Earlier this month on the blog we brought you a gorgeous autumnal inspired shoot, and now today we’re moving on a season to bring you this whimsical winter styled shoot, from a rather special set of suppliers.
Organised by And so to Wed, a blog based in Leeds, today’s shoot is a celebration of small Northern wedding businesses, many of which hand make their items. As a blog that highly encourages the use of northern suppliers ourselves (it’s all in the name), we’re absolutely thrilled to help spread the message and share this dreamy set of images.
To introduce you to the talented collective that helped piece this pretty together, we welcome Louise Billingham of And so to Wed, to the blog.
With images by Claire Basiuk Photography.
louise says:
We decided to do a winter inspired styled shoot to showcase some of the fantastic work produced by small business based in the north of the UK.The chosen venue to provide our backdrop was (Brides Up North Featured Supplier) Tanfield House, a new wedding venue in Yorkshire that offers couples a truly unique experience, by giving them the use of the whole house to do with as they wish. Packed full of character, it provided the perfect setting.
Using a colour palette of lace, winter white and barely-there-gold, alongside soft natural foliage, textures and fabrics, the shoot evokes feelings of timeless warm winter celebrations in luxurious surroundings. It captures the feel of a winter wedding morning and the reflective time of the bride at this truly fabulous venue, making it both personal and pretty.
Stylist Pamella Dunn was integral to the shoot and dressed the venue using a variety of white flowers and foliage, lights, candles and textured materials. She always manages to bring elegance, style and a sense of whimsy to her styling, and this was just what we wanted to achieve.
We also wanted to reflect the nature that surrounds the venue, which we did through the wedding dress, cake and elements of the styling.
We chose a beautiful Claire Pettibone dress called Gardenia, which was supplied by Lace & Co bridal boutique in Horbury. The gown oozes romance and reflects the nature surrounding the venue. We also wanted to use lace in the shoot, so the dress really did tick all the boxes.
The veils used in the shoot were supplied by Heather at Sash and Veil, who hand makes gorgeous sashes and veils as well as other bridal accessories. The garter and embroidered hankie we featured helped to add to the personal side of the shoot and were supplied by Extra Special Touch, who use Nottingham lace to create their lovely items. The headpieces and fabulous feather fan meanwhile, were made by Betty from Bespoke Vintage Castle, who is one of our partners. We felt these little extras added texture and sumptuous romance.
For the hair and makeup we chose to go very natural and relaxed, with a hint of magic and sparkle. Makeup artist Victoria Edwards, created the look we were after perfectly, with an element of shimmer and sparkle. Meanwhile Deborah from Love on Location, created a beautiful whimsical hair style that complemented the dress perfectly.
To add to the personalised element of the shoot, we wanted to include a poem and a letter from the bride’s husband-to-be and so we asked Lianne from Loveli to create some beautiful stationery that reflected the lace inspiration and the light biscuit colour of the wedding dress. Also working on the brief of winter white and lace, Dominique, from Poppy Pickering, created us a wonderful cake that reflected the setting of the venue effortlessly with its soft green foliage.
Finally, to create a confetti shot reminiscent of snow falling in winter we used petal confetti from Natural Favours in a complementary tone.
Looking back, the day of the shoot was so relaxed and enjoyable. It was a truly inspirational day listening to the different suppliers’ success stories and hearing everyone sharing creative and business ideas. The day ran like clockwork with everyone working so well together. We finished the shoot with a glass of fizz during a breath-taking sunset!
We can’t rave on enough about how full of talent and creativity the entrepreneurial women behind the different businesses are and we feel so privileged to have been able to showcase their work in this way. To all wedding couples planning their big day, we would like to say try to go local and go small with your suppliers. Not only can this work out much cheaper, but often it’s the best way of getting exactly what you want – something truly bespoke.
