Today’s styled shoot is a beauty, especially if you love your wedding vibes outdoorsy, glamorous and with a boho twist.
Taking place at Cannock Chase in the UK’s smallest mainland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, you can only imagine how beautiful this shoot is going to be!
Morning mist gave way to epic sunshine on the day, creating something truly special. Showcasing a gorgeous ceremony and picnic set up, the team used handmade macramé, layers of textured rugs and colourful cushions, all adding to their vision for a dreamy whimsical setting.
As for the bride – it’s all about those boho vibes with messy, undone hair styling and a sublime autumnal makeup palette. The team decided to pair her fabulous dress with a hot coral jacket adorned with hand-painted flowers for something altogether edgy. Adore!
Want to see the results? Makeup artist Lu Faragher and hair stylist Sonya Snook, of Sonya Jane Bridal Hair, who led the shoot are here to tell us more about the concept and to share all the fab photos!
With images by The Malyn Edit
Models: Victoria Burton/Oliver Hemmingway
Location
Lu & Sonya say
: We chose Cannock Chase because it has some beautiful elopement areas scattered throughout the forest. We named the shoot Glam, Wild and Free as the setting was luxe without the formality, and the overall look and feel of the shoot was a real treat for all the senses.
Theme
We wanted to capture a shoot that was natural, yet glam, with some bohemian and free spirit vibes added into the mix.
Lu Faragher, our makeup artist visits Cannock Chase most weekends for fun and fresh air and it has always held a special place in her heart. We all love being outdoors and surrounded by nature, so an outdoor elopement seemed like the perfect backdrop for our Glam, Wild and Free shoot.
Styling
The colour palette we chose incorporated soft, muted pastels with a pop of coral, Pantone’s colour of the year. We wanted the shoot to feel really intimate and laid-back, so we chose a simple ceremony and picnic style setting with a grazing platter, from The Little Green Platter Company, to give it a relaxed and carefree feel.
For the styling, bohemian macrame props were used for both the ceremony and picnic set up, supplied by Knot Sew Simple. We used a handmade macrame tipi for the picnic with layers of textured rugs and colourful cushions, fresh flowers from Green and Wild Flowers, and candles to add cosiness to the setting.
We wanted the cake to be quite simple with pops of colour, which was done perfectly with its ‘brush stroke’ style design by Deliciously Divine. With a pop of fizz and the grazing platter ensemble, in its array of colours, it really was the icing on the cake!
Attire
Our model, Victoria has such a lovely hourglass figure that we wanted a statement dress that swished with a touch of sparkle to tie in with the glam element.
Lace boho dresses have been done time and time again so we wanted to make a real impact and chose the Enzoani Blue dress, Lavender from Iris and Belles. To give it more of a wild and edgy feel we paired the dress with a hot coral jacket with hand-painted flowers and the words “let our love bloom” on the back, designed by Mama Inc Studio.
For the groom we chose on-trend tweed from ASOS with matching braces and a fitted shirt with the buttonhole worn on the braces and a hat with flowers from the bouquet around the trim.
Beauty
The shoot was inspired by boho chic, so we wanted the hair to be relaxed and dressed in a modern, chic style to reflect the concept. With this in mind, stylist Sonya Jayne Bridal Hair created the combination of a braid and loose-textured, side bun dressed in a beautiful vintage comb by Janie at The Lucky Six Pence.
For the makeup we chose warm, autumnal colours to enhance the bride’s natural complexion as well as fitting in beautifully with the colour scheme. The makeup needed to be glowing and flawless but at the same time understated and natural.
Results
Our aim was to create an intimate ceremony and picnic setting that was relaxed whilst also being a feast for the senses. We were blessed in the morning with the most incredible mist that looked great on camera, followed by beautiful sunshine in the afternoon that broke through the trees and cast the most amazing shapes of light and shade.
The highlight was the beautiful picnic area that we created with the help of all the amazing suppliers to really bring our creative vision to life, including Extra Special Touch and Tasha from Want That Invite.
Our aim was to gather like-minded creatives to create something fresh, innovative and inspiring for bride and grooms to be and I think we definitely achieved this.
Although ours was very much a styled shoot, Cannock Chase does provide the opportunity to have a magical wedding setting with your own marquee or tipi. They have a dedicated team on hand to help create the infrastructure for a wedding village. They are set up for wedding parties, but not licenced for ceremonies.
Finally, Liam and I from The Malyn Edit, recently exhibited at Brides Up North’s WEDSTOCK event at Stockeld Park and loved meeting all the brides- and grooms-to-be there too!
