Today we’re transporting you to a whimsical wonderland for a pretty ethereal wedding shoot inspired by Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Captured at the stunning Eaves Hall in the heart of Lancashire, the shoot was curated by our fabulous Sponsor Rebecca Bektas, of Rebecca Juliet Bridal, who worked with a talented team of fellow North West suppliers to bring the fantasy vision to life.
Prepare for some stunning dresses, fabulous florals and swoon-worthy cakes, as we hand over the blog to designer Rebecca to give us all the dreamy details…
With images by Sarah Valentine Photography.
Model Catherine.
rebecca says:
We wanted the shoot to be free-flowing and unstructured so that it had a really whimsical feel to it. Whilst we had created a story board of the kind of mood we wanted to instill in the photos, Sarah works best when she sees a moment she loves through the lens and our aim was to let that creativity shine through. We didn’t want the photos to feel contrived and Sarah prefers to use natural light wherever possible; catching shadows seems to be her thing!I wanted my dresses to be part of the story but not the only headline, and so we worked with the natural beauty in the grounds of Eaves Hall, coupled with fabulous flowers and cakes from our collaborators, to allow all the elements to stand out.
We chose two unstructured dresses from my debut collection; both are very simple and made from stunning silks and French lace. Whilst quite bohemian in its appearance, the first dress had a very sophisticated full lace back and long sleeves with covered buttons leading into a fit and flare skirt. We teamed it with a flower crown and silk tulle lace edge mantilla veil, to give it a really ethereal look.
The second dress was actually separates. This is growing trend at the moment and I have used silk taffeta and organza within this design to create a fairy-like and more girly feel. The skirt is very full and has beautiful movement. The top meanwhile is fitted and subtly cropped, again made with silk taffeta and French lace, with a full button back closure.
Set in over 20 acres, Eaves Hall is breathtaking and we used both the grounds and inside the Hall for the photos. There are lots of secret paths and Sarah found a few to lead us down to create the feeling that we had been transported to a different world of magic and fairies. The Hall lends itself to so many different types of wedding themes and really is dream venue. The team there were the perfect hosts; literally nothing was too much trouble!
The florals we used in the shoot were stunning. The brief to Elaine from Felicity Farm Flowers, was to create something ethereal and unstructured, including a flower crown fit for Catherine, our very own Titania. Using gorgeous green foliage and beautiful pink muted flowers, she exceeded our expectations – especially with a truly amazing floral door arch in the entrance of the Hall. The bouquets were simple but breathtaking with their stunning muted colour and beautiful foliage. Again simplicity was a key part of the brief and Elaine nailed it! It was amazing watching her effortlessly pull together all the floral elements, such a talented lady!
When it came to styling our model, we wanted a very natural look and so makeup artist Anna from Baie 16, created a flawless yet dewy finish on the skin using the Jane Iredale makeup range. Like all the elements of the shoot we didn’t want the makeup to overshadow our Titania. Anna used very natural colours on both the eyes and lips and focused on a perfect finish – so her skin looked amazing! Keeping true to our theme we left Catherine’s hair down in natural curls, styled with a heated wand.
Lisa from Lisa Marie Cakes, designed some amazing sweet treats to complement the shoot with trailing ivy and stunning pink flowers helping to add to the magic. One of our favourite creations was the simplest cream sponge, which totally stole the show. She gave an ethereal twist to more traditional wedding cakes perfectly blending the two together to create something truly magical.
We had a lot of fun on the day and it was really great to work with so many likeminded talented ladies who are as passionate about weddings as I am. We are continuing to work together and I feel so lucky to do something I love every day!
