Wedding Stationery…to Buy or DIY?

Kat

December 11, 2010

What is it with girls and stationery? Ever since school I remember getting super excited as September drew near...not to be going back to class, but to be allowed to buy new stationery for the year ahead. I'd spend hours wondering around WH Smiths and Paperchase, fingering every little brightly coloured item, searching for the perfect kit that was both practical and exuded my ever-changing sense of style. I think for girls this long-term love affair is why we see wedding stationery as such an integral part of our wedding day. It must be just right, it must be personal and it must look like a lot of thought went into it. In this budget-conscious climate, a lot of brides to be choose to DIY their stationery. Whilst there is certainly nothing wrong with this (hell, I DIY'ed the lot!) I wanted to ask an expert in this field to chat us through the importance of wedding stationery as well as highlighting the pros and cons of DIY vs buying your stationery...without simply writing the usual wedding-supplier-self-promotion-patter of "your stationery will set the tone for your whole wedding day" crap that you read everywhere else. Enter Lucy Ledger of the awesome Lucy Ledger Designs...

Alice in Weddingland – The Perfect Punk Rock Princess Dress

Kat

December 6, 2010

For most brides-to-be the dress is the number one most important thing they'll choose for their weddings. In fact in the mind's of many girls it's the most important dress they'll ever wear so getting it just right is key. This month, our resident intern Alice talks about her hunt for the perfect punk rock princess wedding dress...and one that wouldn't break the bank! (and I'm pretty chuffed that I was able to help her out with that one) Enjoy, and as always, show some love in your comments...

How To…Make Your Own 1960’s Inspired Mod Floral Hair Wreath (Tutorial by Elsie Flannigan)

Kat

December 4, 2010

I heart Elsie. I've been following her awesome crafty blog, A Beautiful Mess, for the past year or so am not afraid to admit that I'm a bit of an super fan. Elsie got engaged to Jeremy in August and so secretly I was hoping she'd share all her wedding planning and DIY ideas on her blog. Last week I received an email from Elise and her sister Emma telling me that not only have they started their own wedding blog, Le Wedding Party, but that Elsie would like to share some of her amazing DIY tutorials on Rock n Roll Bride! Eeek...I am so excited that she even knows my little blog exists, let alone that she wants to share her stuff with us!

The List – The Rock n Royal Wedding

Kat

November 27, 2010

Unless you've been living under a rock recently, you won't have failed to notice that a certain Prince William and Kate Middleton are getting married next April. Now, whist I have to admit, the whole thing doesn't excite me as much as a lot of wedding -obsessives (will their wedding be Rock n Roll? I think not!) I do love a good royal theme. I love crowns so much I have one tattooed on my arm and I actually own a number of things on this list already! I love ostentatious tiaras and I actually wore the Butler & Wilson skull tiara to my Rock n Roll party. The Evans Litchfield cushions adorn my sofa and the crown ring can regularly be spotted on my finger! I even wore a version of the Irregular Choice shoes for the Mad Hatter photo shoot.

How to…Make Your Own Fabric Flower Bouquet (Tutorial by Josephine Sicad)

Kat

November 20, 2010

After featuring Josephine & Radney's incredibly gorgeous and eclectic DIY wedding last week I was inundated with emails from you lot about the bride's gorgeous DIY fabric flower bouquet. So I asked the lovely Josephine very nicely if she'd be so kind as to write a little tutorial for you. She was more than thrilled to oblige! I'd love to see some more Rock n Roll Brides rocking down the aisle with one of these babies! Huge thanks to Josephine for working on this feature with me.

The Rock n Roll Bride Venue Guide – Manchester

Kat

November 13, 2010

Following the popularity of the first The Rock n Roll Bride Venue Guide, written by wedding planner and stylist Mary Herrington of Forever & Ever Events, I was keen to ask her if she'd be willing to do a bit of travelling for us and do some venue guides for the rest of the country. This month, Mary visited Manchester to bring you her reviews of the most kick ass venues for your Rock n Roll wedding! Following the great response to my first venue post on London’s Rock n Roll reception venues, I now take you up north to Manchester, where the city and surrounding areas offer a truly eclectic mix of inspiring venues for a Rock n Roll wedding. As I did in my London venues post, my approach here is to recommend a variety of venues across the spectrum of budgets and aesthetics, from very cool historical architecture to vintage modern interior design to contemporary and modern dance halls. Remember that no matter where you have your wedding, if you put your personal stamp on it, the venue will come alive.

Alice in Weddingland ~ The Hunt for the Perfect Photographer

Kat

November 1, 2010

It's time for post number two (well three if you count our impromptu trip to the Designer Wedding Show last month) in the series that is proving to be quite a hit with you lot! This month Alice went on the hunt for the perfect photographer to document her wedding... When I sat down and wrote my wedding wish-list, getting a top-notch wedding photographer was right up there. Think what you will, a good photographer was even higher up on my list of priorities then a wedding dress! I figure a dress lasts a day, but the photographs are the memories that will be shared with friends and family alike, and will last forever. In my eyes a securing the photographer of your dreams is the best wedding investment a bride can make…but where to begin? If you google ‘wedding photographer Brighton’ you are given hundreds of results, but I found this list to be pretty useless as I really didn’t know what I was looking for. What are the merits of negotiating a copy-write-free deal on your images? Reportage or traditional style? Ten minutes in and I was freaking out; finding the photographer for me seemed like an impossible task. Then I came across rocknrollbride.com!

The Price of Wedding Photography & How Much Should I Expect to Spend?

Kat

Julia Boggio

October 23, 2010

This is a subject I have wanted to address on the blog for a while, but I'll be honest, I have been a little afraid of bringing it up. I need to make a few things clear first. ♥ I am a HUGE advocate of helping start up businesses. I often feature the work of brand new and up and coming photographers on the blog ♥ I am a true believer that a fantastic photographer can make even the most budget wedding look kick ass - more than the dress, the decor and the extra details. Seriously, while all these aspects are important it is the photographer that will capture these memories that will last a lifetime ♥ Everyone deserves to have a truly fantastic photographer to capture their day. Whatever your budget, I can't stress enough how much I'd urge you to spend as much money as you are able to in order to get the very best photographer that you can afford I don't want the fact that I have approached the subject of money, business and all that icky stuff to in anyway ostracise any readers of my little blog. However I do think that just how much you're going to spend on photography is something that should be addressed. It's something that all couples will talk about when they plan their weddings and talk about budget but it's a subject that is never spoken about on blogs or in magazines. Why is this? Well, people don't really like to talk about money do they? My reasoning behind this post is not in anyway to try and encourage you to spend more than you can afford or are willing to on your wedding photography, however I do want to make you stop and think if the service you are getting for the price you're paying really is good value. I have lost count of the number of brides I've had email me asking for photographer recommendations for under £500 and I've also lost count of the number friends I've spoken to who have recoiled at the fact that a lot of the photographers I know are charging £2000 + for "one day's work" (seriously? do people still think photographers only work one day a week!?) I know weddings are expensive things and that this sort of money is a lot for most people, but I can't stress enough that I feel photography is really the one thing you should splash out on. If you can only afford £500 for a wedding photographer then great, but just be aware that the results that you get from a photographer who is only charging that much will most certainly be inferior to someone a bit more pricey. Even if the talent is there, someone able to charge more than this, will if anything have a lot more experience than someone still charging around the £500 mark. If you are happy to pay under £500 for a photographer then fantastic - rock it out, but just be aware that for that price you aren't going to get Jose Villa/Jasmine Star/Jonas Peterson/Jeff Ascough... I hate to say it, but in this industry, you really do get what you pay for.

Alice in Weddingland at The Designer Wedding Show, October 2010

Kat

October 20, 2010

A few weeks ago myself and the lovely Rock n Roll Bride intern, Alice, headed to The Designer Wedding show. I asked her if she'd like to write the report for me as I felt that her opinion on the show (as a bride-to-be) would be much more interesting for you..especially those of you who might be a little afraid of the whole 'bridal show experience. I'm not going to lie, the big shows can be hella scary - but this smaller and more intimate wedding show is actually very pleasant- there are no scary brides with clipboards (give me strength!) or manic and desperate suppliers trying to shove leaflets in your face. Think champagne reception, clean white stalls and super friendly and creative wedding suppliers.

The Rock n Roll Bride Venue Guide – London

Kat

October 16, 2010

I get loads of emails from you lot asking me advice on all manner of wedding planning related matters and while I'm easily able to reel off a long list of fantastic photographers I know or recommend some awesome dress companies, when it comes to wedding venues...well I'm as clueless as you are! We had a massive drama with our wedding venue (they cancelled three months before our wedding day - but that's a story for another time!) so needless to say finding the perfect venue for your Rock n Roll wedding is not my speciality! However luckily for me (and you!)I know someone who knows all about the very best and coolest venues in the country. I asked my good friend Mary Herrington of Forever & Ever Events if she'd be able to start up a new feature for me, showcasing some of her favourite and most Rock n Roll wedding venues all over the country, First up London...

The List – The DIY & Crafty Wedding

Kat

October 9, 2010

We all know that DIY and crafty weddings are BIG right now, so for this week's 'The List' guest post I asked blogger and wedding stylist London Bride to come up with some of her favourite ideas to make your wedding crafting just that little bit more Rock n Roll. You will love! The DIY/Crafty List

Alice in Weddingland ~ The Venue Search

Kat

October 4, 2010

Well you've heard me mutter a little bit about my new intern, the lovely Alice, over the past week or so but now it's time to properly introduce the lady herself. I've never had an intern before and to be honest the control freak inside of me wasn't sure exactly what I'd do with one. However when Alice emailed me a few weeks ago to tell me all about her love of media, writing and Rock n Roll Bride and to ask if she could help out in any way, well I just thought "Hey, why the hell not?!" The tattoo magazine photo shoot was coming up so I thought if anything it'd be good to have an extra pair of hands to help the photographer carry his heavy equipment!

How to…Make Your Own Cake Pops (Tutorial by Rhubarb & Rose)

Kat

October 2, 2010

You may well remember April & Alex's laid back garden party wedding that I featured a few weeks ago. Well a lot of you got in touch (and in fact I wondered myself!) asking about how April made her own cake pops. So I thought I'd ask the lady herself and she's kindly written this lovely tutorial for you all. Enjoy - and happy baking!

“Yes, You CAN have a Rock n Roll Wedding!”

Kat

September 25, 2010

For today's guest post I asked one of my favourite bloggers and recent bride-to-be Britt of Bowie Bride to write me a little sommat sommat. I am VERY excited as I'm going to be blogging the full report on her "ballstastic Rock n Roll wedding" just as soon as her pro pictures are ready, so I thought a little word from the lady herself might be nice way to whet your appetites for seeing her killer wedding in full! (I blogged their engagement session here) Britt wrote about something that I KNOW a lot of you will struggle with when planning your weddings (hell, I know I did) - thoughts like "Am I Rock n Roll enough?", "How are my family going to react?", "Will people approve of our choices?" Well sit back and listen to Auntie Britt, because she of the "no holds barred, titstastic" wedding fame is here to kick you into shape!

How To…Buy your Wedding Dress Online

Kat

September 18, 2010

Hi Kat, I absolutely love your blog, I luckily came across it when I was looking unique wedding dress ideas. I really love all the vintage and short dresses your brides wear and I'd love to get something like that for myself. It's been quite a relief to see that not everyone wants the whole traditional wedding!

The List – Retro Rockabilly Wedding

Kat

September 11, 2010

Methinks you all loved London Bride's 'The List' two weeks ago so I asked the lovely blogger & wedding stylist to do us another one - this time, one of my favourite wedding themes, Retro Rockabilly.

How To…Get the Best Out of Your Engagement Shoot

Kat

September 4, 2010

This week I got chatting to Brighton-based photographer Joanna Brown who has just put together a list of engagement shoot prep ideas to give to her clients. I loved it so much I asked if she'd share it with you all too.

The List – Vintage/Boho Wedding Style

Kat

August 28, 2010

Woohoo new feature y'all! 'The List' is the opportunity for guest blogger Charley Beard of UK wedding and style blog, London Bride to go shopping in the name of research! I've asked this lovely blogger and wedding stylist to put together a collection of goodies different wedding genres. Each installment of 'The List' will be full to bursting of wedding loveliness in different wedding styles (rockabilly, punk, budget, diy etc) so I hope over the coming weeks you'll be able to find some really cool and unique wedding 'bits' that you can use in your own weddings (or you can just buy because you love them hehe!)

How to…Look & Feel Natural in Front of the Camera

Kat

August 21, 2010

I hope you've been enjoying our much more frequent visits to the 'How to...' series. After reading your survey responses (full report to come soon) it was one of the things that was most requested. This week I asked Carina Romano of the fabulous Love Me Do Photography (based in Philadelphia) to address the subject that a lot of brides feel nervous about - how they're going to look in their wedding pictures. Don't forget, I love hearing from you all so if you have any burning questions about anything wedding, business or blogging related be sure to shoot me an email and either myself or one of my carefully selected army of amazing guest posters will try and help out.

How to…Perfect Your Wedding Day Look

Kat

August 14, 2010

So, you've dreamt about this day for pretty much your WHOLE LIFE. Your ideas may or may not have changed and you may or may not still choose to get married in the biggest fluffiest ballgown or get married in a church like you always imagined you would. Now as this is Rock 'n Roll Bride, I'm sure you've heard of having YOUR wedding day the way YOU'D want it, not how society expects you to have it - why should your hair & make up choices be any different