Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Guest Posts

Something Borrowed, Something Roo: How to Pick a Wedding Theme

Kat

January 2, 2012

Optional (and recommended) prep work before reading this month’s post: go around your house and make a little mental (or physical, I’m easy) note of what you can see in the following hiding places: your wardrobe; your shoe collection; your fridge/pantry, and your cosmetics cupboard/dressing table. No matter how bare or brimming these areas of your nest are, I hope that you’ll begin to notice certain themes lurking in each. For example, although I’m a bird who doesn’t subscribe to wearing a lot of makeup, I do have a penchant for fabulous nail varnishes. My collection isn’t vast, but there’s an obvious trend; namely understated nudes, pastel pinks, and darker, cold hues with a hint of shimmer. There is no hint of neon to be found. Moving to my overly extensive wardrobe (which I am always ungratefully bored of) I see lots of natural tones – tans, browns, greys (the odd plum sweater, maybe) – splashes of velvet, cheeky peeks of Breton stripe, trimmings of lace and a few impractical “statement” pieces. Similarly with my shoes, I find cherry red (faux) snakeskin ankle boots nuzzling up next to my Vans Old Skools, who in turn drape a shoelace around my Melissa Lovefoxx sandals. When asked to describe my style, I say it’s “Whatever”. It’s whatever I feel like, whatever the weather, whatever I want. In turn, I try to live my life by the mantra of my wardrobe, which becomes glaringly apparent when you look in our kitchen cupboards: scotch pancake ingredients, stuffing mix, cloudy lemonade, cinema sweet popcorn, potatoes, and tomato soup (we haven’t done our weekly shop yet, can you tell?).
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Roo’s Favourite Finds: Finding Clothing Bargains in Charity Shops/Thrift Stores

Kat

December 12, 2011

The last time we spoke, I was floating on the high of a relatively warm autumn down here in Brighton (I’m not kidding; I went swimming in the sea at the end of October). I’m sad to report that the temperature tables have now rightfully turned, and as a result I’ve been honing my beady eye in on stocking up my winter wardrobe to accommodate for these chillier months. Now, apart from being a little bit skint a lot of the time, it’s also worth considering that I have a Mother who is a dab hand with a needle and thread. This has meant that I've grown up understanding the value of clothes – I won’t breach onto designer territory just now, because that’s a whole different kettle of fish – but I will say that nine times out of ten I’ll step into a popular high street store and be blown away by the lack of quality for the relatively extortionate price tag. On more than one occasion I have been the victim of inexplicably frayed edges, missing buttons, and ripped seams, and altogether I find it quite disheartening. That said, I do like to buy my key pieces – jeans, plain t-shirts, jumpers, etc – from high street stores, because we can all wear these things differently. If I am ever conscious of looking like a clone, I would much rather go for second-hand.
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Something Borrowed, Something Roo: Finding Our Perfect Wedding Photographer

Kat

November 28, 2011

Something I am always keen to promote through Rock n Roll Bride is the importance of hiring a professional wedding photographer to document your wedding (the photos are the only thing - well except the marriage of course - that lasts after the wedding day etc etc) However not only that, I also think it is crucial to hire a professional wedding photographer that gets you. It may be all well and good that a photographer has won a gazillion awards or has shot some fantastic weddings that have been featured in magazines and on wedding blogs, but if you don't like them as a person or they don't understand your vision for your wedding... well they aren't the guy/gal for you.
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Roo’s Favourite Finds: Terrariums

Kat

November 12, 2011

Roo is pretty awesome you know. So she called me last week with an idea for a blog post which I loved so much I asked if she'd like to make it a monthly addition to the blog. Which I'm pleased to report she did. As a bit of a charity shop/thrifting fiend, Roo's idea was so share some of her favourite charity shop finds as well as showing you how she is using said finds in her wedding. These posts are going to be the perfect antidote to a wedding industry that tries to convince you that you have to spend a bomb to have a beautiful wedding. All you really need is a little imagination and not a lot of cash. Hurrah!
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DIY Tutorial: Multi-Layered Tulle Petticoat (Make Your Own Rainbow Petticoat!)

Kat

November 5, 2011

First up, I have to say a huge thank you to everyone that's emailed me with their DIY ideas. I've has a huge response and I'm really looking forward to sharing them with you over these coming weeks. Be sure to keep them coming! I'm starting with this amazing underskirt tutorial by Alexandra King, an independent designer from Somerset. Alexandra produces fabulous vintage-inspired dresses and accessories. So without further ado, over to the lady herself...
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Something Borrowed, Something Roo: The Hunt for the Perfect Venue

Kat

October 31, 2011

My lovely intern Roo (oh I do love her so) had, to say the least, quite the drama with the search for the perfect wedding venue. So she's here today to share her woes and in turn reassure those of you that might be going through the same hell, that it's all going to be fine and that you will come out on the other side! I personally found the venue hunt the most stressful part of my wedding planning. Why are wedding venues such a pain in the...ahem. Over to you lady...
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Alice In Weddingland – A Brighton Seaside-Themed Wedding: Alice & Graham

Kat

July 29, 2011

Now that I’m writing my final ever ‘Alice in Weddingland’ post I really don’t know where to start. I am now happily married and honeymooned, and it is the best feeling in the world. So I shall simply relive that amazing day with you, through this article, and hope that I can convey at least some of the magic that the day held for me. I hope you enjoy this final instalment: Alice in Weddingland got married!
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I’m Taking Applications for the New Rock n Roll Bride Intern!

Kat

July 10, 2011

As most of you will already know, the first Rock n Roll Bride intern, Alice, got married and has flown the nest! I initially took Alice on to help out with stuff here and there (photo shoots, parties, wedding shows etc) but over the past 12 months the role morphed into more of an editorial one. Once a month Alice took us into her 'Weddingland', sharing first hand her wedding plans - trials and tribulations included!
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Alice in Weddingland – Hen Do Carnage

Kat

May 30, 2011

Never one to turn down a good party, the invite to Alice's hen night (bachelorette party for my American readers) a few weeks ago couldn't have been more exciting news. I was all geared up and ready to rock Thorpe Park with soon-to-be-wed Alice and her hens...Reading Alice's report is a little scary though because I have no recollection of a lot of the late night (early morning!) stories she's telling. Maybe one too many Cosmo's maybe? Whoops...
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Alice in Weddingland – Beautiful & Affordable Wedding Flowers

Kat

April 4, 2011

With less then 12 weeks to go everything is (hopefully!) coming together. Still, there remains a few pieces of my wedding puzzle that need to be organised, and this month I’ve been an absolute bridal machine getting as much sorted out as possible. Wedding flowers always caused me slight concern when allocating a budget to each element of the wedding, because, quite frankly, I had no idea where to begin! I’d never stepped foot in a florist, and found the ones that I walked past in Brighton quite unapproachable and intimidating. So needless to say, organising my wedding flowers was not something I was looking forward to.
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Help Dress My Skinny Groom!

Kat

March 12, 2011

Hi Kat, I've followed your blog since I got engaged in October and after a week of commiserating on the subject, I have to reach out for help. I am making my gown and all my bridesmaid's gowns, but we are in a dilemma when it comes to my fiance. The wedding is at a summer camp (very bohemian) and there is to be no hint of tuxedo attire let alone renting anything, and at (skinny) 6', 145lbs, tattooed, long haired, we are really coming up short with finding anything his size, style, and not 'traditional' that he would actually be interested in looking at. Do you know of any unique suit shops or websites (not Urban Outfitters) that could help point us in the right direction? Or should we just start scouring thrift shops? Our wedding is in 8 months. Thank you so much for any help you can give! Rebeka & Alan www.alanandbeka.com
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How to…Crochet Your Own Cupcake Garland (DIY Tutorial by Twinkie Chan) + Giveaway!

Kat

March 5, 2011

I have adored Twinkie Chan from afar for a long time. Her "Eat your cake... and wear it too!" motto kind of speaks to my sweet tooth-loving self you see! Her colourful and super kawaii blog has brought daily rays of sunshine into my life for quite a while now ad I'm pretty much jumping over rainbows with the excitement of sharing our little collaboration with you all today! For those of you not familiar with Twinkie Chan, she is a crocheting marvel from San Francisco who has risen to fame with her cute and food inspired creations. She has made everything from scarf's, hair accessories and other wearable goodies from wool and her designs literally fly off the shelves as soon as she posts them to her etsy store. In short, she makes crocheting cool again! She's even released a tutorial book of some of her adorable creations, which got me thinking...
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Alice in Weddingland – The Engagement Session

Kat

March 1, 2011

This month Rock n Roll Bride intern and columnist, Alice headed out with her fiance Graham for their very first photo shoot together - their engagement session with photographer Sassy of Assassynation. The engagement session can often be a bit of a nervous time for a soon-to-be-wed couple, as for the majority of people it's the first time they've had a processional photo shoot. So, this month I asked Alice to tell us all about her experiences and why, when you've got your perfect photographer on the job, there really is nothing to be afraid of! I am seriously chuffed to share Alice & Graham's engagement session with you today...seeing these is making me super excited to see their wedding photos too! Also...is is weird that I'm a little bit proud of my Alice when I see these? Awww love... ♥ ♥ ♥ A couple of weekends ago Graham and I ventured into the heart of the Cotswolds, for our engagement shoot. We drove to Sassy’s house, where she settled our nerves by cooking us bacon sandwiches with cups of tea! After Graham got to know her a bit (I had met her for the first time the day before at the Designer Wedding Show) we discussed possible ‘venues’ for the days shoot. Thankfully the weather was beautiful, and we decided that outside would be best, so we could make the most of the natural light. Sassy explained that the shoot would last around a couple of hours, and that what we did in that time was pretty much up to us. When she mentioned an abandoned RAF watchtower and runway a few miles from her house I was beyond excited: I am a bit of a War History buff so the thought of being able to include that element in our engagement shoot was amazing! We got in her car and drove to the tower.
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How to…Make Your Wedding Day All About You {Guest Post by Carina Romano}

Kat

February 19, 2011

I've lost count of the number of times I've read an email or comment from a bride-to-be, stressing that her wedding wouldn't be "blog-worthy enough" and that totally makes me sad. I LOVE to feature all kinds of weddings, detail-heavy or not. I actually back this up on my About page: "There is no ideal Rock n Roll Bride. What I love isn’t necessarily what floats your boat. What makes the weddings (and therefore my site) so fab is YOU! I try to share a diverse variety of weddings, photo shoots and general gorgeousness so I know you’ll find something you love here. The only thing I ask is that each feature is a perfect representation of the couple and their individuality. Think tattooed punk brides next to eco hippy chic weddings and DIY extravaganzas placed side by side with elaborate Alice in Wonderland themed weddings and your half way there."
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