Steampunk

A Neo-Victorian, Steampunk Wedding: Jasmine & George

Kat

January 24, 2012

"We are both crafty, artistic and creative," the pink haired bride told me. "We wanted a mix of romantic gothic, neo-Victorian, vintage and steampunk for our wedding. We really wanted to make it our own and original with still trying to keep a little tradition for our families. We decided we just wanted hints of each. That's why we decided to DIY as much as we could." After an 11 year relationship, Jasmine & George were married in The Greenhouse at The Foundry, NY by groom's cousin, John Russo. "We got our wedding rings from Gemvara," Jasmine continued. "My ring has black and white diamonds and his had black diamonds added to it. The inscription says 'True Love Waits' after a Radiohead song because we waited 11 years before we got married."

A Bohemian Wedding with the World’s Coolest Centrepieces

Kat

January 10, 2012

Describing your wedding to me as 'vintage tech' automatically gets my attention. But when I actually laid eyes on the Star Wars figurines and helmets, the 80's VHS', the tennis rackets, the splashes of neon paint and the 80's cassette players...all nestled nicely into the bohemian chic setting...well I might have let out a little squeal of joy. The two juxtaposing ideas shouldn't work, but they do - perfectly.

A Jules Verne & Steampunk Inspired Bridal Fashion Editorial

Kat

December 6, 2011

This incredible fashion editorial was shot on the Creole Queen Paddlewheel for the winter issue of NOLA Wedding Guide. The shoot was inspired by Jules Verne, the 19th century and steampunk.

An Undead Steampunk Wedding: Renee & Ian

Kat

November 28, 2011

So where do I begin trying to explain the awesomeness of Renee & Ian's undead steampunk wedding? I think maybe the title gives away just how amazing this wedding is going to be doesn't it? The couple were married at Catalyst, a private live/work artist community in Chicago. "We actually had to 'audition' for the space," Renee told me. "The members have a delicate relationship with the community and can't risk any trouble. We had to prove to them over several months that we talented and responsible enough to be able to use their space. We had to foster a personal relationship with them before they would even consider us. It was tedious, but worth it in the end. We gained some more wonderful friends for our already stellar collection, and the space allowed us freedom that traditional venues could not (like staying until 6am and coming back later in the week to help clean up)."

A Carnival Destination Wedding in Trinidad and Tobago: Erin & John

Kat

August 17, 2011

"The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is not your usual destination wedding location... Then again, we're not your typical bride and groom," wrote Erin & John. "First of all, we wanted to base our wedding and honeymoon around Carnival that happens every year in Trinidad. It's one of the world's largest Carnival celebrations - and we wanted to be dressed in sequins, feathers, and not much else for our honeymoon celebration. We invited our friends to come to Tobago the week before Carnival for our wedding. We rented out all the villas at The Palms Villa Resort - and partied for a solid week leading up to our big day. The following week, our friends followed us on our honeymoon...and danced with us in the streets of Trinidad! How nice of Trinidad to throw us such a lovely wedding reception!"

A Steampunk Story

Kat

August 2, 2011

This steampunk themed bridal shoot was set up by Australian photographer Angelica Peady and Lea from Willow Tree Creative Services) in order to to showcase these fabulous gowns from Gallery Serpentine. The shoot was styled to complement the amazing venue they chose, the Lithgow State Mine Park – an old mining site in New South Wales.

Under the Spotlight – The Couture Company

Kat

May 23, 2011

On the look out for something different in your wedding dress? Well if you're lucky enough to live near Birmingham, UK I may just have the answer for you! The Couture Company, situated in Birmingham's uber trendy Custard Factory, was relaunched last September as a shop that specialises in both unique wedding dresses, corsets (Rawhide Corsets) and lingerie.

Alena & Geoff’s Circus-Themed Costume Party Wedding

Kat

April 11, 2011

Alena & Geoff were married at The Granada Theatre in Santa Barbara. Their fancy dress, circus themed day was certainly a show-stopper, especially as the majority of their guests really got into the swing of it and made a real effort with their outfits. "We invited our guests to dress up, and that made them fully participate in all aspects of the circus/carnival wedding," they told me. "We had 2 guests as 'door clowns' who checked people in, gave them clown noses and flags. We had a popcorn man in the lobby of the ceremony giving out popcorn bags. We borrowed huge circus banners from other friends and used them to decorate for the reception."

Chris & Courtenay’s Pirate Ship Wedding

Kat

April 4, 2011

Chris & Courtenay had a "Book Nerd/Steampunk /Pirate/Sci-Fi" themed wedding which was held on The Hawaiian Chieftain, a historical replica of a 1880’s trading ship. "We really wanted the wedding to reflect who we were, and a celebration of what we loved about each other," the couple told me. "We wanted to be able to have a killer party with our closest friends and family and not compromise our tastes and values. Our venue came complete with cannons (which they fired off for us in celebration!) The double edge of this was a headcount of under 40, which was great to us, but some people just assumed they would be invited who were acquaintances and we had to explain this wasn't an everyone in the world kind-of affair." Courtenay wore a custom dress from Dark Garden Corsetry and shoes from Fluevog. "The Dress is a combination of Victorian and Indian influences, made out of silk dupioni in lavender/gold and a wedding sari from an Indian bridal store in Berkeley," the bride continued. "I knew that a dress from a traditional bridal store was never going to feel right. Mostly because of all the beautiful dresses available at those places they were never going to fit my curvy 5’2” short waist-ed frame. Autumn at Dark Garden was able to perfectly capture and create my personality and vision into an awe inspiring corset and bustle skirted wedding dress."

Annette & Chris’ Fancy Dress Victorian Circus Themed Wedding

Kat

March 17, 2011

Annette & Chris had a fancy dress/steampunk themed wedding in Liverpool. The bride wore a corset purchased from Corsets UK and a skirt from MTCoffinzUnderground on Etsy. "My dress wasn't technically a 'dress' as it was a Corset and a separate skirt," the bride told me. "I bought the white and black steel boned corset for around £60 and the skirt, which was described as a 'Victorian Lace Gothic Ball Gown', cost around £100." She also wore Victorian-style black ankle boots which she hired from a fancy dress shop! Chris hired his unique outfit from a fancy dress shop too.

Tessa & Keith’s Neo Victorian Wedding

Kat

February 4, 2011

Tessa & Keith are a little bit fabulous no? In fact any bride that wears a blue dress is all right in my book! "My inspiration came from our artistic backgrounds and aesthetic preferences", the bride told me. "I am a crafter and burlesque performer. Keith is a visual artist. Together, we both had very strong opinions about how the wedding should look and feel. We settled on a neo-Victorian theme because of its elegance and refinement. I chose to wear blue instead of white because I wanted to be able to reuse my outfit, and I wanted a corset and a skirt instead of a dress because it was more versatile. The shade of blue we chose also suited the matron of honour and best woman well!"

Adrianna & Tim’s Victorian Steampunk Wedding

Kat

February 2, 2011

Adrianna & Tim's wedding was inspired by the Victorian era. The wedding took place at Woman's Club of Evanston in Evanston, IL and the bride and groom wore custom outfits to fit the theme of their day. The couple made their own centrepieces and created the artwork for the tables. "This was a very Do-It-Yourself type of wedding so a lot of things we either made or found ourselves," explained the groom. "We got lucky with a few of the men's suits by finding a formal wear store that was going out of business that had some older grey cutaway tuxedos that they were trying to get rid of." "Our family helped us in making the flags, we designed and painted the centerpieces which were actually science gear from American Science and surplus, created the flower arrangements and decorated the hall ourselves. Luckily the Women's club was a nearly perfect setting without any decorating so we didn't have to do much to get it perfect." The couple made their own centrepieces and created the artwork for the tables but the venue created most of the other décor for them.

Mark & Fiona’s Snowy Steampunk Kinda Day

Kat

January 4, 2011

Mark & Fiona's Steampunk inspired wedding took place at the Signet Library in Edinburgh in November. "We chose a Steampunk theme after Mark told Fiona her general day to day style was slightly Steampunk when he bought her a watch for Christmas in New York," the couple explained. "Fiona had not heard of it, but looked it up and realised it was exactly what she was in her choice of films, clothes and even her writing (she's an aspiring novelist)."

A Steam Punk Anniversary

Kat

September 28, 2010

I love anniversary shoots. I think they are not only a great way to document your years together after the wedding, but planning one gives you a great excuse to keep your toes tipped in the wedding/photo shoot/photography world! I'm already thinking of some cool ideas for mine and Gareth's for our 3 year anniversary this April!

The MOST INCREDIBLE Alice in Wonderland Wedding Ever. FACT.

Kat

July 14, 2010

I've seen a lot of Alice in Wonderland shoots and weddings this year but none as fan-bloody-tastic as Jessica & Wade's. The couple said they came up with the Victorian Alice theme on a whim (even before the film came out this year) and decided to run with it. Unbelievably the couple designed and came up with everything for the wedding themselves. This is a wedding I wish I'd be at! I literally don't know where to start when it comes to talking about how awesome this wedding is so I'm just going to make a huge list of all the bits that I love about it.

Incredible Victorian Steampunk, Corset Heavy & Generally Awesome Diy Wedding Day…with Masks!

Kat

June 7, 2010

Unfortunately I haven't been able to get the Australian wedding together on time to take us over to Oz for our final wedding of the day today (I want to make sur that when I put it up it will be perfect and have all the info you might want on the event so pweease forgive me!??)...however I have managed to secure a pretty damn shaaaweeet Steampunk wedding which took place in San Francisco to round today off nicely. I'm sure you won't be disappointed with this babyin fact I am so in love with this wedding that I appear to have titled this post will the longest, most over-excited, rambling header ever! Violet & Eric are certainly going to being some much needed spice to Rock n Roll Bride today. I had an amazing chat with the super creative bride (who also makes her own Steampunk inspired jewellery - you can see some of her designs here) where she told me all about their wedding.

Victorian Sci Fi & Steampunk Love

Kat

June 1, 2010

Following on from yesterday's Steampunk-esque wedding, I wanted to share another - and this time, an all out authentically styled Victoriana wedding fest! Stacy & Eric got married in April and had one of the most incredible weddings fitting this theme that I have ever seen! The whole wedding was filled with circles - from old type writers, clocks and top hats to that truly incredible (and fully edible!) cake (made by Let Them Eat Cake in California - seriously go check out their website, they have cakes and designs like you've never seen before!) You are going to go nuts for these details - I am loving the typewriter/flower combo. It's like nothing I've ever seen. The centrepieces consisted of flowers, old books books, typewriters, gears, light bulbs, test tubes and had a real authentic Steampunk vibe. Stacey collected all the props throughout their planning and then gave them to florist Debbie Fields who put everything together on the day. The place names, which were made of old-looking train tickets (found at a craft store) had individual keys stuck to them that with significant words on them like 'life' and 'dreams'. The keys and gears on the place cards were found at a local craft store-they come from a scrapbook line by a guy named Tim Holtz.

Victorian Steampunk & Fancy Dress Fun

Kat

May 31, 2010

Caroline & Connor's wedding had a distinctly Victorian/Steampunk vibe. As well as the bridal party, all the guests really got into the spirit and dressed up for the occasion in vintage dresses and attire which was practically much all put together by the amazing Trish Roush at House of Nines Design. Not only did she help out the guests with their outfits, but she dressed the bride and groom - including making those incredible hats!

Steampunks!

Kat

April 1, 2010

A little bit fashiony, a little bit boudoir - this Steampunk themed photo shoot sent me weak at the knees! Inspired by Tim Burton, Alice in Wonderland, Sherlock Holmes, New Orleans and Dita Von Teese, photographer Kamila couldn't wait to put together a shoot like this.

Under the Spotlight – Royal Steamline

Kat

January 27, 2010

Something a little different in Under the Spotlight today. I'd like to introduce you to Aerin & Jeremy of Royal Steamline. They specialise in wedding invites with a gothic/steampunk/retro/vintage vibe and I think you're going to totally dig what they do! I can't wait to get going... Who are you and what do you do? Royal Steamline is Aerin and Jeremy -- a husband-and-wife design team based in Portland, Oregon, USA. We create wedding invitations that have a dark, clockwork or otherwise retro/vintage flavor. Through a subtle and sometimes anachronistic combination of shadows, textures and vintage illustrations, we aim to convey a sense of eras strange and forgotten. Sea monsters mingle next to robotic ravens, and gentlemen scientists have tea with rockabilly rebels. Simply stated, we offer unconventional invitations for unconventional people. Who/what are your biggest influences? Who do you really admire? We primarily create designs that aim to capture a theme or mood. Our influences vary wildly -- from vintage fashion & science journals to odd finds at antique stores. Now, if you mean visual artists that we follow and appreciate, here are a few names off the top of our heads: EMEK, Alex Gross, George Tooker, Gregory Crewdson, Joe Coleman, Irving Norman, Guy Burwell, Wayne Douglas Barlowe, Michael Michael Motorcycle, Toni Frissell, Chris Ware, Guy Colwell, R. Kenton Nelson, and Jeremy could stare at Todd Schorr's "The Spectre of Monster Appeal" for hours. What is the ethos and idea behind your business? We want weddings to be cool. We want to change the way people think about weddings and offer alternatives that speak to their personal tastes. About seven years ago, a number of friends who were getting married began coming to us to design custom invitations since they couldn't find anything that epitomized their rockabilly, goth or other non-traditional wedding themes. So, we started to make invitations that were outside of the normal, plain, anemic styles that we were (and still are) seeing everywhere. More and more couples are insisting that their weddings reflect their personal styles instead of conforming to traditional wedding styles, structures, colors and attitudes. We want to contribute to their big party and help them have the weddings they want. How do you come up with invitation ideas? Often, our designs are sparked from a book or artifact on our shelves like a first edition of H.G. Wells' Star Begotten, an Edwardian glass eye, or Liz McGrath curios. Jeremy's been deep into Victorian pulps and I'm obsessed with mourning buttons and early 20th century advertising and science imagery. We're inspired by the stories of retro technology, old movies, textures of old paper...the look of outdated fonts...some crazy ornate border flourish. The combo of the different worlds usually leads to some interesting aesthetics. What is your most popular design? It seems to change every month, but 10/6 is always up there. I think that's because it's so versatile and has its own interpretation for each couple. Do you offer custom work? Of course! We offer unique "from scratch" custom designs, as well as custom design changes to our readymade invitations. Tell me a little about your favourite invitation you created and why. Hmm…I like Coney Island 1896 because I'm a big fan of old sideshow posters and I've got a soft spot for cephalopods. I think it just looks great printed -- and it really sets an undeniably quirky and fun tone. Jeremy likes Vintage Rock because, well, it's a symbol of vintage rock: Viva Gene Vincent and Wanda Jackson! Do you have any advice for people looking for invitation ideas? Really spend some time and look around for the right invitation for you. Your wedding invitation is a great way for your guests to get a peek at all the fun that's to come. And if you don't see what you're looking for, it never hurts to ask! What has been the highlight of your career so far? Really, just doing this full-time is a blast for us. But if we had to name a single client that we were flattered to work with, it might be Voltaire. We were so honored he chose us to create the invitations for what looked to be an awesome goth wedding. Name a couple of bands/songs that are on your stereo at the moment? Music plays a huge role withregard to who we are and what we do (or, maybe, just how we do it). We actually met when we were both living in San Francisco and our first date was basically one big argument about music (but it was great!). We genuinely enjoy a huge range of music: I grew up loving bands like Bauhaus, Ministry, Joy Division, Clan of Xymox, and The Smiths while J listened to stuff like the Misfits, Neurosis, Hawkwind and Einstürzende Neubauten. These days, we're still all over the place! Recently, shows we've seen include Earth, Stereolab, Marissa Nadler, The Raveonettes, Vagabond Opera, King Khan and BBQ, the Horrors, Thrones, Atlas Sound, the Ghastly Ones…We haven't even mentioned Jeremy's love of early Americana (Harry Smith is a big influence) and my collection of hard bop and sad bastard vinyl. What can we expect from you in 2010? We're always working on new designs and will soon be offering matching programs, table numbers and other wedding accoutrements on our website (currently only available by special request). Also, our New Year's Sale is still going on: we put 5 designs on sales the week of New Year's. To contact Aerin & Jeremy about your wedding invitations, go check out their fabulous and inspirational website and drop them an email to hello@royalsteamline.com If you are a photographer or wedding vendor and are interested in being featured in a future ‘Under the Spotlight’ post then drop me an email for all the info.

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