After a season on heartbreak, lockdown, lost opportunities and disappointment we decided to grab the few dying days of summer and come back in style…
As soon as we got the ok from Boris to emerge from lockdown and our talented make-up artists and creatives could get back to doing what they do best, we let our imaginations run wild and planned a stunning summer shoot at one of our favourite locations.
So on the hottest day of the year (the temperature hit over 35 degrees) we gathered our ‘dream team’ together and made the short drive down to Shropshire for a day filled with flowers, fabulous dresses and lots of fun….
The Location
Nestled in an awe-inspiring setting in the heart of the Shropshire countryside, Hawkstone Hall is a truly breath taking venue. Still a relative new-comer to the wedding scene, 2020 should have been the first full season of weddings for the team until the ‘C’ word got in that way.
A luxurious hideaway with stunning original features, the whole venue is packed full of the most glorious spaces for your big day. From the magnificent ballroom complete with original artwork and incredible décor, to the magnificent chapel and light-filled ‘Winter Garden’ we were spoilt for choice when it came to locations for the shoot.
In the end, with the sun beating down, we made the most of the magical gardens and based our main shoot in the beautiful Tapestry Room. With its pink hued marble columns and large arch windows looking out over the estate, it provided the perfect backdrop for our blush based theme.
The Theme
With a strict brief from our bridal gurus at Bellissima Brides – ‘we want wow’ we started to pull together an epic mood board of ideas to fit in with our rose gold and blush theme. Alongside the magnificent backdrop of Hawkstone, we knew we wanted a world-class installation – enter Mat Hepplestone, the creative genius behind industry leading floral giants, Red Floral and the rest is history!
Mat understood the brief from the word go and when we saw a sprinter van, packed to the rafters with fresh flowers edge up the drive, we know we were going to see something pretty exceptional.
The Team
With their vibrant social media and links across the fashion and styling world, the girls at Bellissima suggested that we work with a leading Instagram influencer on the shoot and so they introduced high-profile MUA and model Sophie Russell to the mix.
Alongside their selection of dresses and Mat’s stellar floral creations, Sophie not only provided all the make-up for the day, she also became our main, uber glamorous bridal model too.
We completed our industry leading line-up with the super-talented Suzanne Thorp, cake designer extraordinaire from The Frostery and our wonderful hairdresser on set was the amazing Rebecca Forshaw.
We had a range of exquisite accessories with hand-crafted veils and headpieces from Adorn By Ashely, gorgeous bespoke bridal pieces from Bob-Bon Bride and bridesmaid crowns from Evelyn and Rose.
The gorgeous Robyn Evans and Claudia Platt were our beautiful bridesmaids on the day and the true stars of the show came in the form of the absolutely epic Bride Tribe Photography team.
Louise Coppello and hubby Alex are not only super-talented photographers they are just about the nicest people to have on set and I can only imagine they would be a wonderful addition to any wedding day.
We think the wonderful images really ooze class and this is largely down to Louise and Alex’s passion, talent and gorgeous on-set demeanour.
