Bold & Beautiful
This shoot is centred around Alyce Jayne Bridal’s custom made black dress. Aiming for a gothic vibe but with a touch of warmer autumn accents.
Susan from Wedding Flowers by Susan styled this stunning bridal shoot, here is her inspiration;
“Back in January, before the pandemic, I met two fabulous ladies at the Confetti awards, and I just knew I had to work with them on a creative project. Alison of Alyce Jane Bridal was just starting her dress making business after years of teaching others, and I just loved her beautiful, alternative designs, based around gorgeous Victorian Style Corsetry. When I met Nicky of NJ Miller Millinery, she was sporting the most amazing peacock feather hat and cape and I fell in love with her style and design. Fast forward a few months , I wanted to get out there and create something inspiring for myself and other industry suppliers feeling the same creative low.
When it came to styling the shoot, I knew I wanted a dark, moody feel but without the obvious Halloween vibe. I went for blacks and neutral tones for the fabrics and flowers and brought in burnished golds and soft peaches to soften the edges. The use of antique furniture created the perfect backdrop to our modern Gothic theme. I am passionate about recycling and up-cycling and the idea for the ladder arch actually came from a client who had considered something similar for her own wedding. Taking the rather tatty ladder and adding some lush, soft black velvet, lace drapes and florals resulted in a stunning backdrop finished off by the venue’s amazing open fire.”
The thoughts from the team of creative suppliers for this shoot…
DRESS – ALYCE JAYNE BRIDAL
Inspired by a boho Gothic vibe Victorian corset with rouched tulle overlay, satin fishtail skirt and optional tulle bustle. After teaching fashion for the past 6 years as well as taking on bespoke commissions I had just decided to go for it and launch Alyce Jayne Bridal in December of last year. I had just got the momentum going, attending bridal fayres, starting to take out ads in magazines, attending bridal award ceremonies where I met Susan! Then lockdown happened and everything ground to a halt. When Susan contacted me about collaborating on a shoot I was over the moon and couldn’t wait to be creative again! Susan showed me some rustic summer boho vibe images and when I started researching this I kept seeing darker versions of this and my design ended up taking more of a romantic Gothic direction including a Victorian corset with tulle rouching and fit and flare skirt.
HAIR – BLUSH BY UNA BOAG
I am a hairdresser who has really been missing doing wedding hair this season, so it was lovely to be able to be creative again! It was also amazing to be working with such a great team on a project which I feel really suited my personal style!
HATS – NJ MILLER MILLINERY
It was so much fun to design head wear that wasn’t traditionally bridal. I was really excited to get involved with this small team to create a Gothic inspired bridal shoot. My vision was head pieces with the dark mood theme, and incorporate an element of Regal in the form of contemporary crowns and top hat. I used fabrics that were heavier in appearance, whilst still keeping a bridal feel, adding veiling and light catching crystal beadwork.
VENUE – ROODLEA BARN
A rustic yet luxurious barn style venue, nestled in the beautiful South Ayrshire countryside surrounded by nature and greenery. Roodlea Barn offers a truly unique ceremony space with a combination of rustic stone walls, vaulted ceiling, exposed beams, cozy fires and stunning chandeliers.
CAKE – ROSEWOOD CAKES
A dramatic black cake was the clear choice for an atmospheric shoot with Gothic and burlesque undertones, and fitting with the venue. Barn weddings generally have a boho/rustic style for cakes, so we took the unusual choice of decorating the cake with the beautiful fresh and dried flowers rather than sugar. The copper tones and wheat stencil gave modern, boho detailing, and allowed the reflection of flickering candlelight
STATIONERY – MY EDEN ROSE
When Susan showed me her floral antler necklace I knew straight away that I wanted to focus the stationery on my bison skull illustration as it would compliment her vision for the shoot perfectly. He is a permanent feature on our living room wall and I’d previously created this illustration with a boho vibe featuring vintage earthy florals. For this Gothic inspired shoot I decided to create an all black version which would take centre stage in all the printed pieces. I opted for subtle, pearlised nude tones for the paper stock with a soft white vellum for the menus, paired with a textured grey to add some romance! I’m a huge fan of mixing font styles so for the typography I chose an elegant, modern calligraphy font coupled with a strong classic serif in black. I also incorporated some wax seals in brassy gold, soft blush and black to add a hint of glamour.
MAKEUP ARTIST – LEIGH BLANEY
Leigh jumped at the chance to work on this shoot with a bunch of great creatives. The overall feel was dark, moody with rich autumn winter berry shades and lavish golds.
I chose dark raspberry and purples with shimmery golds for Hannah’s green/hazel eyes, complimenting her and all the colour accents in the decor, flowers etc. Gorgeous. Glowing skin by Charlotte Tilbury products, my fave. A dark plum lip bringing out her gothic queen side. Her king had some guy-liner and manscara too!
IMAGES
Martin Venherm Photographer
www.martinvenherm.com
FLOWERS, FLORAL JEWELLERY AND STYLING
Narcissus Wedding flowers by Susan
www.weddingflowersbysusan.co.uk
VENUE
Roodlea Barn
www.roodleabarn.co.uk
DRESS
Alyce Jayne Bridal
www.alycejayne.co.uk
HATS
Nicky Miller Millinery
www.instagram.com/njmillermillinery
MODELS
Hannah Smith and Rory Brennan
HAIR
Blush by Una Boag
www.blushbyunaboag.co.uk
MUA
Make up by Leigh Blaney
www.makeupbyleighblaney.co.uk
MENSWEAR
from ASOS
CAKE
Rosewood Cakes
www.rosewoodcakes.com
STATIONERY
My Eden Rose
www.myedenrose.com
