Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Kat

A Vintage Festival Wedding…in the Rain!: Natasha & Charlie

Kat

December 5, 2011

Natasha & Charlie are the kind of couple that wedding photographers dream of - creative, unique in their inspiration and totally in love. The bride told me all about their vintage festival wedding. It may have rained for their outdoor ceremony, but it certainly didn't damper their spirits! "Even though I had prayed for months for sun on our wedding day, it still rained! I thought that this would ruin the day as everything we had planned involved being outside – including the ceremony. Just before we were due to go down, the wedding organiser at Maunsel House said that it was raining and tried to convince me to move everything inside. But I couldn’t bare the thought of not getting married under the beautiful bandstand as this had been my dream from the start – so I made everyone stand outside with umbrellas! It actually turned out really well and everybody loved it – the pictures of everyone with umbrellas looked great as well!"
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A DIY Thrift Store Explosion: James & Renee

Kat

December 5, 2011

James & Renee's eclectic thrift store explosion of a wedding was a real DIY effort from the couple and their friends & family. The bride, who couldn't stand the thought of a "boring, traditional wedding" explained her vision to me, "I could not stand the idea of a boring traditional wedding and reception with only two colors & every table was the same so I did everything my way. No one understood my vision until we set up the morning of the wedding & it all came together."
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A Red & Blue Themed South African Beach Wedding: Rupert & Liana

Kat

December 5, 2011

Anyone fancy a South African beach wedding on a chilly Monday morning? All I know is Rupert & Liana's wedding certainly warmed my cockles when it landed in my inbox recently. Their October wedding was inspired by the things they love. Liana loves red and Rupert blue so they wanted this combination to be their wedding theme. They're also both love the beach so of course they had to have their ceremony on the San Lameer Beach, SA.
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A Sunday Kind of Love: “LJ vs JL” – A Photography Tutorial DVD by Lara Jade & Joey L

Kat

December 4, 2011

This week saw the launch of Lara Jade and Joey L's much anticipated photography tutorial DVD. Fashion and commercial photographers respectively, these two have worked tirelessly over the past 2 years to create this 'workshop-on-a-disc.' This four hour epic aims to offer guidance and knowledge to every level of photographer from these two inspirational artists. "We invite you to step inside of our vision and observe as we compete head to head in photo shoot challenges around the world,"Lara explains. "So, whether you’re a photographer just starting out or you are a professional working within your chosen industry this tutorial DVD is the tool you need to inspire you to find your own journey and vision!"
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Spa Gift Vouchers from Wahanda

Kat

December 3, 2011

There are no two words that make me feel more relaxed than 'spa day'. Whether it be for a hen do, a birthday treat or 'just because' I am always the first to jump aboard that proverbial bandwagon when the idea is posed. I may be a workaholic, but allowing myself to forget about work for a wee while and sinking into the deep relaxation of massages, facials and clay wraps is pretty much my idea of heaven. Recharges the batteries and all that...
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Post It Notes: 2nd December 2011: Evolving Your Business and Staying Ahead of the Competition

Kat

December 2, 2011

I was asked by Rachel at the School of Rock (n Roll Bride) on Friday why, if blogs and online media are gaining popularity, I had decided to do a print magazine. "Well," I responded, "print certainly isn't dead, it's just changing... evolving... and that's something I want to be a part of. I don't see Rock n Roll Bride magazine as a rival to any of the national wedding magazines, but as an evolution and extension of my brand. Something for my readers to collect and keep."
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Thursday Treats – 1st December 2011 + My Feature on La Carmina & Lip Service, Japanese Fashion & Lifestyle Blogs

Kat

December 1, 2011

Wooooooooooooooooooooooo! Happy December y'all! Am I allowed to get excited for Christmas now please? This week has been a fan-tabi-locious one in this little wedding blogging world of mine, not least because one of my utter favourite (non wedding) bloggers La Carmina, who runs the most incredible Japanese fashion and lifestyle blog, ran a massive feature on Rock n Roll Bride and gothic weddings, both on her blog and on Lip Service, a lifestyle webzine that she writes for. I am honoured. Thank you La Carmina!
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A Rolling Stones Rock n Roll Circus: Nicola & David

Kat

December 1, 2011

Nicola & David were married on Halloween weekend in The Hospitium in York (England's most haunted city apparently!) The venue is in the middle of the Museum Gardens and in the shadow of the ruins of St. Mary’s Abbey. The unusual setting was the perfect backdrop for their Rolling Stone Circus wedding. Nicola explained, "We’re both massive Rolling Stones fans so we wanted to have the same type of feel as The Rolling Stones Rock n Roll Circus. Slightly carnival like with a serious nod to music. We drew the line at stilt walkers, jugglers and such, though I did very much want a peacock and an elephant. Surprisingly there are no ‘hire a peacock’ websites. Even less chance with the elephant."
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A Pretty Vintage Islington Wedding: Cecilia & Robert

Kat

December 1, 2011

Cecilia & Robert's pretty London wedding took place at Union Chapel and Union Hall, Islington. "At first we had to decide where to have our wedding as I'm from Italy and Robert London," Cecilia wrote to me. "We soon realised that London was the perfect place, as it’s where we've chosen to live and where we definitely wanted to start our life as a family. We started looking at a few venues, but they all looked a bit impersonal and soulless to us, we definitely wanted somewhere that would have a meaning for us and our relationship. And so that’s how we “stumbled” upon the Union Chapel. Rob had been there several times to see gigs, and we had been together to see a very special acoustic performance by Editors. Many people think it’s not an actual church, but it actually is – and it made perfect sense to us to get married there!" "We were also delighted to find out that – apart from the main auditorium - they have several spaces for hire that can be used for all sorts of events. The Upper Hall fitted the bill perfectly, as it’s a completely blank canvas that we would be able to personalize according to our own taste."
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A Food Fight Engagement Shoot: Kim & Phil

Kat

November 30, 2011

Kim & Phil were the lucky couple who won an engagement and video shoot with Assassynation, Sassy n Frank and Elbie Van Eeden. Their idea for a crazy shoot was a food fight as Kim explained in her entry, "We got engaged on 1st April 2011, yes you heard right, April Fool's Day, and with this in mind we would like to continue our personalities and character traits in an engagement shoot. The theme I see is a food fight, with bright and colourful food such as cupcakes, hotdogs, condiments (almost American food style) between myself and my fiancé."
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A Simple DIY Wedding: Tara & Oleg

Kat

November 30, 2011

Tara & Oleg were married at Wentworth Falls School of Arts, NSW, Australia. The bride wore a beautiful 1950's debutante gown made of white taffeta with black flocked trim which she found on eBay! "They met at Acting College in Sydney and have been together for the last 6 years," their wedding photographer Jemima Richards told me. "The easiest way to describe these two as madly in love. Their wedding was a really beautiful reflection of that. The entire wedding had a distinct DIY theme, but with all of their personality in every single element. Oleg is from Croatia, so his family members made the special journey over, with his two sisters travelling from opposite ends of the planet just to be there. As a wedding gift, Tara also flew in Oleg's very best friend from London as a surprise!"
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Under the Spotlight – Vintage Feather Wedding Accessoires by Britten

Kat

November 29, 2011

Britten is an independent bag and accessory company based in Bath. Owner and designer Sarah specialises in creating unique and one-of-a-kind pieces for her clients, many of which are perfect for weddings. Her new feather fan range is a fantastically unique idea for a bride who doesn't want to carry a traditional bouquet, and as well as that the feather fans are something you can keep forever.
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A DIY 1940’s Carnival Wedding: Marcie & Rich

Kat

November 29, 2011

Marcie & Rich's Nerdy DIY wedding was inspired by the things they love. The couple love to hang out at home with cat and dog playing video or board games and reading so the wedding theme kind of stemmed from these ideas. "I think our inspiration for doing things the way we did was that we didn't want the same old same old", Marcie told me. "We've both been to tons of weddings where the details were essentially the same but for a few differences. People tend to do the long church ceremony with the long gown that you would never want to wear again and make a bunch of stuff for the guests that they will never use or even want just because you saw that tiny beer stein in a craft store and thought it was perfect cause you like beer. We wanted people to have fun all the way through, including ourselves! We would much rather have a swinging party and get married in the middle of it than the other way around."
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An Undead Steampunk Wedding: Renee & Ian

Kat

November 28, 2011

So where do I begin trying to explain the awesomeness of Renee & Ian's undead steampunk wedding? I think maybe the title gives away just how amazing this wedding is going to be doesn't it? The couple were married at Catalyst, a private live/work artist community in Chicago. "We actually had to 'audition' for the space," Renee told me. "The members have a delicate relationship with the community and can't risk any trouble. We had to prove to them over several months that we talented and responsible enough to be able to use their space. We had to foster a personal relationship with them before they would even consider us. It was tedious, but worth it in the end. We gained some more wonderful friends for our already stellar collection, and the space allowed us freedom that traditional venues could not (like staying until 6am and coming back later in the week to help clean up)."
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Something Borrowed, Something Roo: Finding Our Perfect Wedding Photographer

Kat

November 28, 2011

Something I am always keen to promote through Rock n Roll Bride is the importance of hiring a professional wedding photographer to document your wedding (the photos are the only thing - well except the marriage of course - that lasts after the wedding day etc etc) However not only that, I also think it is crucial to hire a professional wedding photographer that gets you. It may be all well and good that a photographer has won a gazillion awards or has shot some fantastic weddings that have been featured in magazines and on wedding blogs, but if you don't like them as a person or they don't understand your vision for your wedding... well they aren't the guy/gal for you.
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A Sunday Kind of Love: Lara Hannah’s Vintage Inspired Wedding Dresses & Tobi Hannah’s Sharing Secrets 2012 Collections

Kat

November 27, 2011

My friend and designer extraordinaire Tobi Hannah is just about to launch her Lara Hannah 2012 bridal collection and I've got the exclusive first showing of it on my blog. How cool? Although she's become well known for her short wedding dress collections, I am so thrilled that Tobi's also now doing a longer length range under the Lara Hannah name. A "vintage inspired collection for the modern bride" as she puts it. Aren't they stunning?
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