Thursday Treats – 25th Feb 2010

Kat

February 25, 2010

Are you kidding me? Is it actually nearly march already? C-c-c-razy! OK Thursday Treat fans..saddle up and prepare yourself for another 7 days worth of internet pretties... ♥ First up, a little 'toot toot' to yours truly - did you recognise the fuschia haired chick in today's headline image? Oh yeah baby that's ME! This lovely little drawing was sent to me by illustrator-extraordinaire Miss Dee Ahoy and I actually nearly wet myself with excitement! Thanks to Miss Dee for the utter love. Mwah! ♥ This diy wedding is awesome to the max - mismatched bridesmaids will forever be cool in my book ♥ Secret celebrity wedding! ♥ Ruffles, red shoes, big red heart - pop! ♥ Sweet, outdoor wedding ♥ Fierce engagement session (faux fur for the win!) ♥ AMAZING rockabilly style lesbian wedding ♥ Let's get colourful ♥ Fashion and home design inspired by The Red Shoes ♥ A Midsummer Night’s Dream themed wedding (these shoes are Irregular Choice - I've swooned over them before!)

Art Deco Inspired Fashion Shoot

Kat

February 25, 2010

This Art Deco bridal shoot took place at Eltham Palace in London. The fabulous dresses including Valerie' by Sarah Arnett, 'Kristine' by Claire Pettibone and two dresses by Olivia Couture were provided by Blackburn Bridal and were all chosen to reflect the Art Deco nature of the building and the shoot. The flowers were sent by Veevers Carter. Photographer Sarah wanted to tell me all about her vision. "There were a few motivations for the shoot. I wanted to show off the Art Deco design of the Eltham Palace and I felt that our model, Victoria's look really encapsulated the decadent spirit of the 1920's which was perfect. The dresses were also chosen according to the venue with the exception of the the Olivia Couture swirl dress which was shot in an Italian style room adjacent to the iconic circular entrance hall. The soft, vintage styled bouquet worked well with all the dresses and the final shots with the black bobbed wig were an unashamed homage to Louise Brooks, the Art Deco pin up herself!" Thanks to Sarah for sharing these today

Sugabilly Bridal

Kat

February 24, 2010

There's a little bit of a story behind the finding of this fabulous shoot and I thought in sharing it's gorgeousness I could also explain how it came to land in my inbox. As many of you know, my husband Gareth is an IT wizz and works from home. As sad as it may be, we love to watch Working Lunch together when I'm not at 'the day job'. One such afternoon there was a feature on Emma Jones of Enterprise Nation who works with 5-9 ers - ie people who are mad like me, work a full time job and run their own business from home too. So Gareth turns to me and says "You should drop her an email" and so I did. Making this connection has been fabulous for me as not only have I been featured on her site, am being used a case study in her upcoming book (hell to the yeah!) but she sends me regular updates on awesome other 5-9 ers that she thinks I need to know. LeKeux Events was one of these companies. As soon as I landed on their website I knew we'd be a perfect match and after speaking to Lyndsey over email it turned out that she already reads my blog! Aaaaanyway, to cut a very long story short (er) I saw this amazing Sugabily bridal shoot on their site and just had to feature it....you're going to go nuts for it! The dress and petticoat were ebay finds, but Lyndsey tells me she swooned over similar things on Vivienne of Holloway (who I ADORE by the way). Enjoy! Thanks to Emma for putting myself and LeKeux Events together and thanks to Lyndsey for sharing these wonderful shots with us today

Jules & Leighton’s Vintage, Rock n Roll Beautiful Homespun English Wedding

Kat

February 23, 2010

I'm going all out with the fantastic British weddings this week...and loving it I might add. Jules & Leighton's self confessed "oh-so-English-and-slightly-Rock-and-Roll wedding." Living in Kenilworth, Warwickshire they wanted to keep the day locally sourced and so enlisted the help and expertise of some of their favourite local vendors. Jules wore a Pronovias Huella dress and hand made accessories from super talented Etsy sellers Lili Swan and Lulu Splendor. The flowers were supplied by Cindy at Pure Botanics who created vintage perfection with her soft bouquets of ranunculus, roses and freesia that looked liked they could have been picked from an English garden, hand tied and finished off with gorgeous fat ribbons. For the centrepieces Jules scoured charity and thrift stores for mis-matched vintage glassware. The bunting was hired by Hired from Beautiful Bunting. The wonderfully mis-matched vintage china, cake stands and glass trifle bowls all hired from Vintage Teas & RSVPs. "We got married at Kenilworth Castle." Jules wrote, "No, it's not completely a ruin! Luckily the Gatehouse is still standing and it's stunning and as wedding venues go, it's possibly the best kept secret in Warwickshire. It might sound quite grand, getting married in a castle, but actually at Kenilworth it's a really cosy affair. We just had 40 guests and it meant we could keep things really relaxed and informal. We had the speeches there while everyone stood around with glasses of champers, rather than doing them the traditional way during the meal." They held their reception at Parochial Hall, 5 minutes walk away. "It's a really old church hall with a scrubbed wooden floor and a stage and a hatch into the kitchen." Jules told me "It's the sort of place that brings back memories of childhood for everyone who was ever in the Brownies or the Scouts. We loved it as soon as we saw it and it became our whole inspiration for what turned out to be our dream reception - an old fashioned family style get together. It was all very DIY - we had lots of help from friends and family who were fabulously keen to get involved and set about arranging tables and chairs and shinning up ladders. Our caterers Farmers Fayre really got into the spirit of things. Rather than have a formal style dinner we had joints of lamb brought to the tables and one person per table was then nominated carver - complete with chef's hat and apron. Even Leighton was up out of his seat handing round the vegetables - it felt like Sunday lunch with the family. As the evening guests started to arrive we had a cocktail hour complete with big band classics playing and Farmers Fayre bar staff serving up Cosmopolitans and Mojito's." Thanks to Jules & Leighton for sharing their "little-but-vintage-little-bit-Rock- n-Roll' darling British wedding today

Classically Beautiful

Kat

February 23, 2010

Even though I'm an out and out rock chick, I can sometimes be swayed to the classically beautiful side by my photographer friends. The wonderful UK based Nikole Ramsay sent me these amazing images just yesterday and I was blown away! Not only by her fabulousa photography, but by the beeeautiful dresses supplied by Sarah Treble. Thanks to Nikole for bringing out my princess side with these amazing images.

Quirky & Stunning, British Wedding

Kat

February 22, 2010

Forgive me, but I literally almost wet myself when I saw these shots from the hottest, newest photographer on the block, Emma Case - and can you believe it, this is only her first official 'Emma Case wedding'! (I've featured a wedding she shot for a friend before she decided to pursue it full time.) I got a very excitable email from the lady herself this morning and I couldn't wait to get home to share these right away. "Well, here it is, my very first, official, didn't know the couple before, professional, as 'Emma Case Photography' wedding!" She began. "Christie contacted me back in November and straight away I knew just how ace she was. Not only did she mention fake moustaches and knee-sliding as part of the wedding plan but she was funny and honest and completely on my wavelength. We emailed back and forth in a 'know each other already' type of way and by the time me and Pete were driving up to Devon on the 30th January I was a little nervous but so excited to finally meet her (we didn't get the chance beforehand) and her soon to be husband... the Berninator! The wedding was held at the most amazing Huntsham Court... oh man the bathroom in the bridal suite was AMAZING, oh and the library... and the... well you can see for yourselves, the whole house is stunning! The ceremony (that I wasn't allowed to photograph.. grumble, grumble) was beautiful with a really heartfelt speech from both Christie and Bernie's sisters (I'm gonna have to man up in this profession as I could feel myself going) and then food was served followed by a wonderfully proud speech from the Father of the Bride and a particularly funny song by the Best Man and his guitar! Instead of a wedding cake they had a 'pig'nata (pinata) and for the evening entertainment 'Gabby Young & Other Animals' played their socks off (you need to check this band out) and EVERYONE was dancing! Finish it all off with about 3 hours of The Photo Booth which had me literally in pain through laughing too much and you have all the ingredients for one hot wedding." Thanks to the lovely Emma for sharing these, and I KNOW we'll be seeing a lot more greatness from this girlie (and I can't wait to finally meet her soon!)

Urban, Girtty, Hearts & Love

Kat

February 19, 2010

Emma & Mattias' urban & gritty engagement session in Hackney Wick (the East End of London) have inspired me no end. I not only love the rough 'n ready, graffiti style shots (which are fast becoming a bit of a McNeil signature) but the wonderful heart shots send my heart a-flutter. I asked David how this images came about and he told me that as they were wondering down the street, looking for locations, they came across a hall where a Valentines night was being set up. They asked nicely if they would use their heart covered wall as a backdrop and the lovely people said yes. Aren't the results fabulous? Another photographic win for my friend David I feel! Thanks to David for sending these over today Credit: David McNeil

Thursday Treats – 18th Feb 2010

Kat

February 18, 2010

What have you been loving this week? Here's my top picks from blog land, the interweb and everywhere in between ♥ Unbridaled - I would imagine that every Rock n Roll Bride can recognise this situation! ♥ Top 10 wedding trends for 2010 ♥ The uber popular Paloma's Nest have relaunched their website and are offering free worldwide shipping on all orders placed before 1st March! ♥ I've been seeing Catbird NYC all over blog land this week. I can see why. This is my persoanl pick. LOVE ♥ Katie & Josh's Eco-Chic wedding ♥ Remember the lesbians ♥ Stripes & tulle ♥ Check out Gingerlily's amazing images and comment on her blog for the chance to win your own print ♥ Heart-shaped - darling vintage valentines decor

Quintessentially English

Kat

February 17, 2010

This cute West London engagement shoot delighted me ever so much as I work very near here - in fact I drive past the modern building featured in some of the shots everyday and think how much nicer it looks than the studios where I work! Aren't Sarah-Jane & Mitul just adorable? Thanks to Laura for sharing these

The Designer Wedding Show February 2010 ♥ Highlights

Kat

February 16, 2010

few weeks ago I was offered a couple of tickets to attend The Designer Wedding show in Battersea, London. The event took place from last Friday - Sunday so my friend (and photographer extraordinaire) David McNeil and I thought we'd go check it out in the hope to be inspired, have fun and to actually real-life-meet some of the amazing UK wedding vendors that we've met online. Today I want to share a few of my highlights and photographs from the event so you can see what fun we had. I definitely did and I even got to meet a bunch of Rock n Roll Bride readers. It was the first event I've been to where I actually got recognised which was surreal but certainly nice! Here are some of my (and David's) faves. ♥ Magpie Vintage undoubtedly had one of the busiest stalls of the day. I've wanted to meet Lisa & Tania for ages now and The Designer Wedding show proved to be the perfect opportunity. I wondered up to their stand hoping they'd spot the pink hair and know it was me and as soon as I was within 20 feet I was greeted by Lisa with a massive hug and an "oh my god you look so young!" (haha way to suck up Lisa - you go girl!) and " oh you simply must wear this necklace!" She the proceeded to drape a beautiful powder pink and teal green reclaimed vintage gem around my neck which I was lucky enough to walk around with all day (and yes I did remember to return it after!) ♥ Abbey of Sugalily Stationary and I have been chatting online for months now so it was great to finally meet her in real life. I fell in love with not only her but with her beautiful creations in paper, ribbon and sparkly bits. From retro to classic, colourful to muted, Abbey's display was one of the most indearing there..and she had cupcakes! Now who could say no to that!? ♥ Myself and David had waaaay too much fun at the Booth Nation/Glitterbooth. As we walked past I was instantly drawn to the 8 foot, silver glitter-covered photo booth. We were greeted by Seamus who immediately told us to hop in and give it a go, and inside only a bloomin' built in wind machine (you can see we had fun with that!) I swear to god, if I was getting married again I would totally have one of these. Awesome!

Art Deco Galore

Kat

February 13, 2010

After swooning over all the vintage gorgeousness at The Designer Wedding show yesterday (full blog post including photographs and links to my favourite exhibitors soon!) when the awesome Ian Johnson sent me this art deco wedding I jumped at the chance to feature it asap! Thanks to Ian for sharing these with us. LOVE!

Thursday Treats – 11th Feb 2010

Kat

February 11, 2010

Surprise! Phoebe & Teraaka’s Family Central UK Wedding

Kat

February 11, 2010

Hannah & Ali’s Quirky, Art Deco and Too-Damn-Freakin’-Cool British Wedding

Kat

February 8, 2010

Do you remember Hannah & Ali's awesome 'at home' engagement shoot complete with their awesome kitty cat? Well I was over the moon to receive an email full to bursting with their quirky, vintagey wedding goodness from their photographer Steve Gerrard just the other day. I am loving Hannah's Jenny Packham dress and headband (le swoon indeed) and the bridesmaids look just too damn cool for school in their All Saints dresses. Their wedding took place just before Christmas at The Daffodil in Cheltenham, a fantastic converted 1920’s Art Deco picture house Steve tells us, The vintage theme continued throughout the wedding and I have to say I wish more couples would go down this route. I think it’s so cool and stylish. Hannah and Ali both looked amazing, but their guests also made a huge effort and win the award for best dressed guests ever! Yep this is defiantly one of the coolest UK weddings I've seen in a while (well...a few days maybe - I get sent a HELL lot of cool weddings!) Thanks to the wonderful Steve for sharing with us. Credit: Steve Gerrard Photography

Flower Child

Kat

February 6, 2010

Canadian Dana and her British husband, Torsten got married in Stockholm on the day of an eclipse. Their perfect hippy chic/festival vibe wedding consisted of henna tattoos, and outside ceremony and hundreds of bright yellow sunflowers. You will LOVE these! Thanks to Ian for sharing these with us

Eco Touches for this Snowy British Wedding

Kat

February 5, 2010

You know I'm usually all about the rock chicks, but there is just something about a quirky, DIY, eco, British wedding that I just can't resist...and that fact that the bride wore Vivienne's (I have them in yellow)...well I'm sold! Photographer Mark told me the whole story: Marie and Karl chose the personal, DIY approach to ensure their wedding reflected their eco-conscious principles, where possible, combined with their love of elegant, vintage styles, nature and music! The day was based in two venues in the Northern English Forest of Bowland on a snowy day in late December. The invite package contained screen printed and hand stamped bunting on recycled card and a button badge! The couple also set up a website was to encourage electronic RSVPs. Marie’s uncle’s 70’s cream ford galaxy 500 was the chariot of choice which delivered the pair to the organic farm for their reception- a gorgeous 17thcentury barn with heated floors and wood burning stove. Guests were greeted with mulled wine, hot vimto and the bride’s own homemade spiced biscuits served in an array of mis-matching vintage tea cups and saucers. Most of the deco was Marie’s own DIY effort -table centres were constructed on slabs of fallen pine/oak trees with arrangements of flowers she picked and dried over the year, vintage glass medicine bottles (car boot sales) and potted herbs in painted pots/vintage clay pots. Soy candles were arranged in charity shop finds- sherry glasses as votives and old glass jars covered in 1920s musical manuscript. Bunting was made by Gregg McDonald using off-cuts from the bridesmaid’s dresses (fabric from a brilliant mill in Bradford called Bombay Stores). Marie hand made some paper birds to sit on the edge of champagne glasses as place names and napkin rings were a ring of two-tone ribbon finished with a button. Karl designed and made “cootie catchers” which were placed on the dining tables featuring a selection of the couple’s favourite lyrics for entertainment between the courses of soup, pie and home-made cup cakes (courtesy of Marie’s mum and auntie)! The couple had been secretly attending swing jive dance lessons to surprise their guests and performed their first dance to Ray Scott’s red hot R n’ B number ‘Silk, Satin n Lace’. Later in the evening Karl’s band, including grooms men, ‘Super Johnny K and the Bang Bangs’ played a short set of vintage psyche n surf rock tunes. Marie teamed a stunner of a dress with her Vivienne Westwood shoes. She chose Daven by Pronovias and wore upcycled hair accessories ( from dress cut-offs and old sparkly bits) from Rebeccastone on Etsy and earrings which she also found on Etsy. Her bridesmaids wore dresses by Raouli. Karl wore a 1960's suit which he found on Ebay and a printed tie & hankerchief from Liberty. Thanks to photographer Mark and Marie & Karl for sharing this beeeautiful day with us

Grungy, Decaying Attic Fashion Shoot

Kat

February 5, 2010

Sometimes the non-bridal stuff I get sent it so freakin' awesome that it would be crime against humanity (and in this case fashion) not to share it. Karolina Skorek is a painter and photographer from Poland who's just opened a photography studio here in the UK. This amazing shoot was done with her friend and fashion designer Ewelina Sliwa. Aren't her designs just wonderful? I love the grungy, decaying feel to this attic shots. Fabulousa!

Brighton Belle

Kat

February 5, 2010

I just wanted to share a few images from Jed & Sarah's funky yet classic Brighton wedding. Brighton is a really eclectic town on the South coast of England. Brighton is full of eccentric characters and this wedding was so fun and quirky, even the registrar had kooky shoes and piercings. The bride and groom were very cool - her mother in law made the dress and I think she looks fab, they got wed in the pavillion, then onto a double decker to the Grand Hotel for some food and drinks....It was all about their colourful personalities and the offbeat alternative nature of Brighton which I made sure to feature in as many of the shots as possible. Thanks to Joanna for sharing these

Thursday Treats – 4th Feb 2010

Kat

February 4, 2010

It's my favourite time of the week again and I'm always ready for a little treat aren't you? To stay with, I had to share yet another image by Kirsty Mitchell at the top of this post (she's got the top spot for a second week running now) as this simply is my favourite image I've seen all week. She sent it over to me a few days ago and it's well...just too damn wonderful for words isn't it?! In fact all her photography is really - simply breathtaking...Thanks Kirsty! ♥ I heart this engagement ring made out of a block of wood. So damn sweet ♥ Inspired by: wedding gloves ♥ Red dress lovely - le swoon ♥ Anna Sui's apartment ♥ The Ruche spring catalogue is really really lovely ♥ Stylish and fun Cubu pre-nup session ♥ Life is too f***ing short! ♥ Message on a cookie ♥ More fabulous invitations courtesy of Ilovelolliblog

Latex, Tattoos, Piercings & Fancy Dress Make a FABULOUS UK Wedding!

Kat

February 2, 2010

I've got a funny feeling you're going to go just as crazy about these as I did. Words can not even describe really can they? Danny & Louise's amazing alternative, British (oh yes this couple is English woooo) wedding was all about the style. Louise's stunning latex dress was made by Jane Doe Latex. This part certainly didn't care about what was 'expected' of their wedding, not only are the pair clearly ones to play by the rules (Louise is a piercer and micro-dermal specialist and Danny is a tattooist. They are both heavily modded, both having split tongues, facial tattoos and multiple piercings) but the wedding meal after the ceremony was a trip to MacDonald's eaten at their house! Their evening reception and buffet was held at at our local rock bar, Sanctuary and was fancy dress, hence the grooms rather fetching nurses outfit! Seriously guys, put your eyes back in their sockets right now and enjoy! Thanks to Donna for sharing this AMAZING wedding with us