STYLED SHOOT: SIMPLE ELEGANCE FOR ALL SEASONS

Today we have a beautiful styled shoot full of timeless elegance planned, styled and shared with us by Lucy Meehan. Enjoy!

INSPIRATION

This elegant shoot concept was born from the turmoil that couples have faced over the last two years. Regulations have caused many couples to have to postpone or rethink their wedding plans and for some couples this has meant adapting their plans for different seasons.

I wanted to create an elegant design that can be easily recreated and one that would work no matter what the season. The most important part of this concept would be developing the colour palette, it needed to be one that would work well at any time of the year and could be easily created using any seasonal flowers. I chose to include blush and ivory (colours that are often used for wedding flowers) but I added accents of caramel and berry. I felt these added a touch of elegance and style to enhance the overall look.

SUPPLIERS

The florals were key in showing off this beautiful palette and the talented team from Mary Jane Vaughan Designs really delivered. Their loose, airy and wild arrangements showed elegance without formality and their floral choices were perfect! They chose roses (named quicksand, majolica and cappuccino) as well as burgundy scabiosa black knight, and other flowers including ranunculus, asrantia and fritillaria.

Layering different textures is an important part of creating this ‘simple elegance’ with your wedding table design. One element is given with the loose, wild florals and other layers can be added with tableware, stationery and linen. From Options Great Hire I chose the textured ‘Sicily’ crockery, along with

the ‘Neo copper’ cutlery, which complimented the colour palette wonderfully. Their ‘Marquis’ glassware also added simple elegance to each place setting. I added another layer of texture with recycled handmade cotton rag menus from Millie Stone and the thick, luxurious ‘Urbane’ napkins from Just 4 Linen. Millie Stone also provided us with engraved feather resin discs which gave us another texture and offers couples a stylish alternative to standard place cards. Coloured tapered candles and textured tea light holders completed the simple and elegant wedding tablescape.

Now to the rest of the wedding design. I had to choose a venue that had simple elegance, architectural beauty and would fit the concept of being a great space for any season. RSA House fitted this brief perfectly, due to the number of different but equally stunning spaces they have available for couples. We used two of their main spaces – the light and elegant Benjamin Franklin Room was the natural choice for the dining set up, whilst the moody, exposed brick Vaults gave us a romantic ceremony set up.

I chose to work with Suzanne Neville for the wedding dresses. All her designs ooze glamour and elegance and she always has such variety in her collections (provided by stockist The Bespoke Wardrobe). The ‘Operetta’ dress is incredible and I knew it would work so well on Sarah. The dress has a full skirt and the most intricate detail, it was a standout piece that would complement the strong architectural features of the venue. Sarah’s partner Rachel wore the ‘Sentiment’ dress which in contrast has a very simple, sleek design.

Their second looks saw Sarah wearing the fabulous ‘Giovanna’ dress with fitted bodice and gorgeous pleated skirt. The stunning simplicity of Sarah’s look worked wonderfully with Rachel’s more detailed style. Rachel wore ‘Kassia’, a dress that features a deep V neckline, a fishtail skirt and is a beautiful full lace dress.

All looks were completed with shoes and rings from the amazing Emmy London and simple yet glamourous hair and make up by the talented Sylwia and Agata.

For the wedding cake, again I wanted a simple and elegant design that could be used no matter the time of year and so we went for a fondant covered cake (that would work well in warmer months as well as cooler months). Melissa from Thirty One Cakes created a gorgeous two-tier cake with delicate sugar floral details that matched our colour palette perfectly. She even provided individual cakes for each place setting (which would offer couples a luxurious alternative for more intimate weddings).

The key to couples recreating this look for their wedding day is to adopt a simple and elegant colour palette, to layer different textures in the table design and bring in coloured accents through candles, napkins and florals.