to find the perfect venue. After a long search they found The Hideout, near Lake Tahoe, which was the perfect place for their laid back June wedding.Read more...
August 15, 2012
Personally, and particularly in the wedding industry, I think there are times when 'working for free' is worthwhile. Mainly when it comes to collaborations with other suppliers for mutual gain or publicity (styled shoots etc), when it comes to building your portfolio (everyone has to start from somewhere) or when it comes to networking and building industry connections and allies. However I don't believe in discounting for customers or clients who just want to try their luck. I am a strong believer in thinking "what's in this for me?" if there is no money exchanging hands. That may make me sound hard-nosed and selfish but if I said yes to every project I'd have no money to eat (and erm... shop!) and no time for any paid work.Read more...
August 15, 2012
April in Barcelona. Teresa and film photographer Miguel Varona headed away from the city and up the hills to Montseny natural park to shoot a set of simple bridal portraits. "It wasn't the perfect day", wrote Miquel. "The sun didn't shine, but the atmosphere we had was perfect to recreate the special moments for a bride on her wedding day." "Teresa wore a leather jacket a boots with her simple dress. 'Why not mix tradition and simplicity?' I thought. 'Why not show that tradition is compatible with personality?'"Read more...
August 14, 2012
A lover of the wacky, the offbeat and the Rock n Roll, I'm delighted to introduce DC based wedding photographer Maggie Waters to you today. She also has hot pink hair so I love her immediately.Read more...
August 14, 2012
Did you ever wish you could go back in time and experience things they way they used to be? The genius thing about living online is that you can - all your favourite blogs are there, archived forever. And they don't just hang around for future humiliation ("OMG I can't believe I wore/thought/said/wrote that?!") Oh no, I really do think there's a lot to be learnt from looking backwards at how other people have improved - particularly if you are struggling with how to to take your own blog to the next level.Read more...
August 14, 2012
Jo & Dan's laid back East London wedding was a mishmash of everything they love with a dash of vintage style. Don't you just love the effortlessly cool vibe of the whole thing? "We didn’t go out of our way to do things differently, we just wanted a day that was a mix of everything we love", explained the bride. "From East London to pub grub and The Beatles to Art Deco and butterflies. We wanted it to reflect us as both individuals and as a couple and for our guests to have a great party."Read more...
August 13, 2012
Paul proposed to Angela on an idyllic deserted beach in Galicia, Spain. This set the tone for their wedding day. Firstly a map of Galicia became the backdrop of their seating plan. They also had a polaroid theme with the table names, place names, cake toppers and invitations. They used images of their favourite places in Galician on the polaroids including palaces, fortresses and monasteries, and used them throughout the wedding.Read more...
August 13, 2012
I have to say when I first laid eyes on Bodie & Beck's wedding I went all girlish and excited and started thinking very naughty thought about that party of groomsmen... I'm sorry, I'm sorry... but come on! How sexy are these boys? I even sneak peeked a shot of them on my facebook page (to share their beauty you understand) and... well... I've never seen so many smitten girls all in one place. It was pretty funny! So just when I thought it couldn't get any better, I saw the rest of the wedding! How gorgeous is the bride (hello tattoo envy anyone?!) In fact I just about cried with jealousy over how damn cool the whole thing is... and they are. I'm very professional indeed. I love this wedding more than life itself. Who's with me?Read more...
August 13, 2012
Australian John & Marnie spent six weeks travelling around the US for their honeymoon after their wedding in Las Vegas. They were in town for the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Festival and they loved the idea of getting married there. The ceremony was held at Little Church of the West, a quaint little 'mini church' looking chapel, right at the south end of the strip and the after party was at Level 107 Cocktail lounge in the Stratosphere hotel - right at the north end!Read more...
August 12, 2012
British High St giant Next have partnered with yours truly to launch their 'wedding stylist' competition. If you've ever fancied yourself as a fashion stylist, well now's your opportunity... with your chance to win £500 of Next vouchers in the process!Read more...
August 11, 2012
I'm obsessed with this shoot, set up by Becky Hoh-Hale to promote her new breed of vintage wedding fair, A Most Curious Party. If you've been reading Rock n Roll Bride for a while you might recognise that name - I've been lucky enough to feature two of their shoots to promote previous events (as well as Rebecca's own gorgeous wedding). Alongside the amazing Joanna Millington Photography and some of the other suppliers exhibiting at the shows, Becky wanted to showcase a unique twist on the vintage wedding trend - it's not all tea length 50s dresses and mismatched crockery here! "We had big plans for this shoot", explained Becky. "Originally we wanted to shoot in the Norfolk Woods, where much of the flat landscape looks like the set of Spike Jones’s 'Where the Wild Things Are' but on the day we were strewn with drizzle, which eventually turned into full blown rain, which eventually turned into hail. So onto plan B!"Read more...
August 10, 2012
Matt & Kellyann had a homemade wedding in the historic Colonial Dame, a mansion in Philadelphia. The DIY details included the escort table, some decorative pinwheels made from origami paper, the chalkboards, the ring bearer's book (an actual book instead of a cushion - inspired by The Clash's Combat Rock album art, and as a nod to Kellyann's bookish nature), the printed napkins and the invitations.Read more...
August 10, 2012
Dear South Africa, you have the most wonderful weddings, Love Kat. Seriously... seriously... Look at these guys! Matt & Sarah were married at Rain Farm Game & Lodge. The ceremony was held by the picturesque infinity pool with the reception inside, in the venue's 'boma', an enclosure traditionally used for livestock. To decorate the space the couple hung a Swarovski crystal chandelier. The table settings were simple and elegant. "We hung a 3 metre long Swarovski crystal chandelier over an elevated central fire", explained Sarah. "Instead of flowers I chose to decorate each table with over 40 pillar candles, some were floating in water, as a contrast to the fire theme. Each candle was set in a unique clear glass vessel. Some as tall as 40 cm down to small votives. I was inspired by the alter in a cathedral. I chose fire and candle light to be the focal point of the wedding to create drama and almost a gothic type of feel. This is why I decided to do the bridesmaid's gowns and neck pieces in metallic bronze as it carried the heatRead more...
August 10, 2012
"We didn't want a run of the mill wedding", explained newlywed Fiona. "Ben's a bit of a control freak and likes things done his own way. We both love anything vintage so enjoyed lots of weekends trawling through flea markets and car boots collecting bits and bobs to decorate the barn. We really wanted a party atmosphere with all of our family and friends. We collected/ borrowed lots of hats, sunglasses and various other items of fancy dress for the evening and encouraged people to be a silly a possible – our guests fully embraced the dressing up and pretty much everyone was wearing some kind of fancy dress at the end of the night."Read more...
August 9, 2012
I've been struck down with the plague this week. ICK. Yet in between my packed schedule of Disney movie marathons, blowing my ever reddening noggin and stumbling to the kitchen for yet another Lemsip (eugh, why so gross?) I've found plenty of time for scouring the interwebs for yummy Thursday Treats. You're welcome.... Aaaaachooooo!Read more...