Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Beach

Day of the Dead and Lots & Lots of Lovely Balloons

Kat

July 28, 2010

Beatriz & Ricardo got married early this month in Cartagena, a colonial city on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. Born here, Beatriz knew she wanted to return back to this special place to get married. They had a gorgeous civil service a few days before the wedding. "Weddings tend to be so cookie cutter and sooo traditional, we were sure we didn’t want that" the bride told me. "The first tradition we broke was not getting married in a church, we decided to just have a civil ceremony; but a friend of us told us that civil ceremonies were so plain and that we should do something special, so we decided to go to the notary to get married in Bogotá a few days before the actual wedding in Cartagena and to have a very special ceremony."
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Under the Sea – An Aquarium Wedding

Kat

July 10, 2010

I may not have seen anything so gloroius in a long time. This venue is STUNNING. What a unusual and spectacular place for a wedding. Jen & Lou chose Adventure Aquarium to play host to their wedding reception. With the sea life swimming all around them all evening, teamed with their subtle beach theme, the scene was most certainly set for a very different wedding. Jen also chose a very floaty/flowing gown by Kleinfeld Bridal whcih almost looked like crashing waves around her. A-mazing!
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Mad Hatter Rock n Roll Bride ~ Candy Floss, Beach Huts & The Great British Seaside

Kat

July 6, 2010

It's that time of immense excitement for me again, when I finally get to share with you a 'lil project I've been busying myself with behind the scenes. Unbelievably this shoot has been in the pipeline for over a year but it's only now that I've had the time to get it all organised properly! The Photographer I first met Eliza Claire just over a year ago at the very first 'Rock n Roll Bride meet'. We met in a teeny cocktail bar in central London. We drank cosmopolitans and mojitos and talked way into the night about business, photography and changing the face of the UK wedding industry...and look how far we've come in a year! At this first meeting we talked about doing a photo shoot together and would you believe it's actually taken this long to get it together. However, as always, the wait was soworth it as within this past year we've got to know so many more amazing people in the industry, a few of which we asked along to join in the fun. "My thoughts on the shoot were to do something different, bring out the softer side of Rock'nRoll Bride! You've done a gothic shoot and a Punk-rock shoot, I wanted to show your softer, feminine side. Tiffany and I were definitely on the same page when it came to ideas for this, and the Whitstable location really grew from that - getting you out of the city, and wanting beach huts!"
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Laid Back Hawaii Beach Wedding

Kat

July 5, 2010

I think you're going to love Kim & Paul's wedding - its the perfect post for a gorgeous sunny Monday like today! The couple, from Colorado, got married at Ke Iki Beach Bungalows, on the North Shore of Oahu. They went diy crazy and did a lot of the wedding themselves - from the flowers (which they bought wholesale) to the homemade veil. "We really wanted our wedding to be a 'non-wedding wedding' that was as unique as we were and at the same time have a super fun beach party!" Kim told me." We also wanted to involve our family and friends... so thankful we have so many creative people in our lives to help (flowers, hair, make-up, firecrackers!). Even though I didn't buy one bridal magazine or try on any dresses, I definitely perused the wedding-porn online that was tailored for the independent thinking brides. We didn't want to give in to the 'wedding industrial complex' and doing things the way they are "suppose" to be. I think that I've always been a non-traditionalist which is why I chose to forgo the cliche white dress and khaki Hawaiian beach wedding for one that was more colorful, stylish, elegant but still casual enough for the beach. We had an amazing time with all of the special people in our lives in a place that is very special to us."
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Heart Shaped Candy,The British Seaside & Mad Hatter Hair – a ‘Lil Sneak Peek of the new Rock n Roll Bride Shoot

Kat

June 30, 2010

So I don't usually post sneak peeks on the blog (I prefer to tease you on Twitter and Facebook!) but I am so in love with these that I just had to make sure that every single of of your saw them. As I think most of you will know, I headed down to Whitstable beach yesterday with photographer Eliza Claire, Vintage planner and stylist Tiffany Grant-Riley and hair & make up artist Elbie Van Eeden. It really didn't feel like work - it was just a girl's day out! And although I'm proper shattered (and quite sunburnt ooops!) the results are looking like they are aaalll going to be worth it.
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Music, Poetry, Green Balloons & Love

Kat

June 16, 2010

I always wonder, when a photographer gets married, how the hell do they decide who to shoot their own wedding? Well Laura & Dave of Blissed Photo had just this conundrum when they got married recently, but chose the amazing One Love Photo as they knew Heather & Jon would capture it perfectly. Being surrounded by all things wedding in their day to day lives, the couple had seen loads of brilliant ideas (and knew some to avoid!) in their own planning. However they still knew what was important to them, music and poetry, and wanted to make sure this was brought into their day. "Dave plays sax in a few bands, so a trio of his best friends played during cocktail hour, and we hired an amazing funk band, Emerald City Throwdown, that had everybody dancing" Laura told me. " We also wanted everyone to mingle, so we skipped the seating assignment and also had couches (from Bella Rugosa) to make the vibe more casual and open. I'm not really a poet, but I LOVE spoken word poetry, so I asked my 3 favorite poets if they would read at our reception. Everyone went nuts because these poets are some of the best in the world (truly- they constantly travel and compete internationally). I surprised Dave with a poem I wrote, and then he surprised me by having a good friend of his perform a new Pearl Jam song, Just Breathe, for our first dance. "
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A Laid Back Brighton Beach Wedding

Kat

June 15, 2010

Becky & Jon wanted to have a laid back wedding with all their closest friends and family at one of their favourite posh restaurants in Brighton, The Ginger Pig. Originally Becky didn't even want to wear a wedding dress but after falling in love with this gorgeous David Fielden number, she soon changed her mind. It even disguised her baby bump pretty well! She paired this with some vintage shoes that had belonged to her Mother. The ceremony was held at Brighton Town Hall which was followed by some quick portraits on the beach - complete with the iconic Brighton beach huts and champagne in plastic glasses!
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Laundrette Lovers

Kat

June 10, 2010

I've always loved laundrette photo sessions so when Brighton photographer Joanna Brown sent me this set I couldn't wait to share it... "I have been living in quirky Kemptown in Brighton for some time and have always had my eye on the Laundrette round the corner thinking it would be perfect location for a shoot" Joanna told me. "I have always thought that there is something quite lovely and romantic about laundrettes; the sound of the machines quietly whirling that combined with complete strangers just hanging out sharing a really mundane chore. So I have been patiently waiting for my opportunity to arrive and hey presto a lovely couple got in touch and I could not quite believe it. Laura and Rikki met whilst studying at Bath University and had seen each other around the campus; at the bar, in the library and also spied each other at the local laundrette; after sometime Rikki finally asked Laura out and the rest is history. They are simply an adorable couple who have a great sense of humour, Rikki even took Laura on one of their first dates to a Laundrette (how romantic). We had a hoot at the Laundrette (I think some of the regulars thought we were balmy) especially when Laura lay on the floor for one of the shots; hey it is Brighton though anything goes!"
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Oh I Do Like to be Beside the Seaside

Kat

April 17, 2010

Whenever the sun shines in London about 80% of the population speculate going to the beach and Brighton is usually the first port of call. It's quirky, it's quaint, it's nostalgic, it's hilariously British and it has a killer night life! So when it came for Charlie & Ross to have their 'Cherish the Dress' wedding shoot, where better to descend then this wonderful beach location!? The couple actually got married in December so they thought the juxtapositionof having some lovely, warming, outdoor shots would be absolutely perfecto.
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Brighton Rock n Roll

Kat

April 11, 2010

There are a select few UK photographers that I truly love and I think Pippa Mckenzie may be joining that group. I fell in love with her relaxed, documentary inspired style and couldn't wait to share this rockin' Brighton engagement session with you. "Natalie & James live in Surrey, and often hang out in Brighton" Pippa told me. "They are young, quirky and very successful property developers. They are such a cool, hip and fun loving couple and we wanted to really capture their characters in their e-Shoot. They had a few costume changes for the shoot to contrast the beach shots with classy rock n roll amongst the Brighton Lanes. We thought the edgy surroundings of Brighton really complimented their characters."
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What a Small World…

Kat

April 8, 2010

I love a shoot with a great story behind it...especially when it revolves around people I know! When bride-to-be Laura checked in on Rock n Roll Bride a few months ago she fell in love with the work of UK photographer, David McNeil. She promptly contacted him to arrange an engagement shoot in Brighton. Her fiance Nick and her turned up on the morning of the shoot, only to discover that unbeknownst to both of the boys, they already knew each other! David and Nick actually used to work together long before David tried his hand at wedding photography and Nick got engaged...but wait the tale gets stranger because when David sent me these images it turns out I used to work with Nick too! What a small world...
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With a Little Help From Our Friends…{Part 1}

Kat

March 17, 2010

The event started the day before, with everyone coming together to set up and organise for the next day's festivities. "On Thursday, after Seba and I spent two days on vacation exploring Castro, we met up with Anita, Alan, and about 30 of their closest friends." Kyle told me "We carpooled from Castro to Quicavi, another little seaside town, where we would take a boat to Voigue. But first, we had to load that bad boy up. When all was said and done, I was nearly certain that we would sink. I have never seen so much stuff packed into such a small space. I mean, pretty much the entire wedding, minus the tent, was being transported. As soon as we arrived on the island, everyone set up their tents, we ate lunch and then we got right to work — and by “we,” I mean everybody else worked really hard and Seba and I photographed them working really hard."
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Doing it Their Own Way

Kat

March 12, 2010

The pair employed no wedding vendors (except photographer Amber Hughes) for their wedding. They did the whole thing themselves and did it in style to boot! No expensive venue (they got married at home and had their wedding day shoot at Seawall) no over-priced outfit (Magalie wore a dress from BCBG, boots from Chooka with a flower in her hair from H&M.) The flowers were purchased in bulk from different florists in town and the couple put them together themselves. The tissue paper pom-poms were from a Martha Stewart tutorial. They pulled all the food and drinks together themselves and Magalie did her own hair and makeup.
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