Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Indian

Bollywood Inspired Wedding in Italy

Kat

Francesca Vecchi

April 11, 2024

Your wedding should be a reflection of you and your partner, that's step one when it comes to planning a rock n' roll wedding! One of our favourite ways to do this is to look to both of your heritages and pull references from both sides, creating a really personal, perfect blend of the two of you. That's exactly what Pietro and Ilaria, who got married in Parma, Italy did. Creating a day that was a fusion between India and Italy, meant they had incredible food and wedding style from Italy, paired with all the colours, dances, and vibes from India.
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Indian-Inspired Vegan Wedding Under The Stars

Ellie Kime

Natalie Holford

May 9, 2018

Jodie and Tom's bright and beautiful wedding was totally magical - an "Indian evening under the stars" as they called it - set in Oakham. Jodie explains, "Our wedding was a fusion of inspiration from lots of different cultures, with Mexican burritos alongside Cornish pasties, Moroccan star lanterns and a British Bake Off table, but our main inspiration was India. We wanted the wedding to be about the senses, colours, textures, sounds and scents, which India is of course brimming with, and we just felt it captured our ideas for the day!"
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India Themed Wedding in the Peak District: Lyndsay & Joseph

Kat

Marshal Gray

November 26, 2014

Lyndsay and Joseph went travelled for four months in India and completely fell in love with the country - the sights, the sounds, and even the smells. When they got engaged they initially decided that they wanted to go back there to get married. Although this couldn't happen in the end, it did make picking a theme for their UK wedding a lot easier! Lyndsay explains, "We wanted to get married in India but unfortunately Joseph’s grandma became ill and we realised we would never be able to get her out there. We then decided we would bring India to the Peak District, which is near where we’re from. We wanted to bring everything that we love about India to our wedding, including the relaxed atmosphere, the food and especially the colours."
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Fancy Dress Fusion Wedding: Kiran & Josh

Kat

The Picture Foundry

July 10, 2013

Kiran and Josh had a two-day wedding on the 3rd and 4th of May. Their main aim was to throw a celebration that felt very 'them' and for everyone to have a great time. Big weddings can often cost a lot, but even with their two day event, this savvy couple only spent £8500! They called in favours, DIYed a LOT and made some clever and unusual choices in order to save money. Everything from the flowers, the cake, the DJ and the stationery were either DIYed by the couple or donated by friends.
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Mod meets Moghul – Indian Culture & 1960s Mods: Aelia & Stuart

Kat

James Melia

March 19, 2013

"Asian weddings are notorious for being huge, but we didn't want that", the bride continued. "We wanted everyone there to truly feel part of the wedding. This was going to be a party for our nearest and dearest. We set out to find a unique venue to capture both our sides, tall order! We looked everywhere: gallery spaces, sculpture gardens, castles – the lot. We were losing hope until we came across a beautiful National Trust site in Derby. It was stunning and we fell in love with it straight away. Not only could we pretty much use the whole house for our ceremony, reception, dinner and dancing but it was closed to the public and it had a history steeped in the Rajasthani era as the owner was the Viceroy to India. Perfect! I had the Indian side covered and Stu had the design and architecture by Robert Adams covered. We couldn't believe our luck."
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A Colourful Multicultural Wedding: Piyush and Bex

Kat

October 12, 2012

Gosh where does one begin with a wedding like Bex & Piyush's? This is pretty much what wedding bloggers dreams are made of... at least mine are anyway! Bex & Piyush wanted to celebrate the heritage of both families in their wedding. The wedding was an Indian/Western fusion celebration at Heaton House Farm near Macclesfield. Unlike many mixed-background couples, they opted to have just one ceremony incorporating both a Western civil ceremony alongside Indian traditions. Bex & Piyush didn't want to have two separate ceremonies, preferring to represent both their heritages together. "Our wedding was a bright, colourful, inclusive, multicultural and non-religious, light-hearted day, providing an alternative to the inherent narcissism of traditional wedding", began Bex. "We had the wedding on an English farm, complete with views of rolling hills, wellies and rain showers."
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Alternative Asian Bridal Shoot

Kat

October 6, 2012

We don't get to see a whole lot of alternative Asian wedding inspiration, so I was thrilled when I received this bridal shoot with an edge from School of Rock graduate Rabbia Ali Shah from the Asian Wedding Ideas blog. "Seeing the same Asian bridal images can start to get a little repetitive", wrote Rabbia, "and the idea of something a little edgier is one that I had been thinking about for a while. Getting people on board wasn't the easiest of task but getting in touch with wedding photographer Priti Shikotra, changed all that. She had similar thoughts about a shoot."
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Two Ceremonies, Afternoon Tea & A Music Festival: Tam & Rob

Kat

September 18, 2012

"We really wanted a fun wedding which guests would enjoy", began Tam when I asked her about her vintage-inspired festival wedding. "Rob & I decided we would split the day into three, so we had the ceremony, the afternoon tea with games then an evening party. I think having three different venues with lots of entertainment was fun for the guests and us!" In fact after the afternoon tea part of the wedding, the couple had a second ceremony - a traditional Indian wedding ceremony. "My dad is Indian so after the wedding ceremony everyone had a glass of Pimms and then gathered round for a traditional Parsee ceremony called a 'Mado Soro'. The ceremony is a blessing for the couple to wish them good fertility and a fruitful marriage. My dad explained what was going on to all the guests and what the ceremony meant. We were presented with the most amazing fresh flower garlands that my cousins had bought over from Thailand. A fruit tree was planted by my brother while prayers were said by other relatives. An egg was passed round Rob's head three times then thrown to the ground and broken. A coconut was then smashed on the floor. Everyone then threw rice and confetti."
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An Emotional East Meets West Wedding: Aneesha & Ed

Kat

March 26, 2012

Back in February 2011 I was at exhibiting at the first Designer Vintage Bridal Show, Birmingham. Luckily for me the organisers plonked my stand right next to one of my ultimate besties, wedding photographer Emma Case. On the second day of the show in walked bride-to-be Aneesha, who had decided she wanted Emma to capture her 2012 wedding. After chatting about wedding planning, blogging and photography Annesha went upstairs to try on wedding dresses. Always one to get excited about this part of wedding planning Emma & I followed to see what the bride-to-be would pick. Aneesha & Ed were having a traditional Indian ceremony in the morning, but for the evening reception they wanted to change into western wedding attire. As soon as Aneesha tried on the slinky Yevonde by Jenny Packham the tears started to fall and we all knew it was the dress for her! I'm honoured that I was allowed to witness this experience and I'm even more thrilled that today I get to share their full wedding story with you.
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A Two-Day Hindu & Catholic Wedding: Lucy & Vish {Part Two}

Kat

February 1, 2012

After the festivities of their Hindu ceremony, Lucy & Vish woke up on the Saturday morning ready to do it all again - this time in a Catholic church. The ceremony was held at St Patrick's RC Church, Manchester, with the reception that followed back at St Peter's Hall. Their Catholic wedding has very British influences - from high tea to xx. Lucy wore a vintage wedding dress from Elizabeth Avey. "I knew I wanted a vintage Betty Draper-esque dress, as the 50s is my style era! Elizabeth's was my first stop, which was ideal as it was only up the road from where I live in Kentish Town. Although I didn't find the dress straight away, Elizabeth knew exactly what I wanted and told me to return in a few weeks as she was due to get in more pieces. I'm so glad I went back as when I returned she pulled out THE dress, which was an original 50s number, fresh from LA! Although she needed a clean she was in pristine condition for her 60 years! It was originally a drop waist dress but the lovely ladies at Designer Alterations raised the waist to make it m
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A Two-Day Hindu & Catholic Wedding: Lucy & Vish {Part One}

Kat

February 1, 2012

This afternoon's wedding is being split into two parts. I'm not usually a huge fan of the two-parter, but there's just so much going on in Lucy & Vish's weekend-long wedding I did't want anything to get overlooked! On Friday 28th October they had a Hindu wedding ceremony and reception, and then the following day, they had a catholic ceremony and another reception! First up, the Friday... The day started with a ceremony at St Peter's Hall, Manchester. "We always knew we would have a wedding of 2 parts as we wanted to honour both of our cultures and religions," Lucy told me, "so we chose to have a traditional Hindu Blessing on the Friday followed by a Church wedding on the Saturday, an epic 2-day wedding!"
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