This afternoon on the blog, we’re escaping to Derbyshire, to the beautiful 17th century Jacobean manor of Eyam Hall for a rather stunning styled shoot.
Keen to showcase this enchanting property and its walled gardens – photographer Ellie Grace teamed up with a number of top local suppliers to create this definitive autumnal shoot. With a gorgeous, rich palette of berry tones and plums laced with white and gold, this is a dreamy vintage-inspired shoot where the beautiful bouquets take centre stage.
We’ll now hand over the blog to Ellie, to tell us more about the capturing the captivating set.
With images by Ellie Grace Photography. Model, Francesca Gregory.
ellie says:
The photo shoot showcases the history and beauty of Eyam Hall – a National Trust property that’s recently introduced wedding packages.The shoot was themed around seasonal autumnal flowers from Frances and Rose, with the venue perfectly framing the rich colours and its gardens reflecting the stunning floral arrangements. The flowers featured in the shoot were 100% British grown, with some grown just a stone’s throw away from Eyam Hall, and others coming from English Country Roses down in Suffolk.
Amy Bate, a wedding stylist and planner based in Derby, styled the shoot, which exuded an autumnal Midsummer Night’s Dream feel; magical and ethereal but with deeper colours and opulent, quirky styling. The florist and the venue had been talking about working together on future weddings so it seemed like a great opportunity to pool the skills of other local wedding suppliers to create this styled shoot.
The venue has such beautiful, historical architecture and stunning gardens, which were the perfect backdrop for the photography, and in the autumn light this all came together beautifully to create a wonderful seasonal shoot. The flowers were the focal point, with seasonal blooms and rich autumnal colours creating warmth against the cold daylight.
The table arrangements, supplied by prop and table decoration specialist The Magnolia Tree, showcased a beautiful mix of gold and plum tones, playing on the rich and magical feel of the shoot. We also featured an elegant three-tiered cake, topped with an assortment of flowers by Little Zoe Cakes, a baker and cake decorator located near Stafford.
The model’s bridal look meanwhile was inspired by a number of themes: elegant, soft, boho, enchanting, innocent, relaxed, whimsical and vintage looking. We used two original, vintage dresses from Darlington-based Bex Brides and the gowns perfectly complemented the shoot – soft and delicate, but with interest and history.
The hair was styled in a way that enabled us to show off the hair crown, as we didn’t want anything to distract from such a statement piece. The loose ringlets in the model’s dark hair worked perfectly and really stood out against the white of the wedding dress.
As for the make-up, applied by the model Francesca Gregory herself, this was also kept fairly simple, using a dark lip to accentuate and complement the autumnal colours found in the floral arrangements.
Overall, the day went really well. Eyam Hall were so helpful and allowed us to be as creative as we wanted. We were looking to create fantastic professional images and showcase work for all parties to use, and I think we succeeded in achieving this. The weather even behaved, which is a miracle, given the time of the year!
Couples can get married inside Eyam Hall, but it’s currently unable to accommodate a reception or meal indoors. Instead, the venue can host a reception by way of a marquee or tipi on the lawns which was, unfortunately, unavailable for the shoot.
