Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Kat

Chasing your Target Market

Kat

March 6, 2012

I'm asked over and over again by wedding suppliers how they can target and book alternative wedding clients - i.e. the type of readers that my blog attracts. While saying 'stick an advert on my site' or 'get featured on my blog' might be easy answers, they're not necessarily the right ones, and simply paying a monthly fee to have your logo in front of those alternative eyes isn't enough. It's a good start mind you, but this action alone isn't going to see your inbox flooded with enquiries from my readers. The best piece of advice I could give would be to ask you to question yourself and at every turn ask yourself why. Why do you want to attract these types of clients in the first place? What is it about these kinds of people and their weddings that you like. Be specific. Only when you know the answer to these questions can you take it to the next step - the how.
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Screw Prop 8! A Safari Inn Engagement: Frances & Arianne

Kat

March 6, 2012

Frances & Arianne engagement shoot was captured in and around The Safari Inn in Burbank, California - the motel where Clarence and Alabama Worley stay in the movie True Romance. "Fran and I met at a club," Arianne told me. "I gave her my number and, as she puts it, 'it didn't save in her phone'. Three months passed and a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to go out after work. I didn't but decided to go anyway and Fran happened to be there. We talked and, after a little 'hard-to-get', I gave her my number again. After that we were inseperable! After a few years, and some hard times, we decided to end the relationship and I moved back to California. Three years later, I got in touch with her during a visit to Washington. Once I saw her again, I knew she was still the one."
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Bright Lights, Late Nights, Shopping & Disco Trees…Why, It Must be a Las Vegas Round Up Post!

Kat

March 4, 2012

What time is it? What country am I in? How do I form sentences again...? Greetings. This morning's blog post comes from a head that still hasn't quite got back on UK time. It may have been a week since I landed back at Heathrow, but I'm still finding it hard to get back on track! However waking up at 2pm and going to bed at 4am could work for me I reckon... Those of you that follow me on Twitter or Facebook will have been lucky (or unlucky, whichever way you look at it!) to have been force-fed regular updates from my Las Vegas adventure over the past few weeks, but today I thought it necessary to put off getting back to work just a little while longer in order to share some of my favourite photos and fun times from Viva Las Vegas. I'm sure some of you are sick to death of hearing all about it already...sorry about that...but for the rest of you I hope you enjoy this extra epic extra huge post dedicated to one of my new favourite places, the city they call Sin...
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DIY Tutorial: Origami Animals {Part One}

Kat

March 3, 2012

I've got something a little different in terms of a DIY tutorial today. Ceri & Terry's origami themed wedding was so popular (in fact so much so that I think a national wedding magazine picked it up afterwards as well!) when I blogged it that I asked Ceri if she wouldn't mind sharing some of origami tips and ideas with us. She's gone above and beyond what I expected of her and has not only put together some basic origami tips but has created three individual animal tutorials plus two extra tutorials of ways to encorperate your creatures into your wedding day (to be posted later today).
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To Watermark or Not to Watermark, That is the Question…

Kat

March 2, 2012

Whether or not to watermark or add a credit line to images published online is always a touchy subject because everyone seems to have a very strong opinion on the matter (as I’ve learnt when researching this article!) It is an issue I have wanted to address for some time and finally feel that, after various discussions with bloggers and photographers alike, I am finally in a position where I am comfortable to open up this debate. To lay my own opinion out from the beginning - as a blogger, I prefer to see and feature non-watermarked images. However tastefully integrated the watermark or logo may be, my opinion boils down to the fact that the image was not originally conceived with it included, and that therefore the whole concept is compromised by the addition. My job as a wedding blogger is to share inspirational weddings with future brides and to help the photographers I feature get bookings from these brides. In order for me to do both these jobs, I want the images I share to look their best.
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Thursday Treats – 1st March 2012: Sneaky the Sneakiest Sneak of all the Peeks

Kat

March 1, 2012

Well you know me, I couldn't resist just one more sneak peek from my Vegas shoot with Gala & Nubby, this time from our second photographer Lisa Devlin. Jeez I literally can't wait to share the rest! We will be doing so from next Monday so be sure to pop by to all our blogs because we'll all have different shots to share! I ain't gonna lie - coming back from a trip to a Google Reader with over 1000 unread blog posts (and it actually only says 1000 because that's the highest number the counter goes to... Christ knows how many were actually in there!) was a daunting prospect and a bit of a moutain to climb. BUT I promised you a damn good selection of Treats upon my return from Vegas didn't I, so I hope these were worth the wait! How the devil have you been by the way? Did you miss me? What you been up to? I demand that you tell me all!
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Young Love, Carefree Days & True Romance: Taylor & George

Kat

March 1, 2012

This beautiful shoot entitled 'True Romance' was set up by Christine of Angelberry Organics in order to showcase some of her latest trends and inspiration to support her organic make up company. "At Angelberry Organics we love to celebrate effortless beauty," she explains. "I wanted to capure the feeling of a romantic getaway, young love, and sharing laughs with your best friend. Those carefree days when you just have a chance to enjoy the simple pleasures of the beach, good music, sharing laughs, and the romantic moments in life. This shoot is inspired by all-American Rock n Roll and wrapped in soft colors with beautiful, scenic backdrops."
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An Indie Rock, Winter Wedding: Vicky & Martin

Kat

February 29, 2012

On December 10th, Vicky & Martin were married in a gallery space, which they made their own, in Hull. They didn't have the easiest wedding planning journey, with not one but two venue's cancelling their bookings, but at the end of the day the wedding was perfect. "We were not the luckiest of couples when it came to our wedding planning as we had two different venues cancel our booking!" Vicky told me. "We booked a local hotel's wedding package a year in advance and believed that everything from the food to the centerpieces was taken care of. With six months to go they called and cancelled our booking, leaving us panicked and miserable. After considerable research we booked our local youth hostel for a weekend festival in their beautiful medieval building - they cancelled our booking with less than four months to go!
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Under the Spotlight: Gracie May Photography

Kat

February 28, 2012

With a business named after her own daughter, I'm delighted to introduce you to the work of Gracie May Photography today. Elizabeth is an American living in Hampshire who describes her work as a 'fusion'- fly on the wall journalistic style mixed with a bit of glamour. "I do things differently from the traditional wedding photographer," she told me. "I'm American and have lived here in the UK for 5 years. I have a fusion style. I cover the day like a fly on the wall in a journalistic/storytelling style, and then also throw in a splash of glamor with the private portraits. I am in love with the Beloved concept and like bring the idea into the mix on my shoots so we're not just taking pictures, but we're also making memories and capturing real, true and spontaneous emotions."
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There’s a Big Wide World Out There

Kat

February 28, 2012

I'm going to get a little philosophical today as I'm still inhabiting my post-Vegas glow. It's a world where everything is neon, over-sized and delivered with a smile and it's one that, honestly, taught me a lot. I didn't expect that crazy city to have such a profound affect on me, nor for it to make me reevaluate how I run my business (hell, I just went to have a good time!) but it really truly did. Now forgive me if this offends anyone (!) but when landing back at Heathrow on Sunday I was immediately reminded as to just how small this little island of ours is - and I'm not just talking geographically.
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An Eco & Animal Friendly Wedding: Danny & Sandy

Kat

February 28, 2012

Being animal lovers, and with the bride's Mother running an animal rescue sanctuary (where the couple actually met!) an eco and aminal friendly wedding was perfect for Danny & Sandy. The bride explained, "We wanted everything to be eco-friendly and cozy! We stuck to bamboo plates and wooden utensils, and decorated with hay bales with burlap on top for seats, a bonfire, and mason jars with teelight candles hung in trees and lights draped throughout my backyard."
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A Dia De Los Muertos Wedding Shoot

Kat

February 27, 2012

This scary Day of the Dead/Dia de la Boda de Los Muertos themed shoot won't be for everyone but I think it's pretty rad...For alternative make up inspo alone I think it's worth a feature! "This is a concept I’ve been pulling together for about six months," photographer Gina told me. "Originally I had planned this shoot for October, but because I had no location to shoot it, I put it the back burner. Emily (the Bride in this shoot) was planning her wedding and showed me where she was planning to have her reception. The Harmony Club of Selma is an old Jewish Gentleman’s Club, and I fell in love with its decayed and macabre elements immediately. I rebuilt my concept around this venue and found friends, vendors, and models to come be a part of my dark make-believe wedding."
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