Pushing Boundaries with Website Design, Going Against the Grain & Making your Visitors Work a Little Harder…

Kat

January 31, 2012

Confession: I've been trying to write this article for a while, in fact ever since we launched The Green Room at the beginning of the month. However I keep putting it off because it's a difficult subject for me to actually to get my head around, and an even more taxing matter to try and explain my jumbled up thought process to you...In fact I'm 99% sure I will come across as a bit of a douche - hence the article-writing-hesitation. I basically want to talk a little bit about web design, and specifically about making your website design different, but more than that - a challenge to the people visiting it and why I think this is a positive thing. This is probably a subject that, on first inspection, the majority of you will decide that I'm clearly mental, and be of the opinion that it's best to make our websites as clear and easy for visitors (and potential clients) to navigate as possible. Well maybe yes, however let me explain why I'm teetering on the other side of the fence right now...

A Rock n Roll Shoot & Iron Fist Ruby Slippers: Cat & Louis

Kat

January 31, 2012

It started with those ruby slippers. When wedding photographer Kat Forsyth first laid eyes on the Iron Fist beauties, she knew she had to do a photo shoot styled around them. "I’m not even a shoe girl, and I hardly ever wear heels, but hot damn, I wanted everything on the Iron Fist website," Kat wrote. "I couldn’t get the ruby slippers out of my head, so a few weeks later I popped into a shop to see them in person. Well, the only pair left was the display pair, and they were one size too small for me. But they were On Sale. On Sale for one fifth of the original price! So in order to justify the purchase, I decided I would buy them to use in a shoot one day. Photographing them’s just as good as wearing them, right? In fact, better, because it’d be more comfy!"

A Shamanic Wedding Ceremony in Guatemala: Daniela & Mark

Kat

January 30, 2012

How utterly beautiful is today's real wedding? This is the kind of wedding that makes my heart sing - no fuss, no details, no over-the-top-bridezilla-stresses - just the most important thing...love. The bride, Daniela, told me all about their special day. "There were only the two of us at the ceremony, the lady who married us, the lady who owned the land and our photographer. The ceremony itself lasted about 1.5 hrs and consisted of several parts: lighting the fire, being cleansed with special leaves and incense, hearing the 20 nahuales of the Mayan Calendar being read out, telling each other our love and exchanging our rings, being wrapped in a green shawl which represented Gaia. We began and ended the ceremony with chocolate, a block of which was also burned in the fire. Chocolate is sacred in Mayan culture."

A-Rockin’ & A-Rollin’, Bushy Park Engagement Shoot: Theo & Lisa

Kat

January 30, 2012

Hold the phones! This might be one of the cutest engagement shoots I've ever seen. No joke! Theo & Lisa are rockers at heart who love charity shop and vintage shopping, hip hop music and hanging out...and that's exactly what they wanted for their engagement session - a simple shoot that shows the real them. I flippin' love it.

Bridezilla Bootcamp: A Wedding Cinematography Workshop & A Shout Out for a Real Life Couple to Model

Kat

January 30, 2012

Today's post had a duel purpose. Firstly to announce that my good friend (and filmmaker extraordinaire!) Richard of FX Films and WedFilm Academy is teaming up with the guys at Reel Vision and Jeff Wood Visuals to put on a day long workshop for aspiring wedding filmmakers. On 27th March, they'll be decending on a beautiful Haythrop Park in Oxfordshire to put budding videographers through their paces at Bridezilla Bootcamp! Watch the video below for the full drill and what you can expect from the day...

A Candy Coloured & Cute Bridal Shoot with Snapacab!

Kat

January 30, 2012

Kay's simple but cute bridal shoot took place at Wokefield Park, near Reading. The idea of a sweet, candy coloured shoot with a fashion-edge came from photographers Studio Rouge, who also wanted to use the images to showcase their snapacab.

A Sunday Kind of Love: Impromptu Dance Parties

Kat

January 29, 2012

Recent Press: January 2012

Kat

January 28, 2012

Wow January has been such a blur! In fact it's moved at such a super fast speed and so much has been going on that it feels like May or something already. So much has happened this month (good stuff by the way...) and as always the British press have been nothing but wonderful to me. Thank you to all the feature writers, editors and journalists that are so supportive of Rock n Roll Bride.

Do You Have to Invite Plus Ones to Your Wedding?

Kat

January 27, 2012

I'm going start out by being 100% honest with you. I don't really know the answer to this question. However after a discussion with Roo last week, I feel it might be a topic some of you are struggling with. Therefore I thought I'd use today's wedding planning advice post as a forum for us to get in a discussion on the matter - I want to know your ideas and opinions on the subject please! Although I'm sure you could Google this question and come up with the 'proper etiquette' answer, I think it's much more relevant these days to figure out what's right for you and your wedding. However I do think you should consider a few things before you make your decision...

The Benefits of Personal Projects: A Guest Post By Anna Hardy

Kat

January 27, 2012

I really enjoyed my professional work in 2011 but committing to a personal project was undoubtedly the best thing I did for my photography and myself last year. It constantly surprised and helped me in so many ways, and the very first (and being truthful, the only!) successful resolution I made as 2012 arrived was to start a brand new one. Towards the end of 2010, after a crazy year of throwing myself headlong into setting up the business and taking on as much photography work as I could, I’d become increasingly worried that my photography was becoming stale and uninspired, in a weary creative rut, and I’d almost completely stopped shooting for pleasure since doing photography professionally full time, which really bothered me. If I’m being completely honest it had started to feel like photography, my long-time love, was becoming too much hard work and too few rewards. At the start of 2011 I noticed that a number of other photographers were starting 365 projects (a photo a day for a whole year) and so following their good example, I unashamedly jumped on the bandwagon and began my own personal 365 project, hoping I could rediscover the old passion and have a bit of fun along the way. It did both and a whole lot more, and was one of the best decisions I have made for a long time.

An Owl & The Pussycat Themed Wedding: Kerryn & Joel

Kat

January 27, 2012

"The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea. In a beautiful pea green boat, They took some honey, and plenty of money, Wrapped up in a five pound note..." With The Owl and the Pussycat as inspiration, it would be hard for Kerryn & Joel to go far wrong when planning their cute and quirky wedding. Although the wedding wasn't really 'themed' to match the poem, its message resonated throughout their planning and on the wedding day itself. They used it on their wedding invitations and Kerryn read the poem as part of her speech. "The Owl and The Pussycat popped up because around the time that we got engaged, I read The Owl and The Pussycat to my 3 year old niece, Amy," Kerryn told me. "At the last page there was a lovely illustration of the owl dancing with the pussycat in mid air..."

Thursday Treats – 26th January 2012: I’m Going Back on the (Photography) Farm

Kat

January 26, 2012

It feels like the world is spinning at an extra super duper fast speed for me right now. My mind is filled with so many upcoming projects, ideas and top-secret-things-I'm-not-allowed-to-tell-anyone-about-but-if-I-don't-soon-I-might-burst-burst-BURST! And breathe...

A Music & Literature Themed Wedding: Claire & Scott

Kat

January 26, 2012

Claire & Scott chose an old movie theatre in as the setting for their ceremony, The Lantern Theatre, Sheffield. Although they hadn't even thought about marrying in a theatre, after seeing one in Whitby they loved the idea. "We’d originally planned to marry in Whitby, as it’s a special to place to us both," Claire told me. "Whilst looking at venues there, we were shown a theatre hidden away at the back of the sea front community centre. We hadn’t thought about marrying in a theatre, but we both fell in love with the idea. In the end, we decided that we’d rather marry closer to home in Sheffield, but the idea of marrying in a theatre stayed with us. After an afternoon on Google, Scott emailed every theatre within a fifty-mile radius of us to ask if they did weddings. The Lantern Theatre was one of the few that replied and it turned out to be barely a mile from our house. When we arrived we fell in love with the place. It’s an old 84-seat Victorian theatre with anaglyph wallpaper and red velvet seats. The staff there were so flexible and open to all our ideas. They even bought a mirrorball so that I could walk down the aisle in spiralling light. They served cocktails in teapots, put together a lighting and music programme so that the ceremony ran without a hitch and Keith – the volunteer who ran the bar – even dressed up in a dapper waistcoat and tie."

How about a Tattooed Wedding Dress?

Kat

January 26, 2012

How about a tattooed dress to match your own ink? When wedding dress designer Jo of The Couture Company first told me about her idea to design a tattoo themed wedding dress I was excited. Super excited. I've certainly never seen anything like it before! Whether you're a tattooed goddess and you want your dress to reflect your own ink, or you're not quite brave enough to go under the needle but you love the idea of being a tattooed bride, these dresses are just perfect for you. Designer Jo says, "I have always tried to design gowns that are different and unusual - using unusual colours, doing a traditional victorian bustle gown in fuschia pink, or a big meringue dress but in black. I love the idea of a bride having something totally unique and bespoke to them."

A Rainbow Rockabilly Wedding: Jennifer & Jon

Kat

January 25, 2012

If you're a long-time reader of this 'lil wedding blog of mine, you'll be well aware that I'm a huge fan of the rainbow wedding trend. I even modeled in an 'Over the Rainbow' themed shoot last October. So you can imagine my glee when Jennifer & Jon's wedding landed on my desk. The couple wanted a huge party, and with 200 guests and only a $10,000 budget they were determined to not spent a fortune to do so. "We honestly would never have been able to pull of any wedding without our friends and family," Jennifer told me. "It was truly a DIY wedding with everyone helping out days beforehand by shoveling, raking and baking in the hot sun to make my friend's ranch into a kick ass outdoor wedding venue. Caitlin & Michael Burns, owners of Rebar Ranch were gracious enough to make our vision come true (or turn our lack of vision into something amazing!)"

A Budget-Friendly DIY Wedding with the World’s Cutest Wedding Video: Melissa & Robbie

Kat

January 25, 2012

The Inspirations: Mark Niemierko

Kat

January 25, 2012

How can I possibly even begin to describe Mark Niemierko? Well, he's a high-end wedding planner based in London and a force to be reckoned with! But more than that he's one hell of a character, and one I'm honoured to call a friend. We met a few years ago when he invited me for drinks at The Charlotte Hotel (read: a fancy hotel that I couldn't afford to even step foot in) and I was super nervous. I wondered why the hell he wanted to meet me. After all, from the outside we appeared to be very different people and to have very different tastes and ideas about what made a great wedding. However let me tell you, I was wrong...it's not only nonconformists like me that get judged by the way they look! Mark and I got on like a house of fire from the moment we met and I can, in all honestly, say he's rated high in my internal list of favourite people. Despite his recognition and reputation, Mark is actually quite a private person. You won't find him spilling his guts on Twitter or wanting to tell people every idiosyncrasy of his life or his business. In actual fact, I haven't seen that many interviews or articles about him online that really peel back those designer suit layers and get right inside his head. Which is why, dear Green-Roomers, I'm utterly thrilled to be the one to share his secrets right here! If you dont learn a thing or two about running your own sucessful business from Mr Niemierko then I dont know where you will. It doesnt matter what kind of weddings or which market you want to attract; Mark is a genius marketeer, and the perfect representation of his brand.

A Shabby Chic Wedding with Vintage Touches: Hannah & Andy

Kat

January 25, 2012

Cash Wedding Registries with Deposit a Gift

Kat

January 24, 2012

Earlier this month I went to lunch with one of my best and oldest friends, Katie. We've known each other for years, ever since we started skipping Sunday School together! Anyway, this lunch was extra special (and it wasn't just because we went to Wagamamas) because she told me she was getting married...in March! Yes in under 3 months time! Anyway one of the first things we got talking about (after the dress of course) was the wedding gift registry. She told me they'd decided to go for the cash registry option and wanted to know if I thought it was 'tacky' to ask for money over gifts. They already live together, but they want to have the honeymoon of their lives. So, instead of asking for toasters, dinnerwear and cushions, they're asking people to contribute as much as they feel comfortable with towards their dream trip. They've added small things from as little as £5.50 for a favourite cocktail, all the way to a few hundred pounds for flights. I thought it was a great idea! Who needs another throw cushion anyway!?

A Neo-Victorian, Steampunk Wedding: Jasmine & George

Kat

January 24, 2012

"We are both crafty, artistic and creative," the pink haired bride told me. "We wanted a mix of romantic gothic, neo-Victorian, vintage and steampunk for our wedding. We really wanted to make it our own and original with still trying to keep a little tradition for our families. We decided we just wanted hints of each. That's why we decided to DIY as much as we could." After an 11 year relationship, Jasmine & George were married in The Greenhouse at The Foundry, NY by groom's cousin, John Russo. "We got our wedding rings from Gemvara," Jasmine continued. "My ring has black and white diamonds and his had black diamonds added to it. The inscription says 'True Love Waits' after a Radiohead song because we waited 11 years before we got married."