Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Kat

An Intimate Wedding of Just 16 Guests: Jasmine & Piers

Kat

December 14, 2011

Jasmine & Piers had only 16 guests for their intimate wedding which meant they were able to have a really relaxed and personal celebration. "We wanted it to be simple and pretty, and most of all...relaxed," the bride told me. "We didn't really have a theme, but if I had to pick a work to describe it, I say Love. Everything involved in the day are things (or people) we love. Piers had his Father as his best man, which was very sweet. One of my very dear friends, and her boyfriend, from NYC spent the morning with me, helping me get prepared. During the ceremony, our friends and family sat in a circle around us in the "Lady Chapel" of All Saints West Dulwich. It was exactly what we invisioned and felt so special. We all had so much fun. I don't think either of us have ever smiled that much in one day!! It was perfect."
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WIN one of FIVE Wedding Dresses from SimplyBridal

Kat

December 13, 2011

Wedding dress designers Simply Bridal was started with a basic idea of helping the bride, not the middleman. "After hearing from countless friends and family members about the high cost of wedding dresses, our founder Lawrence Ng decided to start his own bridal company that met the needs of his loved ones," they say. " Our aim is to provide outstanding quality in fabric, materials, and fit without the inconvenience and costs of traditional bridal boutiques and retailers."
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A Blue Burlesque Wedding with a £900 Budget: Sally & Mark

Kat

December 13, 2011

To say that I'm excited to be sharing Sally & Mark's wedding with you this afternoon would be an under-exaggeration of HUGE magnitude. Not only is their wedding freakin' awesome on so many levels, but they pulled the whole thing off for £900! Let me repeat myself to make sure you got that, because I didn't quite believe it when I read it on Sally's submission either - the whole wedding cost just £900!! "We had approx 6 weeks and a budget of around £900 for our wedding," Sally wrote. "Where we could we handmade items or got friends to help us out. We were lucky that our photographers, performers, DJ and cake makers were all friends so did us special deals. We were also able to get both our venues (the afternoon reception was held at William Steads Pub and the evening afterparty at the Tap and Spile Pub, Darlington) for free as we didn't hire them exclusively."
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A Farm & Festival Wedding: Roisin & Paul

Kat

December 12, 2011

Roisin & Paul's Somerset wedding makes me ache for those long Summer days again. The Apple Orchard at Brook Farm played host to their August nuptials - a celebration of love, life and all things good. The couple opted for a humanist ceremony led by Alison Orchard, "She was so crucial to the success of the ceremony, which was such an emotional and wonderful experience," the bride told me. "I think lots of people thought it might have a been a hippy-dippy, tree-hugging, fingers down-your-throat service, but instead found it was a lovely and romantic experience. We wrote our vows and kept them quite similar to the traditional ones. We sang, 'A little Help from My Freinds' by the Beatles and I cried all the way through it."
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Roo’s Favourite Finds: Finding Clothing Bargains in Charity Shops/Thrift Stores

Kat

December 12, 2011

The last time we spoke, I was floating on the high of a relatively warm autumn down here in Brighton (I’m not kidding; I went swimming in the sea at the end of October). I’m sad to report that the temperature tables have now rightfully turned, and as a result I’ve been honing my beady eye in on stocking up my winter wardrobe to accommodate for these chillier months. Now, apart from being a little bit skint a lot of the time, it’s also worth considering that I have a Mother who is a dab hand with a needle and thread. This has meant that I've grown up understanding the value of clothes – I won’t breach onto designer territory just now, because that’s a whole different kettle of fish – but I will say that nine times out of ten I’ll step into a popular high street store and be blown away by the lack of quality for the relatively extortionate price tag. On more than one occasion I have been the victim of inexplicably frayed edges, missing buttons, and ripped seams, and altogether I find it quite disheartening. That said, I do like to buy my key pieces – jeans, plain t-shirts, jumpers, etc – from high street stores, because we can all wear these things differently. If I am ever conscious of looking like a clone, I would much rather go for second-hand.
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A Very London Wedding: Naomi & Chris

Kat

December 12, 2011

I was hanging out at Fur Coat No Knickers a few weeks ago catching up on my vintage fashion/wedding industry-based gossip, when in breezed an excited girl who had just got married in one of their beautiful wedding dresses. Naomi had popped back in to show Laura & Emma some of her wedding photos and as soon as I heard the words 'wedding photos' I immediately jumped out from behind the dresses to have a nosy myself (Poor Naomi, I must have given her a heart attack...turns out she was a regular reader of this little wedding blog throughout her planning!) Anyway I loved the photos Naomi showed us on her phone, so when I received the submission from her photographer Sarah Lauren I was thrilled that I would be able to share them with you too!
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Post It Notes: 9th December 2011: Positive Influence

Kat

December 9, 2011

In many working environments there is a undulating undercurrent of moans and groans from disgruntled employees. For example, when I worked at the shopping channel we bitched about the length of our shifts, the amount of product we were expected to flog sell, the quality of said product, the air conditioning (or lack thereof), the mess in the green room... you get the picture! In fact I got so used to the daily moans and groans that I'd think nothing of it. I'd never stop to think how it affected my overall mood or attitude to the job. It just felt normal.
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Thursday Treats – 8th December 2011 + Best Friends + Taking Shows on Roads

Kat

December 8, 2011

This week my best friend in the whole world came to visit. Carly & I lived together for three years at Uni and she was my maid of honour...in fact we always said if things didn't work out with me and Gareth we'd just go ahead get married. Anyway we hadn't seen each other in like, actual forever, because we both have stupidly busy lives and cray cray jobs, but it was so awesome to hang out and be bestest friends again. Happy face!
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A Vintage Nautical Wedding: Liz & Tom

Kat

December 8, 2011

Liz & Tom injected a subtle nautical theme into their October wedding. "In our first few years as a couple I used to call Tom the one-armed fish man," Liz laughed. "Our venue was The Bull Hotel in Bridport, a harbour market town, and we both want a scrimshaw anchor tattoo (haven't done it yet but the plan is to have one for Christmas). So we flooded our wedding with vintage nautical touches and plenty of rum. Rock n Roll Bride was the only wedding blog that I read as I planned my wedding. It was from reading what other Rock n Roll Brides had done for their big day that we had the confidence to go our own way."
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A Rockabilly, Psychobilly Wedding: Claire & Lee

Kat

December 8, 2011

I love weddings like Claire & Lee's. Not just because the rockabilly theme is awesome, but because they put their heart and soul(s) into creating a wedding that reflects how they are in everyday life. "We’re both very much in to the whole rockabilly and psychobilly scenes and have been for quite some time, so it only seemed natural to extend this to our wedding day," Claire told me. "One thing we set out to do from the very beginning was to make our wedding day for us. It seems all too often that people try and tailor their wedding day around their family and other guests, where as for ourselves we tailored it around us and guests had to fit in; which they did wonderfully."
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A Psych-Folk-Horror Themed Wedding: Ali & Dan

Kat

December 7, 2011

Ali & Dan, who won free wedding photography with Laura Babb through a feature on this little wedding blog of mine, were married in November. With Dan being Scottish, they originally thought about having their wedding in the far North of the country (the area where he's from) but it turned out the logistics were impossible. However they luckily found their perfect venue in Folly Farm, Bristol. "We trawled around plenty of places with the help of the internet, and even booked another venue at one point - but when we found Folly Farm we knew it was the right spot," Ali told me. "We completely lucked out with the weather on the day, it was hard to believe it was November – but as we fell for Folly Farm’s vantage point and woodland walks on a dreich February morning, we knew it would be beautiful no matter what. We will shortly be leaving the UK to spend a few years working in Philadelphia, so the wedding also gave us a chance to say goodbye to our closest friends and family."
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A Rustic-Glam French Wedding: Daniel & Caroline

Kat

December 7, 2011

Daniel & Caroline were married in Chateau Puits es Pratx in Ginestas, in the south-west of France. The gorgeous surroundings provided the perfect backdrop to their rustic wedding. "The Chateau is only a few miles from Dan's dad's house in a nearby town, so it is an area of France we have visited often and know well," the bride told me. "We knew from the off that we wanted our friends to help us celebrate our wedding in this beautiful place and the Chateau fitted our requirements perfectly - cottages on site, and a self-contained venue for a long weekend of fun! We wanted the weekend to feel like a party in a stunning venue, with good company, great food and endless wine. Simple!"
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An Origami Wedding: Ceri & Terry

Kat

December 7, 2011

Ceri & Terry didn't really plan to have a theme for their November wedding, however once they started with the origami they found it hard to stop! Ceri told me all about their beautiful wedding, "When we first started planning the wedding, we were determined to do our best to be relaxed about the whole thing. We decided that, if we could find the right venue then even if everything else went wrong, we'd be ok - we could turn up in jeans and order pizza, if necessary, as long as we could get all our loved ones in the right place. After a couple of months of looking, we found it: Great Wilbraham Hall Barn. It was perfect - big enough for our guests, fairly isolated, licensed for weddings (we wanted everything in the same place), ideal for the winter months with lots of warmth and character, and within 30 minutes drive of Terry's grandparents."
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Under the Spotlight: Neil Thomas Douglas Photography

Kat

December 6, 2011

Glasgow based photographer Neil Douglas of And Do You Take Photography prides himself on his composition and use of light. In fact he cites his main inspiration as Martin Parr, a social photographer, who is well known for his exaggerated style. "I love the way he uses colour and composition to really bring out the personality of his subjects," Neil writes, "Henri Cartier Bresson is also massive influence for me - his candid photography really paved the way for us who favour a reportage style."
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