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We’re all about the gorge hair and beauty looks on Brides Up North today, so get your Pinterest lookbooks at the ready for some fab-u-lous additions, courtesy of this styled shoot at The Arches – a chic, industrial venue in the heart of Halifax.
Keen to spotlight a variety of sophisticated hairstyles and make up palettes, this collaborative effort perfectly showcases how to switch up your bridal beauty look, and make that all-important transition from day to night. We’re always in need of an excuse to get glammed up, so why not do it twice on the most special day of your life?
And did we mention there’s a sultry metallic theme underpinning the shoot’s elegant styling? From the exquisite hairpieces by Harper Pearl Accessories and the dramatic ultra-textured floristry, to the statement black Pronovias dress and, of course, the make up. All simply beautiful.
Let’s catch up with photographer Hayley Baxter, who also happens to be the brains behind the newly launched Harper Pearl…
With images by Love Lucille Photography
Inspiration
Hayley says
: We wanted to create a styled shoot with a focus on hair and beauty, featuring new pieces from Harper Pearl Accessories. Along with some amazing statement headpieces, we wanted to show the versatility of a wedding day look – so how a bride may transition from day to night with a simple hair transformation, and switching up the way a versatile headpiece may be worn.
Location & theme
The backdrop of The Arches was a perfect setting – whitewashed walls, exposed brick and the most stunning natural window light. We chose this venue for its beautiful window light, natural interior and cool urban style.
We chose a range of amazing gowns – including a striking Black Pronovias dress, and the dried foliage with complimenting metallic tones really tied the whole shoot together.
Styling
For the styling and floristry, created by Nicola at Dittany Entwined, we wanted to create luxury modern arrangements that would highlight and complement aspects of the beautiful hairpieces.
All the hairpieces used rich metallic elements, which we wanted to highlight in the floral displays. Nicola loves creating unique, bespoke designs based on her clients’ specific needs. She really enjoys experimenting with different mediums, so loved getting creative with spray paint, dried palms and pampas grass for this shoot. She’s really lucky in that she has always loved using both dried and fresh flowers, so the new dried flower trend really suits her!
Nicola wanted to create a dramatic backdrop to showcase the bridal gowns and hairpieces, so created two large floral columns using a mixture of large dried palms and metallic fresh palms, pampas grass, fresh foliage and flowers. The dried palms really added to the drama. This backdrop had so much texture from the floral contents and depth from the placement of the pieces.
For the floral headpiece, she wanted to create a modern version of a flower crown; to make a statement, with a grand feel, and complement the dresses and other hairpieces. It was made using dried and preserved products, therefore would last longer than just the day itself. Something like this would be a perfect keepsake.
We wanted the bouquet to complement the other arrangements, too. Again Nicola used a mix of metallic palms, fresh flowers and foliage, and dried grasses, featuring gorgeous textures and a contrast in colours throughout. Anyone who knows her, knows how much she loves ribbon – trailing ribbon always adds a nice touch!
Attire
We had four gorgeous gowns from the wonderful Dotty Bridal. This included a black statement Pronovias dress; a full beaded fitted Madi Lane dress; a beaded off the shoulder gown – also Pronovias; and a lace bodice and plain skirt by Justin Alexander.
Beauty
We wanted to display an array of hairstyles and use the gorgeous hairpieces in a way that complimented each.
We purposely chose models with different colours and length of hair – Sam, with blonde hair, actually had a short bob so we used hair extensions to add extra length.
Many brides are unsure as to what would finish off a hairstyle to complete the whole bridal look, or if certain hair pieces would work in their hair. I can 100% recommend Harper Pearl as they are great for both the hairstylist and the bride to use.
We love the pieces from Harper Pearl Accessories – they are so modern, striking and versatile and the more we played around with them, the more we realised the choice of looks was huge.
Many brides will change their dress from day to evening, so don’t be afraid to consider this for your hair too – choosing two styles is a great option, especially with hairpieces like these! Speak to your hair stylist about the possibilities.
Bow & Blush showcased several key styles in the shoot, from loose tousled waves, glam waves and a stylish ponytail, to a loose bun, low sleek bun, loose braids, a half up do with braids and a modern high messy bun.
As for the make up, we wanted to keep the overall look of the skin fresh, light and luminous. For the eyes, we went for something a little more striking, with metallics beautifully complimenting the hairpieces and flowers.
Results
The shoot was a huge success – we managed to get through so many gorgeous looks in a relatively short space of time. To mark the launch of Harper Pearl Accessories – head on over to the Instagram page for details of a giveaway and to win one of the stunning pieces.
