It’s time to forget about the cold and miserable weather that we’ve been having as we brighten up your Friday morning with this fun and fabulous styled shoot.
Captured by Yorkshire-based photographer Chloé Grayson of Fox & Owl Photography, the shoot provides perfect inspiration for any laid-back and boho brides out there who crave a vibrant outdoor wedding in natural, rustic surroundings.
We love the lively tropical hints and bold splashes of colour showing how bright hues can be incorporated into a wedding in a beautiful, rather than brash way.
Here with all the details on the styling and the full team behind the shoot is photographer Chloé…
With images by Chloé Grayson of Fox & Owl Photography. Models Sophie Martin-Stokes, Lianne Kaye and Katie Beck.
chloe says:
We teamed up with a bunch of very inspirational local vendors for this shoot, who all worked incredibly hard organising and carrying out preparations. As a group, we wanted to put together a styled shoot that was bold, full of colour and a lot of fun – we quickly opted for a summery ‘fiesta in the woods’ theme that would provide the perfect inspiration for any laid-back brides out there.With an intimate three acres of woodland in Leeds, unique venue Applewood Weddings provided us with the perfect backdrop for this outdoor wedding shoot. We made the most of the venue’s woodland walks, ceremony area, cocktail shed and decking. The way-finding signage pictured throughout the shoot was also the perfect way for us to tell the ’story’ of the day in a more coherent manner.
The fiesta look is quite laid-back and is the perfect theme for adding splashes of bright primary colours amongst more traditional and neutral tones. Stylists, Whimsical Events adorned the trees with festive crepe streamers and hand-made tissue paper pom-poms that bounced around excitedly in the wind.
Applewood’s cocktail shed and decking area were dressed up with more of these pom-poms as well as fruity paper pineapples. Little details were important too. A string of pink Flamingo fairy lights injected some light-hearted fun into back of the shed. Both the bar and tables were decorated with vibrant food objects and party cocktails.
Not for the traditional, our three-tier cake boasted every colour of the rainbow. The eccentric base, which looked like it had been caught in the middle of a paint party, juxtaposed with an elegant top tier arrangement of icing flowers and ribbons. Taking on bespoke projects to match clients’ personalities, Debbie Gillespie Cake Design is no stranger to unconventional requests and here is the evidence.
Our woodland fiesta was further beautified by the wildly romantic British flowers; locally grown, cut and arranged by Owl House Flowers. Organic, colourful and relaxed in style, the bouquet and arrangements fit in with the theme just perfectly.
Our model bride wore a shimmering lace mermaid bridal gown with a strapless sweetheart neckline and a delicate satin waistband; whilst the model bridesmaids wore colourfully mismatched chiffon dresses. Keeping in with the theme, one was a floor length, flowing, multiway, mint coloured dress and the other was an A-line, floor length, halter neck, coral coloured dress. These outfits certainly popped out from the earthy tones of the woodland setting, whilst simultaneously complementing each other. All three Alexia Designs dresses were provided by the bridal boutique, Alison Jane Bridal.
Remembering the carefree, fun fiesta atmosphere we wanted to create, the models’ makeup was kept quite simple by makeup artist and hair stylist Terri Georgina. We didn’t want it to look overdone. Neutral tones were used to avoid clashing with the vivid colours of the decor and flowers. This also gave the ladies a more natural, youthful look. As did their hair; styled into soft, loose waves and curls.
The shoot happened to fall on the brightest day the UK has seen this year. The glorious sunshine and breezy weather added so much to the atmosphere, casting an array of dancing leaf-shaped shadows onto the ground.
However, the intensity of this sunlight coupled with the blustery weather did make things a little difficult as there were so many harsh shadows / bright sunspots moving around erratically. All three models also had to fight the natural urge to squint and assistants needed to be on hand to rearrange flyaway hair and dress material.
Setting up and decorating the location took quite a while longer than originally anticipated. The wind made it difficult to string up all the lightweight decorations such as the streamers, paper pom-poms and paper pineapples. This resulted in the shoot starting around midday – when the sun was directly above us casting a less than flattering light on the location. But as the sun moved towards the west this improved.
Although the conditions were not ideal, the aim of the day was to create a colourful and lively fiesta in the woods, and the team certainly achieved this!
Fox & Owl’s own distinctive and somewhat unconventional style was applied throughout this project, both during the role as photographer and also as a re-toucher during the post-processing stage. Inspired by natural elements, the Fox & Owl style tends to gravitate towards neutral, earthy palettes and the soft muted tones that are often associated with film.
One of the most brilliant aspects of being photographers is that we get to meet so many exceptionally talented and creative people – and it is even better when we get to work with them on projects such as this shoot. We find it really exciting to work alongside other people in the industry, to observe each person adding their own individual personality to the project and to collectively produce something unique.
If you happen to be currently looking for a wedding photographer and entertainment, we at Fox & Owl are offering a special discount to anybody who books us alongside Leeds City Stompers and/ or The Washboard Resonators. Just contact us for more details.
