Neon Pop – A Colourful Styled Shoot at Denton Hall

Location

Denton Hall, because of its grandeur and period features, will always lend itself to formal choices like tuxedoes and structured gowns, as well as traditional colours like white and pink peonies. I have the incredible privilege of serving brides at Denton Hall quite regularly, as I am so local to the venue and, as such, I’ve seen its secret spaces and imagine it in ways that others might not see. I wanted others to see a fresh take on this classic space and to purposely juxtapose the period features with the vivid, modern shoot design.

Styling

Colour was the guiding inspiration for all aspects of the styling on this shoot. For the tablescape to really pop, the decision was made to use black linen, as the bright colours stood out so much more than if they were against a white background. Jen, our team stylist from My Pretties UK, used as many colours as she could to make it look like a real party, including orange napkins, pink glasses and crockery, and gorgeous long tapered candles.

Obviously, we couldn’t have a neon themed photoshoot without neon signage, which was provided by Love Lights the Way. We paired up the neon signs with some amazing elements from Gather for a Party to create a really exciting backdrop that captured the contrast of traditional elements Denton Hall with the fun, bright elements of a buzzing party.

We integrated the green of an organic wall, which allowed the pinks, oranges and yellows of the shimmering streamers, bright balloons, hoops and a secondary balloon installation to really zing. There’s usually no mention of the word pop around balloons, however on this occasion one of our favourite moments was when we got to pop the confetti balloons, showering everything in sight with pink, yellow and orange. What says celebration more clearly than confetti?! One of our favourite shots came by accident, when the balloon-pop confetti was set against grey asphalt and the gorgeous eco-friendly, faux flowers from Eco Blooms found themselves in shot with model Laura’s neon yellow shoes.

Gayle from Where the Ribbon Ends headed up some seriously sweet styling! The cake was a masterpiece of ombre pink buttercream that blended to white, accented by a cascade of brightly coloured macarons and fresh flowers.

But the colourful confections didn’t stop there. Gayle created a sharing board piled high with donuts, more macarons, meringue nests, fresh berries and pomegranate seeds and stamped shortbread biscuits with messages like ‘love’ and ‘bright & bold’ in neon pinks, blues and yellow.

The sharing board was also topped with scattered fresh flowers from Sarah at Leafy Couture. Sarah also created a bridal bouquet of bright blooms as well as a table accent. Flowers like dahlias, gerbera daisies and carnations in hues of pink, coral, orange, yellow, purple and red were a floral expression of the celebration we were hoping to create.

Attire

Like the rest of the shoot, the attire had to be a little bit unexpected — combining elegance and sumptuous materials with designs that were relaxed, party ready and stunningly modern and personalised. All the dresses for both the bride and bridesmaid model were provided by the team at Blonde and Wise.

For the dresses, we swapped the bright bold colours for more traditional hues, while the cuts and styles were allowed to pop. From asymmetrical necklines, shorter hemline and fashion forward silhouettes – the dresses on this shoot could have come straight from the runway, quite fitting as it was the runway that inspired the theme!

Beauty

There was a temptation to take the theme too far when it came to hair and makeup. With a theme like neon, I really could have let my creativity run wild, but I wanted the looks to be fashion forward but entirely wearable. There’s no reason bold choices have to be over the top. My style tends to be subtle and elegant, which I still wanted to maintain so went for bright pinks and corals on the eyes and lips to make a bright statement, which keeping skin dewy and bronzed and rosy on the cheek. This style would appeal to a bride who wants to combine a classic, natural look with a bit of a bold accent. I think all bridal styling should compliment a bride and her everyday style, rather than overpower her.

When it came to the hairstyles, I wanted to create looks that were both elegant and relaxed. For Laura, who was our bridal model, I put her very long hair up into a low, textured bun with plenty of twists, plaits and tendrils. Against her dark hair the dazzling, celestial pins from The Bobby Pin really popped.

For Molly, our bridesmaid model, I created a double fishtail, one at the crown which fed into a long side-swept plait, with a few wavy tendrils left free flowing.

Results

The shoot was a true collaboration of talent and effort. As the makeup and hairstylist, I was all consumed with my individual task early on, leaving the rest of the suppliers to take direction and their own interpretation from what little brief I’d given them. The results were better than I could have wished for.

In addition to our brilliant balloon pop moment and the ensuing explosion of confetti, one particular highlight was when we were able to include team pup, Juno. Her bandana was made especially by Barking Bandanas to tie in with the colours of the shoot, with flamboyant flamingos to boot!