A Blue Burlesque Wedding with a £900 Budget: Sally & Mark

Kat

December 13, 2011

To say that I'm excited to be sharing Sally & Mark's wedding with you this afternoon would be an under-exaggeration of HUGE magnitude. Not only is their wedding freakin' awesome on so many levels, but they pulled the whole thing off for £900! Let me repeat myself to make sure you got that, because I didn't quite believe it when I read it on Sally's submission either - the whole wedding cost just £900!! "We had approx 6 weeks and a budget of around £900 for our wedding," Sally wrote. "Where we could we handmade items or got friends to help us out. We were lucky that our photographers, performers, DJ and cake makers were all friends so did us special deals. We were also able to get both our venues (the afternoon reception was held at William Steads Pub and the evening afterparty at the Tap and Spile Pub, Darlington) for free as we didn't hire them exclusively."

Giant Teacups, A Homemade Bouncy Castle & Elvis – A DIY Wedding to the Extreme!: Caroline & Stuart

Kat

December 13, 2011

Caroline & Stuart were married at St. Annes Church in Littleworth Common, Burnham. They held their reception in a field right opposite the church. Their wedding was a super creative affair with them making and styling the whole thing themselves, they even renovated some giant funfair teacups!

A Very London Wedding: Naomi & Chris

Kat

December 12, 2011

I was hanging out at Fur Coat No Knickers a few weeks ago catching up on my vintage fashion/wedding industry-based gossip, when in breezed an excited girl who had just got married in one of their beautiful wedding dresses. Naomi had popped back in to show Laura & Emma some of her wedding photos and as soon as I heard the words 'wedding photos' I immediately jumped out from behind the dresses to have a nosy myself (Poor Naomi, I must have given her a heart attack...turns out she was a regular reader of this little wedding blog throughout her planning!) Anyway I loved the photos Naomi showed us on her phone, so when I received the submission from her photographer Sarah Lauren I was thrilled that I would be able to share them with you too!

A Vintage Nautical Wedding: Liz & Tom

Kat

December 8, 2011

Liz & Tom injected a subtle nautical theme into their October wedding. "In our first few years as a couple I used to call Tom the one-armed fish man," Liz laughed. "Our venue was The Bull Hotel in Bridport, a harbour market town, and we both want a scrimshaw anchor tattoo (haven't done it yet but the plan is to have one for Christmas). So we flooded our wedding with vintage nautical touches and plenty of rum. Rock n Roll Bride was the only wedding blog that I read as I planned my wedding. It was from reading what other Rock n Roll Brides had done for their big day that we had the confidence to go our own way."

A Vintage Festival Wedding…in the Rain!: Natasha & Charlie

Kat

December 5, 2011

Natasha & Charlie are the kind of couple that wedding photographers dream of - creative, unique in their inspiration and totally in love. The bride told me all about their vintage festival wedding. It may have rained for their outdoor ceremony, but it certainly didn't damper their spirits! "Even though I had prayed for months for sun on our wedding day, it still rained! I thought that this would ruin the day as everything we had planned involved being outside – including the ceremony. Just before we were due to go down, the wedding organiser at Maunsel House said that it was raining and tried to convince me to move everything inside. But I couldn’t bare the thought of not getting married under the beautiful bandstand as this had been my dream from the start – so I made everyone stand outside with umbrellas! It actually turned out really well and everybody loved it – the pictures of everyone with umbrellas looked great as well!"

A DIY Thrift Store Explosion: James & Renee

Kat

December 5, 2011

James & Renee's eclectic thrift store explosion of a wedding was a real DIY effort from the couple and their friends & family. The bride, who couldn't stand the thought of a "boring, traditional wedding" explained her vision to me, "I could not stand the idea of a boring traditional wedding and reception with only two colors & every table was the same so I did everything my way. No one understood my vision until we set up the morning of the wedding & it all came together."

A Rolling Stones Rock n Roll Circus: Nicola & David

Kat

December 1, 2011

Nicola & David were married on Halloween weekend in The Hospitium in York (England's most haunted city apparently!) The venue is in the middle of the Museum Gardens and in the shadow of the ruins of St. Mary’s Abbey. The unusual setting was the perfect backdrop for their Rolling Stone Circus wedding. Nicola explained, "We’re both massive Rolling Stones fans so we wanted to have the same type of feel as The Rolling Stones Rock n Roll Circus. Slightly carnival like with a serious nod to music. We drew the line at stilt walkers, jugglers and such, though I did very much want a peacock and an elephant. Surprisingly there are no ‘hire a peacock’ websites. Even less chance with the elephant."

Rock n Roll Bride on BBC2’s See Hear Programme Today at 1pm

Kat

November 30, 2011

Just a quick reminder to let you all know that I'll be on BBC 2 today at 1pm in their See Hear special programme about deaf people in the arts. Gareth & I took part in this shoot with deaf wedding photographer Ashton Jean-Pierre who they are profiling for the show. I hope we make the cut!

A DIY 1940’s Carnival Wedding: Marcie & Rich

Kat

November 29, 2011

Marcie & Rich's Nerdy DIY wedding was inspired by the things they love. The couple love to hang out at home with cat and dog playing video or board games and reading so the wedding theme kind of stemmed from these ideas. "I think our inspiration for doing things the way we did was that we didn't want the same old same old", Marcie told me. "We've both been to tons of weddings where the details were essentially the same but for a few differences. People tend to do the long church ceremony with the long gown that you would never want to wear again and make a bunch of stuff for the guests that they will never use or even want just because you saw that tiny beer stein in a craft store and thought it was perfect cause you like beer. We wanted people to have fun all the way through, including ourselves! We would much rather have a swinging party and get married in the middle of it than the other way around."

A Ceremony With Elvis at The Rhinestone Wedding Chapel: Colin & Sage

Kat

November 23, 2011

‘Lola the Bird’: An Art Deco Photo Shoot

Kat

November 23, 2011

This beautiful shoot was set up by headpiece designer Natasha Jane to promote her amazing 'Lola the Bird' headpiece (I've seen it in real life and it is an amazing piece, I'd love to see a real Rock n Roll Bride wearing it!) The shoot took place at the UK's oldest cinema, Birmingham's Electric Cinema, which has been open for over 100 years. The art deco cinema is even available to hire for weddings so it really was the perfect venue to show off this new wedding collection.

A Homemade Back Garden Wedding: Philip & Katie-Jane

Kat

November 22, 2011

Philip & Katie-Jane had a handmade wedding in the bride's parent's back garden. They hired a tipi and decorated the whole garden with the things they love - creating a really magical looking space. They even converted the shed into 'The Poppy Red Shed' (Poppy Red is a bar in Birmingham which the bride and groom first met) which they stocked with local ales, spirits and liquours.

Messing About on the River: Emma & Tony

Kat

November 17, 2011

Emma & Tony had an intimate wedding of just 40 guests in Henley on Thames. Coincidentally this is where I went to college and I have a lot of fond memories of chilling out by the river, most probably while I was supposed to be in lectures - which maybe one of the reasons I love this wedding so much! Anyway, I digress... The wedding was held at The River & Rowing Museum, a modern wedding venue situated right on the river Thames. A friend of Emma's is a registrar and it was really special to have her marry them. "The museum was exactly what we were looking for," Emma told me. "The staff at the museum were fabulous, nothing was too much trouble. Laura, the events planner for the museum, coordinated the wedding and it was great having her their on the day to make sure everything ran to plan so I didn’t have to think about a thing and just enjoy the day. Jeff from Digby Trout Catering with his team delivered the most delicious food that wowed even the London foodies. The seating plan was titled ‘Eat, drink & Be Merry’ and we all certainly were thanks to Jeff and his team – what a gem."

A Budget-Friendly Autumnal Themed Couple Shoot: Rob & Jayne

Kat

November 17, 2011

Rob & Jayne used a mix of high street and vintage items for their shoot with Don from The Mottleys. I love how these images show that you really don't need to spend a fortune on props and designer outfits to look beautiful in your wedding portraits.

A Halloween, Day of the Dead & Bonfire Night Themed Wedding: Jennifer & Ian

Kat

November 16, 2011

Jennifer & Ian were married on Halloween so their day had a distinct theme to fit the time of year. "We wanted the wedding to have all the components of a 'normal' wedding but be personal to us," the bride told me. "We both love Halloween, Day of the Dead and bonfire night and so decided to incorporate all three into a super-theme!"

A DIY Cornish Wedding: Angie & Jack

Kat

November 15, 2011

Angie & Jack's Cornish Wedding was a wedding of three parts - with the ceremony at Devoran Parish Church, drinks and afternoon snacks at Devoran Village Quay and finally the main reception, with dinner and dancing, at Devoran Village Hall. "We didn't stick to the standard 'wedding rules' and just wanted our wedding to be fun and to show our personalities," the bride told me. "We wanted everything to be as unique and as personal without spending a fortune."

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!"

‘Rock n Robin’: A1950’s Christmas Shoot for the BBC

Kat

November 7, 2011

I know what you're thinking...Christmas stuff already woman?! Well just hear me out would ya... I've known wedding photographer Ashton Jean-Pierre ever since we both went to Emma Case's wedding back in March. I don't think we managed to talk on the night, but after the event I saw some of his incredible photos (that he just took on his iPhone!) on facebook and so I got in contact to ask if I could share some of them on my blog. He said yes and we've chatted online ever since. Ashton is deaf which makes no differece at all when communicating online, but when he asked if Gareth & I would like to do a mini shoot with him I was a teeny tiny bit nervous on how we would get on it 'real life'. However I needn't have worried. Ashton is so expressive and animated that it's actually pretty easy to have a conversation, and although I didn't know any sign language before we met, we were easily able to chat by gesturing and using good old fashioned pen and paper to write things down.

A Vintage Rockabilly Wedding: Molly & Sam

Kat

November 1, 2011

Molly & Sam's beautiful vintage rockabilly wedding was held at The Promethean in Adelaide. Before the ceremony, the couple met at Cafe Salsa - a 50's themed beach cafe - for photographs. They also has some shots taken at the skateboard park as Sam and his friends can often by found hanging out there.

A Gothic Inspired Beach Wedding in Sweden: Alan & Chrissie

Kat

October 27, 2011

Alan & Chrissie were married in September on the Swedish island of Gotland. The couple were the first from Hong Kong to be married there and their nuptials even made the from page of a Swedish newspaper! They flew British photographer Ian Johnson to shoot it for them.