Displaying rich, earthy tones, the palette of today’s micro wedding shoot is one rooted in the natural surroundings of the woods of Rivington. It’s luxe yet inviting, enchanting and homely all at the same time and we’re here for it.
Lancashire-based Detail Event Styling & Design offer couples all elements of wedding crafting and creation. From props and furniture to fully tailor-made events, they pride themselves on weddings that strike the balance between luxurious and laid back. Our favourite combo! Today they’ve crafted a styled shoot practically in their own back garden, as lockdown proves once again that our beloved suppliers are nothing if not resourceful and flexible in a crisis.
The shoot has been artfully captured by the clever Emilie May Photography who specialises in beautiful, natural wedding photography for fun loving couples from her base in Lancashire. She’s the perfect choice for this down to earth, woodland shoot.
We’re loving the typography based stationery designs and the chunky knots in the rust orange table linens. On-trend and seasonal dried grasses have been arranged with other pretty dried flowers in bold arrangements that fit with the venue and backdrop, paired with candles, piled on top of wooden crates and placed in front of macrame hangings for the rustic touches we didn’t know we needed.
With images by Emilie May Photography
CONCEPT
Maria says: Over lockdown I really wanted to be creative and also connect with other suppliers. I knew we couldn’t have many suppliers together, or have hair and makeup artists, so I had to limit it to a florist, stationer, crockery supplier and photographer, so there would be no social contact; a micro shoot.
The plan was to collect everything from suppliers and just have Emilie, the photographer, and Sarah, the florist, over once I’d set everything up.
I had a clear vision in my mind for the theme and the styling, inspired by the natural surroundings of the woodland, along with my love for outdoor intimate dining. I wanted to show how a relaxed setting for the free-spirited couple can be fused together with rich earthy colours, and dramatic bohemian and Moroccan accents, creating a touch of luxury with a contemporary edge.
LOCATION
I live in Rivington and we have beautiful woodland to the rear of our house, I’ve always wanted to use the woodland to create a styled shoot so lockdown seemed like the perfect time. It is spacious with plenty of room for setting up in a social-distanced way, and it’s a beautiful, natural and calming space. The perfect backdrop.
STYLING
Dried flowers were done by Sarah at UNVEILED Network Member Olive Owl Flowers, who offers creative wedding and events floristry, flower preservation and floristry workshops from her base in Wigan. I was really keen to use dried flowers, not only because they are totally on trend but they can look so dramatic yet beautiful, they are so versatile and you can be really creative with them, plus they are eco-friendly. The mood board I shared with Sarah was all about bohemian vibes, texture, and rich earthy colours with Moroccan influences.
On the day Sarah arrived with the most amazing bunches of dried flowers for the backdrop, all different shapes and sizes. She interpreted my vision perfectly from the mood board. The tones and the colours of the flowers complimented all the tableware and props so well, they were earthy yet bold and rich, really textured and dramatic.
The table pieces were put together in her studio in advance, the burnt orange was so striking on the tablescape and we were so pleased with how everything came together on the day. All the flowers were reused after the shoot so there was no waste and it was all very eco- friendly. Some of the flowers we used were: pampas grass, speargrass, ruscus, babalas, phalaris, peacock feathers, miscanthus, and silver dollar.
The tablecloth was a rich green velvet and was a very fitting background for the rich, burnt orange tones, and the beautiful crockery from Whitehouse Crockery. I chose to use a lot of pattern and texture with the glasses and plates so, to offset this, I used their Eden cutlery which is white and gold, very minimalistic. This influenced the design of the stationery, Sophie from Lancashire-based Signed With Love used a white and gold colour pallette for the menus, table numbers and place names which really gave a contemporary feel and a sophisticated touch. It was the perfect contrast, tied in with the burnt orange tassel, enhanced by the linen napkins (Habitat) and candles (Ester & Eric).
The welcome sign was made from wood with white calligraphy, to tie in with the natural surroundings.
The backdrop was put together using props from my hire collection, most of which have been bought whilst travelling or up-cycled. With lots of earthy and natural colours in the flowers, crockery and stationery, it meant that the brass candlesticks, the vases, the macramé and the wooden items worked really well together. I have collected most items over time at second hand shops or car boots, and some have been in the family for years like the brass candlesticks and the large vases, it is quite an eclectic collection with a range of boho style items, through to contemporary pieces.
The rugs and the blankets came direct from Afghanistan and the chairs were made by our joiner for our house, but I felt they were perfect to add contemporary edge to the seated backdrop area so we now hire these out too! We work closely with a very talented joiner who can make all sorts of bespoke props for couples.
I used tapered candles from Ester and Erik which added a dreamy romantic ambience, plus a couple of my own pink Himalayan salt candles to offset the pink pampas!
RESULTS
We were all really pleased with how the shoot went, the fact that all the elements came together and aligned so beautifully was such a highlight for us. Most of us had never worked together before, and had literally worked from one email and a mood board. We felt that the tones and colours from every element were the perfect fit, so it was really rewarding for us, especially when Emilie shared her stunning photographs with us. Emilie really captured the atmosphere and the vibe, her photography style is relaxed and informal, yet beautifully detailed.
It was lovely to be creative again and work with such talented suppliers, we all felt so energised afterwards and it was a lot of fun!
It was my first styled shoot, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! It seems very fitting at this time to share this inspiration with couples who are possibly considering a smaller intimate wedding, maybe followed by a bigger celebration when measures are lifted. I hope these images can be inspiring to them if they are dealing with the difficult decision of a wedding re-think or postponement. I will be offering my planning and styling services in these coming months to couples who choose a smaller gathering. From my past experiences of micro weddings, they have been absolutely beautiful and a first choice for many.
I have a side project I’m currently working on called The Wedding Field – it’s a sister venture to Detail. I’ve just launched a pop-up outdoor blank canvas wedding venue in Lancashire teamed up with a local farmer who I grew up with, where couples can design their day (Sailcloth/Tipi/Petal Pole) with the key logistics all looked after by me.
In these times, it’s a good opportunity for couples to celebrate outdoors, and there is still availability for 2021 weekdays and weekends for couples who are struggling to find availability for next year.
