Looking for Rock Wedding Bands in Scotland and want to theme your wedding accordingly? We’re with you! We’re huge fans of Rock ‘n’ Roll and Music For Scotland has some of the best live wedding bands Scotland has to offer, in fact here are just some of our Top 10 Rock Wedding Bands for hire:
- Franco
- The Stylists
- The Jets
- Bridges
- Juniper
- The Apollos
- The Sleekit Beasties
- Giant
- Hot Space
- Ceilidhonia
But just because it’s a rock-music-themed wedding doesn’t mean it has to be wild-looking - rock music culture has a sense of class. Think Freddie Mercury of Queen or the slick suits of ska musicians. Think Mick and Bianca Jagger’s wedding in St Tropez - all tailored YSL suit and South of France chic. Remember punk groups like the Buzzcocks in working class-style suit jackets and street attitude. Another source of inspiration would be steampunk culture, with its emphasis on vintage 18th-century fashion merged with speculative technological advancements. Glam fashion and leatherwear can also be integrated into your rock wedding theme, reminiscent of David Bowie’s aesthetics and 80’s glam rock. New Wave bands and mod fashion exude a kind of rebellious classiness that values stylish clothing and art-cool sensibilities.
How do you achieve these levels of rock-royalty class? Here are our top 10 ideas on what you can do to have an elegant, rock ‘n’ roll wedding:
1. Rock The Dress
Just because rock outfits are traditionally black and leather-heavy doesn’t mean you have to dress in black from head to toe. You don’t have to go for a black wedding dress if you don’t want to - pair a traditional white gown with a black leather jacket, black lace belt, and killer stilettos and you’re transformed into a rock goddess.
Set the dress code for your guests too and get them to dress up like rock icons, or at least wear Doc Martens or Chuck Taylor shoes. Convince them to wear rock music-related jewelry such as skull rings, silver chains, leather arm bracelets with silver studs and band logo pendants, or sport a skull-topped walking stick a la Judas Priest during the finale of their Firepower tour in 2019. Your wedding will look like the backstage of a rock concert in no time
2. Choose Your Wedding Bands
Your wedding jewelry can be both rock-themed and elegant too. The wedding bands you exchange could be made of meteorite, black titanium, onyx, or carbon fibre. If you want to add some bling, add a black pearl, black opal, or black diamond to your ring design, or get the wedding rings and jewelry customized to display familiar rock icons or musical symbols. Don’t like jewelry? No problem. Why not consider getting matching tattoos instead? An elegant Celtic knot on your ring finger or the name of your other half are popular rock-chic alternatives to the traditional symbol of marriage.
3. Decorate Your Venue
You don’t have to book out a stadium to have a rock festival feel. Use guitars, drums, amplifiers and stage lights as part of the decor to make any venue look the part. You can also use rock music iconography as part of the wedding motif; guitars, skull patterns, black lace, chains, thorns, black roses can all add elegant rock style to your day. Try ornaments that connote an otherworldly ambiance, such as flashing spotlights, avant-garde pieces, steampunk, metalcraft, and psychedelic-colored items. Instead of typical store-bought decorative ribbons and cards, use ones made from paper inlays of old cassettes and utilise old CDs as drink coasters. Bring in old portable transistor radios or small boomboxes as table centerpieces; you can even use the boomboxes to play music during reception intermissions. Old turntables and vinyl records connote nostalgia and a romantic atmosphere, especially when the music players are encased in vintage carved boxes.
4. Get Your Music Right
This element is crucial for a rock wedding for obvious reasons! Have a punk rock band play at your wedding or feel the rhythm of a ska band. You can also hire a tribute band that plays covers of songs by your favorite classic rock bands, such as KISS, The Beatles, Van Halen, and others. Ask the band to play appropriate songs that match each portion of the event and make sure you don’t overdo it. Yes, it’s a rock-themed wedding but consider your guests’ tastes too. If your dance floor is empty the energy of the day will fall flat so pick a band that can read the mood of the audience and vary their setlist accordingly. Even if you can't stand pop music, there are plenty of rock anthems that never fail to get people jumping out of their chairs and onto the dance floor.
5. Make It Personal
Little touches can be some of the most memorable elements of your big day. So instead of a guest book, why not get your guests to sign an old acoustic guitar? That way, rather than languishing on a shelf somewhere in your house, your wedding guest "book" can be displayed proudly, for all to see. Or how about quoting song lyrics from epic rock ballads in the invitation text and make them a part of your wedding vows. Think Meatloaf’s “I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)” or Mr. Big’s “To Be With You”. You can also name tables at the reception after your favorite albums and copy a poster from your favorite tour to show your wedding seating plan. If you really want to push the boat out you can consider hiring a tattoo artist for the day in case any of your guests want some commemorative ink to celebrate your big day. Just make sure you offer this up before the open bar - you don’t want to be held responsible for a tattoo of Tweety Bird on your uncle’s bottom.
6. Rock Cake
You can let your imagination run wild with your wedding cake and really have some fun. Cakes in the shape of amplifiers, music instruments, or even a turntable are popular with couples. Want to opt for something a bit more old school? Consider a 3 tier, black lace wedding cake, topped with an ornate skull or musical notes. Geode cakes have also been all the rage for some time now and add a touch of rock glamour (get it?) to the occasion.
7. Wedding Favours
Make up a CD mix that contains well-known classic rock ballads and romantic rock songs as favours for your wedding guests. You can make several copies to give away as souvenirs to guests. Just make sure to indicate in the CD label that it is for non-commercial, creative purposes to avoid copyright issues! Or how about some personalised plectrums, guitar strings (for those who would use them!), or temporary tattoos? Festival wristbands, with the date of the wedding and the couples’ names woven in, are an original and cost-effective choice too or, if you really want to push the boat out, some wedding merch t-shirts with a jazzy design would go down a treat with your guests
8. Wedding Invitations
This one’s a no-brainer - design wedding invitations to look like concert tickets or vinyl album covers and you’re sorted. You can even make them look like classic album covers by notable rock acts. Alternatively, use polaroids of the two of you striking your best rock ‘n’ roll poses and hand-scribble “Are You In?” under the date, time, and location of your wedding day - informal, fun and gets the message across!
9. Consider the Catering
What's the first thing that springs to mind when you think of a rock-themed wedding? Food vans! Food vans are a great way to cater to the different tastes of your guests. A gourmet van specialising in vegan / vegetarian food, a BBQ trailer for the meat-eaters and maybe a street-food van creating delicacies from your favorite holiday destination. Sound delicious? We think so! A coffee cart will keep your guests' energy levels up and a swanky prosecco horse-box will get the party going. More and more couples are veering away from the catered wedding venue in favour of variety and the festival of flavours that can be achieved using street food vans is definitely appealing.
10. Wedding Transport
The options for rock-themed wedding transport are endless. Think about substituting the traditional wedding car for a mustang or land rover. A VW campervan is also a popular choice with brides - practical too when it comes to fitting in your wedding dress! You can also hire a “tour bus” if you want to be sociable and head to the wedding venue with all of your guests. Or forget about the car /bus altogether and choose to ride off into the sunset on a motorcycle with a sidecar - what a spectacular way to close the wedding ceremony.
The great thing with rock music-themed weddings is that there is a lot of room for improvisation and creativity. What will help to make it stand out from ordinary weddings are the choice of music to play during the ceremony and reception, a dress code that does not require too much effort from the guests, knowledgeable wedding coordinators, simple but creative designs, and a sense of fun. It should be something that the couple will find enjoyable and relevant to their tastes, especially if they are serious music fans. Let your imagination run wild and your wedding will rock, guaranteed. And if you're looking for a top wedding band - well, you know where to come...