Hi hello! I'm Gee (she/her) and I'm the pink haired owner of Rebel Love Stories.

Lets think back to 2020: my degree was suddenly stopped overnight, I had to move back to Birmingham and had all the time in world it seemed - so naturally, I ended up spending a ton of time on Tiktok and came across wedding painters! I remember sitting and thinking that would be such a cool job to do. Fast forward to 2023 and I've graduated, I'm in my weird mid 20's ~what the hell is going on~ phase, quitting jobs left right and centre (thank you ADHD) and not being able to find myself. In the middle of all that chaos, Rebel Love Stories was born. No literally, I woke up one morning and decided to quit my masters and actually give being an artist a go!! Seeing how many other alt people are looking for suppliers who align with them, their values and how they want their wedding to feel inspired me. Seeing weddings full of tattoos, colours, pop culture references, more and more elopement etc and seeing people be authentically themselves is inspiring!!My paintings are based in the neo traditional style of tattooing - bright and bold colours, big thick lines, intricate details - a balance between a classic painting and a multi dimensional hyper realistic painting. I use a mix of acrylic paint, fineliners, paint pens, colour pencils and more on paper, and focus on the couple themselves.All my packages are named after alt love songs and I'd love to discuss them with you! Please drop me an email if you're interested in having me :) 

What makes you an alternative wedding supplier? 

Being alternative myself, I wanted to find other suppliers that looked like me and my partner when I started planning my wedding! When I started Rebel Love Stories I knew that I was not willing to compromise how I look or who I am, and I find a lot of alt weddings are unapologetically themselves too, making them the kind of places I want to paint in. I am lucky enough to work both sides of the line as a lot of traditional brides also want their weddings painted, but my bread and butter are the ones who throw tradition out the window and do things THEIR way. Alternative to me has always been an umbrella term for everyone who doesn't quite fit into the mold, for everyone who doesn't just want to be one thing (why be just goth when you could rock skater, punk, fairycore etc too???) and I think it's rad that we're moving into a space where a lot of weddings are beginning to reflect the couple themselves and the music, games, book, places etc that they are into, instead of following tradition!

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What do you do within your business to make it more accessible and inclusive?

I always ask for everyone's pronouns & names, including what they would like me to use on social media. I am working on adding alt text on all my posts & on every photo on my wedding. My pricing and packages are clearly laid out, and I've done my best to make my booking system as easy as possible. I don't use gendered language unless it's been approved by the couple (e.g the couple are ok with me using "bride" "groom" to describe or speak about them). I am in constant contact with my couples & I also ask how they would prefer to communicate - email, whatsapp, phone call, zoom etc. Being neurodivergent myself it's really important to me that everyone is on the same page and that all processes are easy to understand and I'm always looking for feedback to improve that

What is your favourite random fun fact?

I own 4 tortoises & one of them is over 120 years old