Lori & Tom’s Casual n Cool Vegas Wedding

Kat

June 10, 2011

Lori & Tom were married in Las Vegas in a casual and laid back wedding. They kept their day simple and significant to them, as Lori explains, “We live in London and met at Coachella music festival in 2007. We wanted intimate (we were thinking 35 people, we ended up with 54!) and casual, a bit different and more of a party than a wedding. No ice sculptures, receiving lines, or head tables. We just wanted to have a big party with our family and close friends. My family live in Vancouver and Tom’s family in England, so we decided that if guests were going to travel, then why not make it a big holiday in Vegas? And to top it all off, in meant we could go to Coachella with our closest friends before the wedding — bringing everything full circle.”

Post-it Notes – 10th June 2011: Bridal Comfort & Your ‘About Me’ Page

Kat

June 10, 2011

Being comfortable on your wedding day is SO important. The day will be a long one and you are likely to be on your feet for a lot of it. Therefore it is vitally important that you shoes fit you well (and you have flats in your bag!) your headpiece doesn't dig into your head and your dress is not two sizes too small. Considering buying a dress in a smaller size to force you to 'slim into it'? DON'T. Planning a wedding is stressful enough without having to worry about calories and a new exercise regime on top of it all...and put it this way, if you don't slim into that dress you're going to feel pretty poo about yourself on the day right? Plus no one wants to see a bride spilling out of a too small gown do they? Harsh but true.

Thursday Treats – 9th June 2011 + Winner of the Tickets to the Bridesmaids Preview Screening

Kat

June 9, 2011

Photography Credit: Ellie Harvey, promo shoot for Joanne Fleming Design (full shoot here) First up a little announcement. I've been dying to know who it is that's coming to watch the Bridesmaid's movie with me and a bunch of excitable wedding obsessives next week. The lucky winners are... In other news, I'm off to the US of A in August!! I literally couldn't be more excited. I'm heading over the pond to do a little project with my girl Princess Lasertron and I'm bursting to get going. While we're there (Yep, Gareth is coming too now we're business partners and all) we'll be hopping over to LA for a little holiday too, so if you're in the area maybe we can hook up whilst we're in town? America, are you ready for some Rock n Roll Bride all up in your faces?! What? You want even more treats than that? Ahh go on then...

‘Rock n Riot’ – Behind the Scenes Photos and Video

Kat

June 9, 2011

First of all, a big load of love to everyone who took the time to comment, tweet, facebook or email me about the ‘Rock n Riot’ shoot yesterday. As ever I have been blown away with your love and support. I’m thrilled with the results but I always have to go one step further huh? So today I have the behind the scenes shots from Emma Case and video awesomeness from Pete Smyth & Simon Clarke to share. But that's not all, the styling genius that is the Ava team have also kindly popped by to explain a bit more about how they executed this epic (this word keeps cropping up in relation to this shoot…but seriously, I don’t think anything else could describe it as well!) styled shoot.

‘Rock n Riot’ – A Punk Themed Styled Shoot… The Final Results!

Kat

June 8, 2011

That time has come again when I have to put into words a day of so much epicness that it’s hard to know even where to begin. My latest big photo shoot was the brainchild of myself and florist Amy Grzegorzek of Little A in Birmingham. We first met at the Designer Vintage Bridal Fair in February and after seeing her beautiful vintage-inspired table settings, we got talking about working on a collaboration. She told me how she was about to launch Ava Event Styling, alongside Amanda of Bonne Fête and Vickie of The Boutique Baking Company, so a shoot like this would really be the very best way to enter the scene with a bang! “I’d love to do something really mental one day, shake things up a bit” Amy told me. “Yeah…like a punk themed wedding?” I asked. Amy’s face lit up like a child on Christmas morning and I’m pretty sure she let out a little squeal. “Yes! OMG yes, can we do it?!” …well put it this way, she didn’t have to ask me twice.

Ronnie & Craig’s Cooler than Cool, Multi-Coloured DIY Wedding

Kat

June 7, 2011

Did you ever look at someone's wedding pictures and know instantly that you would be friends if you met in real life? Well that's kinda how I felt when photographer Emma Case sent me Ronnie & Craig's wedding last week. I know it sound superficial and a bit weird but these guys have got style...and there ain't nothing cooler than a couple that bring that unique style into their wedding.

James & Charlie’s Intimate Registry Office Ceremony

Kat

June 6, 2011

You may have seen Andrew's own wedding around blog-land as it was photographed by the awesome Emma Case. Inspired by his own wedding experience, Andrew wanted to try his hand at wedding photography himself...and can I be so bold as to say, for a first attempt he pretty much nailed it! One to watch? I think so! He explained, "Meeting Emma had a huge impact on me. I've always felt quite a creative person and used to be able to channel that through music and film making. That just seemed to fizzle out through my mid twenties and left a massive void in my life. I never took time to fill it. When I met Emma she inspired me to pick up my camera and find a totally new passion. I've not looked back. I am so grateful to her and we still keep in regular contact. I find weddings and couples the most amazing thing to photograph as there is nothing but love and positivity in every frame. I am completely engulfed now and have taken the leap of faith to see if I can follow my own photography path."

Bridesmaids: The Movie – Win Tickets to an EXCLUSIVE Pre-Release Screening

Kat

June 6, 2011

Oh how I've been dying to see this movie. Who doesn't love a good wedding chick flick? I was super jealous last month when I read that all my favourite US bloggers were getting to see the film before the rest of the world but now it's our turn! The movie isn't released in the UK until June 22nd but Universal Pictures and the incredible Charley from London Bride have arranged an exclusive (and I mean exclusive - the cinema only hold 45 people) preview showing of the film on Wednesday 15th June. There will even be free drinks and canapés. I'm SOLD! I'll be heading down to Soho Hotel, London with a bunch of other wedding obsessives, giant bowl of sweet popcorn in tow.

Taking Over the World with the One You Love

Kat

June 5, 2011

How To…Make Your Own Paper Flowers

Kat

June 4, 2011

So today's DIY tutorial from wedding planner Andri Benson of Always Andri doesn't have to be restricted to just weddings (although how flipping adorable would these make as bouquets or centrepieces?!) I can totally imagine a big old bunch of these sat next to me on my desk. So so pretty! And what a great use for all those pages and pages of magazine adverts? Let's save the trees people.

Tania & Jay’s “Love Rocks” Wedding

Kat

June 3, 2011

"Music is what brought us together (this quote was featured on our invite) and we decided to base our wedding around our mutual love of music," newlywed Tania told me. "We decided that we would use the term 'Love Rocks' throughout our wedding and incorporate the music theme through all the wedding details."

Jonathan & Zoe’s Wedding Festival

Kat

June 3, 2011

For their 'Wedstival' (wedding festival!), Jonathan & Zoe threw traditions completely out of the window and planned the wedding that they wanted. As the bride told me, "Having been together for a (very!) long time we really wanted to steer away from a traditional wedding and do something that completely reflected us as a couple – we love the outdoor life, our Airedale terriers, our family and music festivals. Thus we came up with the idea of our “Wedstival” – a weekend that saw pretty much all 150 guests camping at the farm (in a mix of tents, VW campers, caravans and even a 36 foot luxury RV!!). We took massive inspiration from our amazing venue, York Maze. It meant we could literally have everyone and their dog there! The kids enjoyed two adventure playgrounds, an animal farm, a jumping pillow and go kart track. All eleven dogs had their own special dog park and to top it all off we had a three table casino and the most amazing live band!"

Post-it Notes – Top Tips for your Wedding Planning & Business –3rd June 2011

Kat

June 3, 2011

When you first get engaged it's very hard to know where to start. My biggest tip would be to think small and prioritise your planning into stages. There are some aspects of the wedding that need to be planned far in advance like the venue (which can often get booked over a year in advance), the dress (bridal shops usually need 6-8 months to make and fit your dress) and the photographer (again, the good ones (or ahem cheaper ones) can be booked up to and over a year in advance - especially during the busy season.)

Thursday Treats – 2nd June 2011 + A Night Out in The ‘Ding

Kat

June 2, 2011

This week has been a relatively chilled one for me which has been all kinds of awesome...sometimes there's nothing better than spending time with your husband, playing with your kitties, listening/dancing like a loon to the new Lady Gaga album (J'adore!)...oh and doing a bit of blogging. Although, in all honestly I needed a slightly less manic week after last weekend. Lucy and Debs came to visit me in Reading (hence the ' Ding nickname). Oh carnage doesn't even cover it...

Laura & Rob’s Bowling Alley Wedding

Kat

June 2, 2011

Laura & Rob were married at The Bloomsbury Hotel, London and had their reception in The Kingpin Suite at Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes, London. The wedding was unintentionally a day of two halves, and the bride even wore two dresses for each event. She explains, "As soon as we started planning the wedding, I had already set an agenda - no white, no normal wedding dress. It just so happened that the dress that made me cry like a baby was in Berketex Brides and was ivory! Even though I didn't want to wear a 'normal' dress, I still bought wedding magazines and hoped that I would find something super in there. Out of about 15 magazines, I had dogeared the page of only one dress, but forgot about it. After trying on about 6 dresses, the lady said what about this one - I put it on and couldn't stop crying - it was the one from the magazine."

Stephanie Wolff’s 2011 Wedding Dress Collection by Anissa Rahali Photographie

Kat

June 2, 2011

This stunning shoot was set up to promote the launch of Stephanie Wolff newest range of wedding dresses and Tinker Field Mouse's newest jewellery designs in Paris. Quite apart from swooning my ass off over these gowns, I'm pretty much smitten with photographer Anissa Rahail's unusual but perfectly placed use of colour.

Tina & Scott’s Travel Themed Crafty Wedding

Kat

June 1, 2011

Tina & Scott's travel and craft themed wedding took place at The Greenbranch, Texas. It was predominately a DIY wedding influenced by the couple's travels. "It was mostly a do-it-your self peacock inspired wedding with a splash of anything vintage was a blast," the couple told me. "Our invitations were an image of a vintage suitcase with travel stickers of places we have visited. This connected with our first date; a “geocaching date”. We not only wanted to share our journey as a couple with our guests but also encourage them to have an adventure of their own. The wedding favors for the evening were uniquely trackable geocaching coins designed by us."

Raven’s Carnival Bridal Shoot

Kat

June 1, 2011

Raven wanted some carnival themed bridal portraits and so she asked William of Famous William Company to shoot them for her. "She had a blast and was all smiles even though the weather was blazing hot that day," William told me. "The carnival was located outside of Atlanta, Georgia. She wore a 1950's vintage wedding dress and for her something blue for the photos she had blue converse trainers."

Peter & Alisha’s Whimsical Woodland Wedding

Kat

June 1, 2011

Peter & Alisha's Sydney wedding had a whimsical woodland vibe (complete with animal masks no less!)...with both modern and vintage twists. The bride explained, "I wanted to do something bright and whimsical with some traditional and vintage twists. I love colour so the blue of the bridesmaid's dresses knocked me over when I saw it ... its also one of my maids favourite colours. I wanted to surprise my friends and family with some little surprises , I hope we did. I love autumn colours and bright blue skies in May. Green goes well with these two palletes too and thats my favouite colour."

Barbara & Mark’s MC Motors Wedding

Kat

May 31, 2011

Barbara & Mark were married in one of the coolest venues I've seen in a long time - MC Motors in Castle Gibson, East London. The couple were keen to make their wedding all about them and what they love, and so they spent money on the things they valued (namely the awesome venue, The Wedding Smashers (DJ's) and Barbara's Candy Anthony dress) and ignored the things they didn't.