Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Kitsch

A Kitschy, Quirky, Vintage Wedding

Kat

September 15, 2010

Warning: this post has a hell load of photographs and I ain't going to apologise for that. I literally couldn't cut them down! I am so excited about Lindsey & Adriano's wedding I can hardly contain myself. The gorgeous bride and her musician husband had a beautiful and quirky vintage-themed wedding at Farbridge, West Sussex. "Our inspiration was easy we just collected things we love and are interested in," the bride told me. "I love all things vintage because I love that it has history and seems to have so much more personality than many modern things. I find that vintage things were made to last and made with care and skill unlike most things today are made to be disposable and are not designed to last. I wanted our day also to have lots of elements of fun so I came up with the idea of an ice cream sundae bar so guests could be kids again, make a mess and choose whatever topping they wanted! We also bought a kiss-o-meter for a bit of fun, it was from an American site and was from the 60's. In the reception barn at Farbridge they also had a projector. One of my favourite films is Cinema Paradiso, there is a scene at the end of the film which is called the kissing scene which features lots of kisses from famous old black and white films. We played this scene on repeat on the the projector to add another dimension to the room. We had a wedding cocktail which we served in jam jars and bought some quirky straws too.All these things were good talking points for the guests and added elements of fun and interaction."
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Retro Art Deco Kitsch

Kat

July 13, 2010

I LOVE a bit of retro kitsch and Caroline & Jim couldn't be more perfect at pulling this off if they tried. The shoot took place in their own Art Deco apartment in Brighton (just check out the exterior shots!) which has been decorated with an eclectic mix of bits and bobs collected from all over and ranging in era from the 1920's right through to the 1970's. I adore everything from the authentic mirror, clocks and Princess Anne collectible mugs to the incredible wallpaper and all the retro furniture. Jim is 'Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer' , a brilliant musician playing all over the country at gigs, weddings, parties and festivals. Caroline has a complete passion for fashion as she works in the fashion industry in London. The pair both embrace everything retro and nostalgic in fashion and styling, so their style was spot on for this style of shoot. The couple both wore all their own clothes to give a completely genuine portrayal of themselves and who they are as a couple.
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All Shook Up

Kat

January 29, 2010

Jessica & Ronnie's kitsch Elvis themed wedding was just too damn Rock n Roll to ignore. Stand by for all the juice... First and foremost I would like to just say Kat your blog was definitely a huge source of inspiration through all of my wedding planning! Your excitement for all things wedding is so fantastic to read that even after our big day, I still take a looksey to check out all of the great wedding photography you find! Thanks for doing what you do! It was pretty wild when Tom asked us if he could send you some of our photos, I said "of course I know Rock n Roll Bride, that sounds great!" I totally thought wanting to get married in red was going to have to make me spend a bazillion dollars that we didn't have on getting one made, but I randomly found it at David's Bridal. It was a bridesmaids dress for only $160!! I just had them take off the spaghetti straps that it came with because I thought it gave a more vintage feel to it. My husby's outfit cost more than mine with his special Wingtip Shoes costing almost as much as my dress but it was so worth it because man did he look hot in them! Our wedding consisted of a weekend gathering in San Luis Obispo at The Madonna Inn, which is filled with everything gold and gaudy, its such an amazing place with every room holding a different theme, I really recommend it to all for at least a one night stay! We started the weekend off Friday night bowling with friends and family at Pismo Bowl just right down the road. We wanted our wedding to be for us to spend as much time as we could with everyone and just party, so we had an early afternoon wedding in "The Gay 90's Room" upon the stage, while making our separate entrances, my fiancee's song was "I'm Your Man" by Leonard Cohen, and mine to "You Can Never Hold Back Spring" by Tom Waits, then we had our officiant "50's Young Elvis" (no disrespect intended to older Vegas Elvis, but we just love classic Elvis) who made his entrance by singing "I Got Stung" up the aisle as all of our guests just laughed and clapped along. It was truly a great moment seeing everyone have so much fun with him! Elvis officiated the wedding with fun and singing but also such sincerity about love and how to make it last. Our I do's went something like, "Do you promise to never step on his Blue Suede Shoes?" and "Do you promise to never leave her All Shook Up at the Heartbreak Hotel and Love her Tender?" After the ceremony Elvis handed us the infamous Vegas Elvis Glasses and sang us out to "Burning Love". We of course had to have Elvis' "Fame & Fortune" as our First Dance, hopefully by now your seeing that we're not creepy just HUGE Elvis fans. At the reception each table centerpiece was a different record sleeve from our collection of singers that we love like Johnny Cash, Wanda Jackson, Roy Orbison, B.B King, David Bowie, Elton John and many others, then for the placement cards we had "Mr & Mrs So & So are partying at Elton John's table" and so on. It was such a cheap money saving way to do centerpieces! I totally recommend it! To continue with the theme we had little record napkins that had "Rock & Roll" on them from Party City for next to nothing. For party favors we had our immediate family members and bridal party dedicate songs to us that reminded them of us, and the two of us dedicated songs to each other too, which we made into a CD for all to take home. Everyone came up with such great songs that it made a great compilation that we listen to all the time! We finished off the reception and despite the sprinkles of rain outside, we all headed up to the pool & spa and partied in our bathing suits till the pool closed! Such an awesome day to finally start a new chapter with my best friend in such a fun way and to share it with all of our loved ones that came near and far for a little mini vacation! I definitely recommend all couples to just try and have as much fun with the planning as possible, and don't worry about having to stick to the norm of late afternoon weddings with dinner & dancing, do whatever your heart desires and have an all day long of festivities to enjoy it even longer, because it goes by so fast! Thanks to Tom and of course Jessica & Ronnie for sharing their top tappin' wedding with us
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Bowled Away

Kat

September 22, 2009

Jessica & Nik had a completely KICK ASS (and that had to be in capitals because I am literally shouting that as I write!) wedding at Northbowl in Philadelphia. The couple, who love all things rockabilly, kitsch and retro - certainly put all of themselves into their freakin' awesome day. This is one of those weddings that is certainly going to do the rounds of Blog-Land so I am honoured that Amanda & Carina have elected Rock n Roll Bride to be the first blog to share them! As artists (Jessica a graphic designer and printmaker and Nik an illustrator) they were certainly the perfect pair to pull off such a stylish gathering. Jessica even made the adorable fawn cake topper to accompany the cupcakes (supplied by Brown Betty) herself! For the frames they scoured TJ Maxx (TKMaxx if you're in the UK like me!) and Michael'sand spray painted them themselves Jessica's dress was from Vivien of Holloway, she made her own red shrug (swoon!) and her hair piece was from House of Telsa on Etsy. Nik wore a suit from J Crew and a wicked tie from Cyberoptix TieLab. These two certainly are doing it for the girls. What a fantastic day! Thanks, as ever to the faaaaabulous Amanda & Carina for sending me the images and info. Love you guys! ps If the photos below aren't enough for you, then be sure to go check out Love Me Do's flickr - super yum! Credit: Love Me Do Photography
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Quirky, Colourful, Kitsch

Kat

August 25, 2009

I am crazy in love with Tanya & Mark's amazingly colourful DIY wedding! The event took place in Tanya's parent's backyard in Northampton, PA and totally reflected the couple's quirky, colourful, kitschy nature. They really put 100% of themselves into the day. Tanya made the invitations, the felt flowers, the centrepieces and most of the decorations herself and all of the tables were covered with unique vintage fabric sourced from various places throughout the wedding planning. One of my favourite details had got to be the pink flamingos everywhere though! Tanya says she has a slight obsession with John Waters so this detail was a must! Tanya found her and her Bridesmaid's dress from Ebay and her amazing red birdcage veil from Events and Occasions. Her shoes were from Modcloth and her red petticoat was found at Unique Vintage. Thanks to Tanya and Mark for sharing their day and all the gorgeous details with us! Credit: Matt Stanley
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