Last summer I styled an editorial photoshoot very close to home – as many of you know, I live on the edge of the Lake District and within minutes’ walk of the beach. When lovely Sheryl from Oobaloos Photography suggested we do a photoshoot here, I just couldn’t say no. I’m a huge believer in letting your surroundings influence the style of your day, and my choice of suppliers to take part in the shoot was inspired by the wild beaches of south Cumbria – my favourite place in the world.
Previously featured on Love My Dress blog (thank you lovely Annabel!), this shoot was designed to show you how to incorporate simple touches inspired by waves and the sea into your wedding day. We styled a simple table with fabrics, foliage and calligraphy in lush blues and golds, with glassware from lovely Narrative Hire.
Our bride Jade looked beautiful with her hair in a gorgeously crafted undo by Stefanie Grisdale, with smoky, dramatic make up to suit the remote, untouched location. Key to the beach part of the shoot were Ailsa Munro‘s fabulous bridal separates – Ailsa is one of my favourite UK bridal designers, and the movement and flow of the silk fabric she uses to create her outfits is captivating. Clare Lloyd‘s accessories add glamour and sparkle to the delicate bridal wear – she’s a wonderfully talented designer and I urge you to check out her beautiful website!
The calligraphy suite I designed for a beach wedding was inspired by waves, with rough torn edges to look like the rolling sea, and in a luxury heavyweight midnight blue paper. The gold ink brings a little magic to the design – it was Emma from Tebbey & Co who inspired this colour combination from a shoot she styled for Wedding Sparrow back in 2016.
Brackens of Bowness designed a gorgeous bouquet with white peonies, sea holly, grasses and seedheads – it couldn’t have been more perfect. The delicate blues and greens look incredible against the sandy backdrop and work wonderfully with hand dyed silk ribbons, which I made at home.
Spirit of the Sea – bridal editorial
If you missed part one, see it here – Spirit of the Mountains
Photography – OOBALOOS PHOTOGRAPHY
Bridal separates – AILSA MUNRO
Accessories – CLARE LLOYD
Calligraphy – BY MOON & TIDE
Hair & make up – STEFANIE GRISDALE
Props – NARRATIVE HIRE
Flowers – BRACKENS OF BOWNESS
Silk ribbon – handmade at BY MOON & TIDE
Bespoke dress – featured in March – JOANNE FLEMING DESIGN
If you love where you live, why not incorporate the essence of the place into your wedding day? You really can get married wherever you’d like nowadays – with the help of a celebrant you can say your vows on the beach, on a mountain top, on a boat, a lake… pretty much anywhere. I’m one of those lucky creatives who live close to the Lake District – and today’s blog post is all about bringing the spirit of a place into your wedding styling.
Previously featured on Love My Dress blog (thank you lovely Annabel!), this shoot was styled and brought to life by me! Sheryl from Oobaloos Photography came to stay, I asked a few more of my favourite suppliers from around the UK to help out, and I’m thrilled to say they did – and all brought their A game on the day!
The Lakes is my home. I grew up here; I spend as many weekends as I can in the mountains. We walk, we explore, we do picnics and country pubs – the best feeling in the world is the one you get on top of the peaks: the vastness of nature in all its glory, with no constraints and the world literally at your feet. This is what we captured in today’s shoot – and if you know what I mean and you love the wildness of nature too, why not bring it into your wedding celebrations in whatever way you can?
The calligraphy suite I designed for this shoot was inspired by the wildness of the fells – they’re unpredictable, wild and rocky, rugged and breathtakingly beautiful. The scenery here has been the same for centuries, and this timelessness translates as handmade papers, washed out watercolour lettering and organic shapes in calligraphy. I also sketched out a simple line drawing of the mountains for the paper invitation set.
Oobaloos Photography Sheryl’s dramatic photography style and creativity were so perfect for our wild spirited shoot, and I love the way she’s captured both landscapes and tiny details in such intuitively beautiful images. Stefanie Grisdale is a wonderful Lake District make up artist, and joined us for the day to turn Jade into a beautiful Lakeland bride.
We were thrilled to have a bespoke dress by the inimitable and insanely talented Joanne Fleming for our mountainside bridal shoot. Joanne’s creations are intricate, heart-stoppingly beautiful, and the midnight blue layer of lace is just enchanting. Clare Lloyd‘s accessories team with Jo’s gowns as if they’re made for each other.
Brackens of Bowness designed a dramatic and wild bouquet for our trip to the mountains! The Lake District fells and valleys are an environment full of contrasts; from heavenly tranquil lakes to imposing rock faces and soaring birds of prey – every bit of this place takes my breath away. We wanted to use those contrasts: the exquisite designer dress against a backdrop of rock and never-ending mountainsides; and natural, organic calligraphy on the softest handcrafted papers set against antique crates and timeless ceramics from our wonderful friends at Narrative Hire for a mountain picnic.
Spirit of the Mountains – bridal editorial
Part two – Spirit of the Sea – will follow in June.
Photography – OOBALOOS PHOTOGRAPHY
Bespoke dress – JOANNE FLEMING DESIGN
Accessories – CLARE LLOYD
Calligraphy – BY MOON & TIDE
Hair & make up – STEFANIE GRISDALE
Props – NARRATIVE HIRE
Flowers – BRACKENS OF BOWNESS
Silk ribbon – handmade at BY MOON & TIDE
Bridal separates (to be featured in June) – AILSA MUNRO
The English Wedding Blog exists to fire your imagination; to bring you the most beautiful wedding ideas and creative styling so you can incorporate unique special touches into your day. Exquisite design and breathtaking photography is a part of that, and today’s feature is more than a little special for me.
Working alongside the uniquely talented Verona Lain Photography, I crafted the calligraphy pieces in today’s feature by hand using divine papers from Paperchase and a traditional dip pen and ink. (Join me for a calligraphy workshop in Manchester next Friday if you’d like to learn to write like this!) They fit so perfectly with the little details: the wonderful ring from the London Victorian Ring Co. in its adorable box by La Petit Box. The silk ribbons by Kate Cullen are, as always, the prettiest touch.
(For those of you who are new to the English Wedding Blog, hi! I’m Claire – I write the blog, and I also write calligraphy for weddings – you can find me at www.ByMoonandTide.com!)
This is bridal inspiration with a darker twist, which I adore. Jo Fleming’s gowns are the most exquisitely fascinating pieces you can dream of – for this shoot she created a bridal gown with delicately embroidered flowers on the prettiest lace sleeves, and incredible lace back detail and train for our bride (whose hair by Laura Szydlowski is just stunning). The shoot is in two parts – the darker part is my favourite, with Joanne’s deliciously delicate gold lace dress with ruffles (could it be more Edwardian looking?!) and beautifully crafted leaves stealing my heart completely. Make sure you scroll all the way through this blog post to see the full set of images!
Lynsey from Some Enchanted Floral Design designed bouquets for our Edwardian bride with pale and delicate ranunculus in almost imperceptible pale blush tones and hellebores tucked into eucalyptus leaves. The darker option steals the show with blood-red roses, clematis and dramatic foliage for gorgeous texture.
Huge thanks to lovely Dmitry and Jana at Verona Lain Photography for asking me to be a part of their shoot, which has been featured on Hochzeitsguide (a huge worldwide wedding blog in English and German) as well as the beautiful New Zealand based wedding blog Chic Vintage Brides.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Verona Lain Photography
GOWNS: Joanne Fleming Design
MAKE-UP: Laura Szydlowski at Tori Harris Pro Team
CALLIGRAPHY: By Moon and Tide
FLORIST: Some Enchanted Floral Design
PROPS: Lula & Rye
SILK RIBBONS: Kate Cullen Styling
JEWELRY: London Victorian Ring
RING BOXES: La Petit Box
MODELS: Rebecca Garland (Profile Models)
FILM LAB: Canadian Film Lab