A Breathtaking Australian Wedding & A Bride Who Wore Black: Amber & Gary

Kat

February 20, 2012

You know when an image just stops you dead in your tracks? An image that you can't help but pause for a few seconds and go 'wow'. Well that pretty much happened to me with every single photograph of Amber & Gary's wedding. Wedding photographer Samm Blake is quite simply phenomenal. See? I bet you whispered 'wow' too didn't you? "I wouldn't say we were purposely going for a Rock n Roll wedding, but as I play at many weddings every year as a professional musician, the cookie cutter white strapless dress look really didn't excite me," Amber told me. "I tried on over 50 traditional dresses in dress shops and didn't love any of them!. My decision to wear black was probably the biggest diversion from 'traditional' and came from my love of being slightly dramatic and different, while also wanting to be glamorous."

Roo’s Favourite Finds: Fabulous Favours

Kat

February 20, 2012

As the rest of you Rock n Roll Brides will be aware, there are certain age-old wedding traditions that we love and want to uphold, whereas others leave us looking a bit glassy-eyed. The beauty of the contemporary wedding is that we’re free to do away with the stuff that doesn’t make sense to us pretty much without question – for us, I naturally just assumed that we’d be forsaking the wedding favour. Now, I’ve only been to three weddings in my time and I received a wedding favour at just one of them – so you’ll forgive me for thinking that there was no real “meaning” or general substance to the idea. In fact, the tradition apparently dates back to as early as the 16th century, when wedding guests were given what is known as a bonbonniere – a small trinket box that held sugar cubes/confectionary. Sugar was then somewhat of a luxury, and to give it as a gift was indicatory of the bride and groom’s wealthy standing. As time went on and sugar became more of an affordable commodity, the tradition became popular with lower classes of bridal parties – and the rest, as they say, is history.

DIY Tutorial: Ribbon Bouquet

Kat

February 18, 2012

When I first saw today's DIY tutorial I thought it would be a really tricky one, but I'm pleased to report that I was wrong! Emma of Two Little Birds Boutique has made it look so simple and quick - let's all have a go! Over to you Emma...

A Family-Central, DIY Backyard Wedding: Adam & Kim

Kat

February 17, 2012

Adam & Kim were married at home in their back garden in front of a retro caravan that they'd bought especially for the occasion! The entire day was DIY as they wanted their wedding to be about all the things, and the people, that they love. "Our love and what we love is what inspired our wedding day. We wanted to create something that was very personal and a signature of our relationship," the bride explained. "Each part of the day was special and unique to us; even the format was flipped to the traditional idea of many. I found the traditional wedding magazine’s a bore and wondered if there was something wrong to not admire these staged, stuffy epic weddings. It wasn’t until I delved more on the internet that I found that I wasn’t the only one who felt this way and that others were creating some fabulous and unique days of their own. Rock n Roll Bride was a site that made me feel at home."

#BrunaDigaSim – A Twitter Proposal & A Geeky Wedding: Bruna & Alexandre

Kat

February 16, 2012

After a Twitter proposal (#BrunaDigaSim - there are a number of videos of them on TV on You Tube after it happened, unfortunately they are all in Portuguese!) Bruna & Alexandre went to work planning their 'vintage geek' themed wedding.

Something Borrowed, Something Blue: The Vintage Wedding Fair, Harrogate

Kat

February 16, 2012

The Inspirations: Princess Lasertron

Kat

February 15, 2012

You know Princess Lasertron right? Inventor of the felt & button bouquet (yes, the original inventor of the concept!) and fashion designer from Omaha. Jeez, it's hard to put into words how much I adore Megan, the lady behind the brand. After falling in love with her over the internet, and a mutual respect that grew from expanding our respective businesses at the same time, I was utterly flummoxed when she invited me to model in her catwalk show at Omaha Fashion Week in August. At the time I thought the trip would be a shrewd business move and nothing more. However yes while it certainly was, what I didn't expect was the epic and genuine real life friendship that would blossom from that trip. I love her, I love her family, I love her outlook on life and work, and I love love love that she's agreed to be interviewed in The Inspirations. My sister from another mister, I adore you...

A Christmas Meets Halloween Wedding: Holly & Gareth

Kat

February 15, 2012

Holly & Gareth were married in late November and so had a kind of Christmas meets Halloween themed wedding. "Originally I quite liked the idea of a festival-y vibe wedding but Gareth's not very outdoorsy and I'm not keen on hot weather so a winter wedding it was!" Holly explained. "We were also on a budget so an out of season wedding also worked in our favour! My sister described our theme as, 'What do you get if you cross Christmas and Halloween?!'"

A Cupid Themed Valentine’s Day Engagement Shoot: Nic & Katie

Kat

February 14, 2012

Happy Valentine's day lovers! Well what could be more fitting on a day like today than swooning over a cupid themed engagement shoot? I hope you have a glorious and love-filled day. Don't forget to tell someone that you adore them!

How to Maintain a Good Work/Life Balance: A Guest Post By Adam Bronkhorst

Kat

February 14, 2012

I’m going to start out by saying I'm not here to tell you that this is definitely the right way to get a good work/life balance. However this is the way that I (try to) do it so I wanted to share it with you - who knows, hopefully I can help someone! It’s what works for me at this moment in time and enables me to switch off when I need to and not being all-consumed by my work. It’s really difficult being a freelance photographer. Right I’ve said it. We all know it. We all love it, but lets face it, it can be tough as hell sometimes. I can only imagine it's exactly the same for people in other areas of the wedding industry. We love our jobs so we spend most of the time on our own sat in front of a computer...at any time of day or night. As business owners we often need to work for long hours over the weekend and still be expected to be sat at our computers at 9am on a Monday morning to answer emails.

Discounts, Savings & Special Valentine’s Day Offers

Kat

February 14, 2012

Happy day of love! To celebrate, a number of my favourite people are running discounts and offers so I thought I'd pass them on to you too. Be sure to check them out! Whatever you're up to (even if it's just crap TV and wine like us!) I hope you have a fabulous day.

Mark Niemierko’s Valentine’s Party at Spencer Hart, London

Kat

February 14, 2012

Last week Gareth & I were lucky enough to be invited to Mark Niemierko's annual Valentine's party, this year held at Spencer Hart Tailors located on Saville Row in Mayfair. I wore a vintage pink 1950s prom dress for the occasion which I had picked up from my favourite vintage shop in all the land, Frock n Roll. As a little v-day treat, I thought you might like to see some photos (hello pink lighting!) and the fabulous video. I was even interviewed for this one!

Mexican Art Wedding: Kirsta & Alec

Kat

February 13, 2012

Kirsta & Alec's Arizona wedding had a Mexican art theme. Being married in an arts centre and with a mutual love of travel and other cultures (they met while working in an orphanage in Kenya) the idea of having this vibe for their wedding just felt right. "We met working at an orphanage in rural Kenya," Kirsta told me. "Luck would have it that both our loves of travel and adventure lead us to being in the same remote place at the same time. We just happened to be placed as roommates and the rest is history! We fell in love over working with kids, farming projects, and other development work. After moving back to the States to live in Seattle for a year, we got the itch to live abroad again and moved to South Korea so that I could teach. We had a series of serious discussions (neither of us really 'proposed') and decided that we wanted to make it official. In April, we had an awesome little Embassy wedding in Seoul totally by ourselves. We knew we'd be going back to the US for the holidays, so it felt like a natural time to have a bigger ceremony with our families and friends. The whole idea behind having a second wedding was simply to have a big party to celebrate with those people that we love and miss so much while we are off adventuring."

DIY Tutorial: ‘Be Mine’ Tattoo Heart Valentine’s Cupcake Toppers by Restoration Cake

Kat

February 13, 2012

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I fancied sneaking in an extra bonus DIY tutorial for you just before the big day. Get yourself to the supermarket sharpish and make these cute Valentine's themed cupcake toppers for your beau (and if you buy the cupcakes to put them on I promise not to tell...) Thank you to the amazing Charlotte of Restoration Cake for the awesomeness. She would also like to offer all readers of Rock n Roll Bride 10% off any wedding cake order placed after seeing this feature. Simply email Charlotte on info@restorationcake.co.uk with the subject header ROCKNROLLBRIDEOFFER. Charlotte will also randomly pick one of you to receive a whopping 50% off your wedding cake (more info at the bottom on this post).

The Wedding Circus: A Photo Shoot Teaser

Kat

February 13, 2012

I have no words... The final and full shoot will be on the blog just as soon as I have the images in my inbox - there'll be no hanging around on this one! But for now, I hope these select few shots might go part of the way to keeping you satisfied, but mainly to whet your appetite for what's to come...

Watch out America, The Pink One is Coming : Las Vegas Edition

Kat

February 12, 2012

So part two of my American Adventure™ is underway! Last August Gareth & I globe-trotted over to Omaha and LA, and this week I'm off to Las Vegas for 2 weeks! I'm heading out for the WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International) conference and as it's such a long way to go, Lisa, David & I thought we'd extend our trip into a little holiday too...oh do a photo shoot with Gala & Nubby! I am SO EXCITED. It's the first time in a long time that I will have been away from Gareth for such an extended period though...sad face. I hope he and the kittens don't destroy the house in my absence. Keep an eye him via his twitter would ya?

DIY Tutorial: Heart Shaped Cookie-Pops

Kat

February 11, 2012

Who doesn't love cookies?! Who doesn't love cakepops? Combine the two and I'm just about ecstatic! These heart shaped cookie-pops would make perfect wedding favours, a cute addition to your dessert table or the perfect a Valentines day treat for you and your loved one! Over to you Miss Cake... (by the way, be sure to go check out her website for some totally adorable perspex cake toppers and jewellery!)

Talking of Inspiration…

Kat

February 10, 2012

Wow. This girl is 14 years old and she's more intelligent and articulate than I can ever dream of being. Inspirational as hell.

A Classic Retro Wedding: Adrienne & Nic

Kat

February 10, 2012

Adrienne & Nic's retro wedding was held at Greystone Hall, Ohio "My Mom and I wanted to have the wedding and reception all in one place for convenience's sake," the bride told me. "I wanted to have the wedding in downtown Akron for nostalgia's sake. The building is historic and very important to the city, plus they have great food! Nic and I loved the subtle eerie goth vibe from the preserved masonic imagery."

Thursday Treats – 9th February 2012: Vegas Countdown & Headshot Outtakes

Kat

February 9, 2012

Isn't the photo at the top of this post beautiful? It's one of my best friends, Katie, who got engaged at Christmas and is getting married in March (they're doing it so quickly and it's well exiting!) Photographer Lisa Jane came to Reading last week to do their engagement shoot and after seeing just this one frame on her blog I can't wait for the rest! I also asked Lisa if she could do some new headshots for me. I'm keeping most of them offline for now, but some of the outtakes were so funny I had to share them...