60’s Girl Bands & 50’s Rock n Roll – A Vintage North London Wedding: Laura & Daniel

Kat

November 10, 2011

Meeting through a love of 60's girl bands and 50's Rock n Roll, it was inevitable that the wedding of Laura & Daniel would be made for this little blog of mine. Combine this with a penchant for vintage clothing and you've just about created the perfect Rock n Roll Bride wedding. "It seemed natural for us to reflect the way we met in our wedding," Laura told me. "I'm an artist, designer and one half of 50's Rock n Roll DJ duo The Truckin' Laura's, and Daniel is guitarist in The Special Needs, so music was a big part of the wedding. I walked down the aisle to a piano version of 'Sea of Love' by Phil Phillips played by our friend Galia. Our friend Anna and her all singing all dancing Ronettes played a beautiful ukelele version of Phil Spector classic 'Be my Baby' at the end of our ceremony which set the tone for the day perfectly. Another really special moment was Daniel singing The Tempations 'My Girl' after his speech and all our guests joining in with the chorus. After our first dance to The Ramones 'Baby I Love You' our DJ friends took turns on the decks and kept the guests dancing all night!"

A Mad Men Inspired Vintage Wedding: Rowan & Neil

Kat

July 18, 2011

Rowan & Neil were married at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church, Renfrew followed by a Mad Men inspired reception at 29 Private Members Club in Glasgow. "The wedding ceremony was particularly special to us," Rowan explained. "My Dad is an Episcopal minister and it was a great honour to have him conduct the service in his own church. My Mum walked me up the aisle - it was lovely to have them both involved in the duties of 'giving the bride away'."

Peace & Love – Allie & Bo’s 1970’s Bohemian Wedding

Kat

June 13, 2011

There are some weddings I see that are just so adorably gorgeous that I squeal a little bit with delight when I'm allowed to share them with you...and this baby needs to be shared! I just know you're going to adore it as much as I do. Allie & Bo's wedding had a distinctive 1970's hippy vibe - an era that they live and love in their everyday lives. The bohemian, DIY details make this day simply perfect for them. As bride Allie explains, "I like to consider myself a modern day hippie with a bohemian bent. I wanted something sort of whimsical and vintage for my wedding. I grew up with stories from my grandmother of the passions of the hippie movement of the late 60’s and early 70’s. She encouraged me to be original and taught me an appreciation of nature and an independent sense of style. Bo and I love to hike and camp and we eat locally grown food, so it was important for us to plan an environmentally friendly wedding."

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.

Rosa & Doug’s 1960′s Hawaiian Holiday Wedding

Kat

February 7, 2011

Although vintage inspired weddings are exceptionally popular, the 1960's is an era I don't see replicated as often as I'd like. However this all changed when Rosa & Doug's incredibe wedding landed on my desk. I swooned, I let out a little squeal and I emailed them back right away saying "yeah baby!" The wedding took place at Don the Beachcomber, a bar on Huntington Beach, CA. Rosa wore a custom dress by Dolly Couture, made especially for her and inspired by a genuine vintage dress pattern she'd seen in a 1963 copy of Modern Bride. The bride's accessories and jewellery were all vintage and mostly found on eBay.

Olga & Jo’s Two Day Russian/British Fusion Wedding

Kat

February 2, 2011

Olga & Jo's Rye wedding makes me super happy! I chatted to the bride all about it - their style ideas and how they integrated both their cultures, Russian and English, into their super cute wedding. She explained, "As soon as Jo and I had moved to Brighton, we knew we wanted to mark our wedding day by celebrating it by the beach. It is a Russian tradition to celebrate a wedding over two days so that with family and friends, and their children, there can be one formal and one informal day. With my family being from Russia we wanted to keep to this tradition and felt an English seaside was perfect for catering for both days and the number of people who would be travelling far for the occasion." "Having searched unsuccessfully in Brighton for our perfect location, we stumbled across The Place At The Beach Hotel in Camber Sands which looked just right. Having visited the venue and seen the beach across the road, the accommodation for our families and friends and a spacious garden with a BBQ, we knew it had everything we wanted for our two days."

A Groovy Kinda Love – The 1960’s are BACK!

Kat

January 21, 2011

"The idea for a 60's inspired shoot came about after I noticed we’re seeing lots and lots of vintage 1950's style about and I figured it was about time the 1960's gave it a run for its money," explained photographer Shelly. "I had a vision of a pink bowler hat and from there, everything else fell into place." Shelly invited planner Kelly (of Boho Weddings) and Asher to model for her. "I knew I wanted mini dresses in a Mary Quant style and Debbie over at Danielle Lara Couture created these two especially for the shoot. When I went to collect them, I ended up picking up a couple of others at the same time – I just couldn’t help myself!"

Polly & Stuart’s Wartime Wedding

Kat

December 10, 2010

Polly & Stuart's wartime inspired wedding was held in a marquee in Polly's parent's back garden. "We love vintage style from the 1930's-1960's. We wanted to incorporate our love of 1950's Rock n Roll into our wedding and combine it with the aesthetic of a wartime garden party," explained the bride. "We furnished our marquee and gentleman's smoking room with pieces of furniture, decor and paintings from our home. I can safely say that I don't think that anyone else has ever had a 1940's waxworks dummy in their wedding marquee! We also wrote our own 'hymn' for our wedding service. We put sticks of rock on all the tables.We combined stylistic references and it worked- We backed the stage with 1950's style working men's club red curtains and had Victorian birdcages stuffed with ivy and pearls suspended from the ceiling. We turned my parents' summer house into the 'gentlemen's smoking room' complete with pipes, silk smoking jackets and a drinks cabinet. We had our dog Enid Mouse as our whippet of honour. Our magnificent nautical cake complete with Marzipan octopus tentacles was by Annie at Yummy Nice. The cake was topped by a sculpture of us in a boat made by my husband Stuart. We didn't want to be constrained with any particular rules!"

How To…Make Your Own 1960’s Inspired Mod Floral Hair Wreath (Tutorial by Elsie Flannigan)

Kat

December 4, 2010

I heart Elsie. I've been following her awesome crafty blog, A Beautiful Mess, for the past year or so am not afraid to admit that I'm a bit of an super fan. Elsie got engaged to Jeremy in August and so secretly I was hoping she'd share all her wedding planning and DIY ideas on her blog. Last week I received an email from Elise and her sister Emma telling me that not only have they started their own wedding blog, Le Wedding Party, but that Elsie would like to share some of her amazing DIY tutorials on Rock n Roll Bride! Eeek...I am so excited that she even knows my little blog exists, let alone that she wants to share her stuff with us!

Sammy & Ian’s Modern Romantic London Wedding

Kat

November 16, 2010

Sammy & Ian went for a quirky, modern and London theme for their Soho wedding. Being a costume designer, the bride made her own dress based on the late 50's early 60's silhouette of tight and knee length, with a bit of Vivienne Westwood influence. "It was made from red silk Dupion, and the corset was white duchess satin with red silk ribbon stripes sewn on top," she explained. Sammy also designed Ian's unusual and fabulous suit which was made out of venetian wool and was based on a 1960's design.

Rennie & Joe’s Vintage Styling with a Quirky Edge

Kat

November 10, 2010

Rennie & Joe are the coolest. The couple, who have known each other for 19 years and were first loves, still felt marriage was important to them even after all that time. "Most would think that it must be boring to marry after such a long time and that we might just be going through the motions," Rennie told me. "On the contrary, our decision to marry was not because we felt we "had to" - we decided to marry after all this time because we are more madly in love than ever and still best friends. We created our ceremony around our wishes to deepen our commitment to each other and profess our love in the presence of those who are most important to us."

Mia & Matt’s Super Kitsch, Super Gorgeous 1960’s Wedding

Kat

November 1, 2010

I think I possibly have one of the cutest weddings ever to round of today's posts. When I first laid eyes on Mia & Matthew's 60's inspired wedding, I kid you not, I literally squealed with delight. How happy do these photos make you feel?! I KNOW! Adore... The wedding took place in Devon at St Gregory's RC Church in Kingskerswell. The reception then followed at Colehayes Park in Bovey Tracey, a Georgian House in beautiful grounds. As soon as the couple got engaged they knew their wedding would have a 60's theme. Mia is obsessed with everything from this era and even had her dress made by a friend to an authentic 1960's dress pattern. Mia explained, "I'm obsessed with vintage so it had to be that way! I also wore a floral headband of golden coloured alstroemeria which was made by our florist, gold t-bar sandals which I found in the Miss KG by Kurt Geiger. I wore yellow plastic daisy earrings from Spitalfields Market, a silver engraved locket which Matt gave me on the morning of our wedding and an amazing wedding cartoon bracelet which I bought from Da Da Dreams on Etsy. My sister also gave me a lovely bluebird bracelet and matching garter on the morning of the wedding, which she'd had handmade for me. They're amazing! In the evening I changed into a 1960s lace mini dress with cape which I found on Ebay and borrowed a vintage faux fur cape from my sister."

Emilia & Ville’s Vintage, Rockabilly & Pyschobilly Engagement

Kat

September 29, 2010

Australian photographer Gemma Clarke was lucky enough to find Emilia & Ville who wanted a retro/vintage style engagement shoot in Helsinki, Finland this July. The train yards in Pasila played host to their fabulous fashion-led shoot and the couple were really involved in the concept and styling of the whole thing.

Issy Loves her Dress

Kat

September 14, 2010

Issy's 'Love your Dress' shoot took place in Raphael Park, Gidea Park in Essex. Her dress was by designer Ugo Zaldi and her hairband was actually found at BHS! Issy has a love of the 1960's and has a really classic look from that era with her cute pixie crop hair, so the whole styling of the shoot, from Issy's dress to the props, was set around this vibe.

Emma & Matt’s Incredible Fancy Dress Wedding

Kat

September 8, 2010

Emma & Matt had an incredible fancy dress wedding at home. The bride & groom live on a farm, so they decided their own home would be the perfect venue. The theme for the fancy dress was anything from 1920's - 1980's and they invited their guests to dress as their favourite decade from the last century. Even the music they selected fitted the theme, with the DJ's 'The Beautiful and the Damned' - who they saw playing at a festival - playing an eclectic mix of music from the 1920's to the 1980's throughout the evening.

Jenny Packham & The Roaring 20’s

Kat

September 3, 2010

Jenny Packham and 1920's styling was the order of the day for Emma & Adam's wedding at Chewton House just outside Bristol. In fact Emma's Jenny Packham 'Joy' dress provided the inspiration for the whole wedding! The wedding theme came about by chance as when Emma visited Wedding Days in Cheltenham bridal shop to look for a potential wedding dress. She hadn't had much luck in her search up til then but luckily for her, a promotions representative from Jenny Packham happened to be visiting the store that day and had a few "one off" dresses for Wedding Days to show case for one day only. The last dress she tried on was "Joy". It was exactly what she had been looking for. The bride then came up with the idea to theme the whole wedding about the 1920's/30's style of the dress.

Eccentric, Retro & Kitsch

Kat

July 26, 2010

Chen Lie & Thom got married in Oz in a crazy, wild and fun party way. She is Australian and he is British (they now live and work in Prague!) so they decided to head over to Chen Lie's hometown of Perth for their 1960s/70s/John & Yoko inspired wedding.

Twiggy

Kat

July 23, 2010

Aleksandra's shoot was inspired by the 1960's modelling icon Twiggy. Don't you just adore it!?

Incredible

Kat

Art of Her

March 12, 2010

We had been planning this shoot for months but just needed the right two people to do it" the guys told me. "As you can see, Adam and Mary were perfect for the shoot. We actually had the wedding dress made for Mary by a local seamstress for $100 (including the cost of the fabric). So, we loaded up and headed to Denison, TX. Our plan was to shoot at the Old Dennison Hotel, but when we got there we found some other amazing places to shoot as well. The town is so weird. It seems like it once was a booming little town (like in the early part of the 1900's), but then as it started to crumble, no one ever fixed it or tore down the old buildings; instead they just built all these modern structures around it. It just feels kind of forgotten, but it was really perfect for our shoot. One of the places we shot was this adorable little 50's diner and malt shop complete with old gas pumps, a juke box, and checkered floors! It's called Peggy Sue's 50's Diner and Ice Cream Parlor. As for the Denison hotel... Supposedly, this hotel burned in 1929 and when it did all of the people who were in it were killed in the fire. I have to say, it was a very creepy. Kind of reminded me of The Shining. Some of the rooms have been remodeled, but many of the rooms are still as they were after the fire. The owner was so sweet to let us use one of the rooms to do the shoot. As you can see in the pictures, the walls are black from the fire and what little furniture that was in the room was definitely old. The cat in some of the picture is an old cat with a glass eye who jumped up on the window sill just in time to be in this series of pictures. Mary was amazing. She has never modeled before but she knew how to position her body and we think she perfectly pulled off the vintage look we were going for (especially considering it was 25 degrees all day and she didn't have a whole lot covering her. All of the clothes (including the furry jacket) and jewelry (with the exception of the wedding dress), we brought from my mom's awesome little boutique called funky at heart boutique (which is in side her gift store called Cheerful Heart Gifts). We always use stuff from her store for our concept shoots! It really goes perfectly with our style. Adam actually brought his own clothes for the shoot. In fact, that's how he dresses on a daily basis. It's almost like they were born in the wrong era. They totally rocked this look...I think because it is a pretty good representation of who they are on a daily basis. I just don't think we could have found better people to do this. As for our inspiration for this shoot... I really wanted to do a shoot that I felt best represented who we are as photographers. I had seen a picture in a magazine one time and loved it and wanted to do something like it but with our own twist on it (hence, the amazing balloon picture that resulted). We basically built the whole shoot around this 30's-40's theme (with the added set from the diner which we just had to do when we found the place). I really love the glamorous look of that era and we really wanted to capture that in this shoot.

Buddy Holly & Mother Nature

Kat

March 1, 2010

Amy & Nick's wonderful South Austin wedding had a distinct and very individual theme - perfect for them! Big fans of Buddy Holly and late 50's/early 60's music, it was important to them to really have that as a big part of their wedding. Amy walked down the aisle to an acoustic version of Every Day played live by a friend on the guitar. Nick waited to marry his sweetheart decked out in a grey suit, Buddy Holly glasses and his favorite pair of Converse. Amy wore a dress by Dolly Couture which was perfectly accented by a Magnolia flower created by Amy Barber of Sweettooth Bags.