White & green luxe wedding inspiration with cheeky alpacas

Published by Claire Gould on February 4, 2020February 4, 2020

There isn’t much in this world cuter than an alpaca, right? So when two landed right in my inbox I was smitten. And when I saw the stunning blooms and luxe styling in this wedding photoshoot I just knew I had to share it with you too! There are luscious details, pretty hoop styling touches and the most gorgeous of dresses in today’s feature, sent in by lovely Winchester wedding photographer Lorna Richerby. And our two brides are just beautiful, don’t you think?

The concept for this wedding shoot came from wedding stylist Claire, owner of The Luxe Design Co. She wanted to create a fun shoot which not only highlighted the Elephant Hotel’s best features – quirky interiors, pretty garden, light-filled spaces, mouth-watering food, and it’s laid-back vibe – but also gave a talented team of wedding suppliers from across Hampshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire the creative freedom to contribute ideas and interpret the theme in their own way.

Embracing current trends, Claire chose a simple colour palette, using whites and greens as the base colours and adding splashes of gold and black for added elegance and luxury.

BRIDAL LOOKS

Our models wore two gorgeous fit-to-flare bridal gowns supplied by Bridal Reloved Wallingford. One was a backless ivory satin number by Maggie Sottero with embroidered embellishments on the shoulders and back, and the other was an ivory crepe dress with a sweetheart neckline and exquisite lace detail by Millie Mae Bridal. Their looks were completed with stunning jet black shoes from Emmy London.

With a love for fresh, flawless, glowing skin, rosy cheeks and natural lip colour, as well as definition around the eyes to make them pop; Jade from Artisse created two timeless and elegant bridal make-up looks which enhanced the models’ natural beauty. Complementing the dresses and makeup, Jade choose two simple hairstyles – one up and one down – both decorated with intricate gold hair accessories supplied by Designed to Sparkle.

The jewellery worn by the brides included delicate pearl drop earrings, a unique ‘To have and to hold’ pendant necklace, and distinctive diamond rings, all handmade by award-winning jewellery designer Kate McAngus, of McAngus Designs.

FLOWERS

For the bouquets, Claire from The Luxe Design Co choose two different styles. One of the arrangements was a hoop decorated with pampas grass and asparagus fern, while the other was a more luxuriant yet wild bouquet with ruscus, avalanche roses, wax flower, asparagus fern, eucalyptus, black cosmos (chocolate flower), ornithogalum (ivory star of Bethlehem) and campanula (bellflowers). To fit in with the style of shoot and location, she kept the bouquets natural-looking and not too structured to create a more organic look.

THE WEDDING BREAKFAST ROOM

The tables were minimally decorated with white table linen, hoop flower arrangements, gold tea light holders, and individual stems of asparagus ferns. To add a splash of luxury, glass charger plates with gold rims, elegant wine glasses, gold cutlery and gorgeous place name cards and menus by Cosmic Calligraphy completed the look. Around the room, fairy lights and flickering candles in brass candlesticks added to the romantic atmosphere.

The Head Chef at the hotel provided a range of mouth-watering sharing platters: seasonal vegetables which are a current wedding favourite, and roast pork with all the trimmings.

On two round tables – with further floral arrangements and candles – stood a beautiful ivory three-tiered iced cake with rose detail made by Vanilla Spice Cake Company, and a table plan with gold and green table cards by Cosmic Calligraphy.

THE GARDEN

Leading out into the garden, the hotel team had created an outdoor ceremony/blessing setup. With benches on either side of an aisle, your eyes are naturally drawn to the gazebo at the top of the steps, where you see an occasional table adorned with brass candlesticks and a gunmetal urn filled with the same beautiful seasonal blooms found in the bouquets and on the wedding breakfast tables.

And of course, not forgetting the tuk tuk photo booth from Hello Tuk Tuk and our two gentle and beguiling alpacas from Simply Alpacas! Our bridal models had a great time striking poses at the photo booth and leading the alpacas around the garden, which added to the carefree and relaxed vibe we wanted to create.