Romance by the Sea - Part 1

On a stunning day in May I had the pleasure of working with a very fun yet professional team on a one day photoshoot, headed by Mel from Mel Brown Weddings. We had a blast and managed to get two very different looks from the shoot. Here is Mel’s blog on how the first part of the day went……..

The story behind this style shoot has been a funny and adventurous one, putting many of my hard-learned skills, developed over years of mistakes and wrong turns as a producer and photographer, to very good use!

So that we don’t get distracted by all the curve balls, solutions, adaptations and series of events that were both in and out of my control, I’ll save all the juicy details of lessons learned for a separate blog on mindset approach, where we can really pick our decisions apart and work out why some things work and others don’t and how to keep things working and moving forward. 

So here, we will just gloss over the, now funny, twists and turns this shoot took and focus on the story itself. 

My vision was clear in my head, I wanted to create a certain type of quintessentially English image well, my understanding of what that means visually, and needed a top secret, dream team to help me get there. I am lucky enough to be surrounded by fantastic suppliers of all things wedding, but I was really keen to work with a different group of people, satisfy my need to give other people opportunities and see how a fresh set of eyes added to the project. 

I contacted a range of bridal shops and florists near to Louth in Lincolnshire, near to where I spent a good chunk of my school years, reaching out to old friends to see if there happened to be any connections there. As an Island girl (Jersey), working with word of mouth recommendations is really important to me and is a fundamental part of the way that I work and connect with people.

Although the ‘vision’ was, let’s just say… a little different to what we ended up shooting, I wanted to talk about all the elements of the bridal shots that our brides think about and answer them in a neat bit of visual story telling. 

As you do! 

I planned out a way to communicate the idea of a very English beachside wedding, hopefully a bit windswept, maybe a bit of random rain and definitely some clouds that fill every well styled head of hair with fear, and nothing like the fantasy sold in the mags, to my potential team. So, I started pulling images together of each element and visual conversation, and then reached out to my desired suppliers. One of which, happened to be the Ivory Room in Woodhall spa, owned and run by Victoria Evans (the niece of a close family friend, which to me, makes it extra-super-sun-dance special) We agreed to meet in her shop, which was like entering a dream land and I immediately had that tingle of excitement when you know you’ve ‘found a good’un’. Victoria loved the idea and was totally onboard form the off. 

Wow! Good Lord! It’s happening! 

Victoria kindly recommended a florist, who she had seen the work of, and thought would be a good fit to the team. So off to Horncastle I trot to meet Fran Smith of Limewood Flowers a very modern and fresh style of flower arranging that brings the sustainable element into her work picking the best seasonal British flowers from small businesses across Lincolnshire. 

The Lincolnshire team had assembled! Now to find the right models. Again, keeping it local to the area (as much as possible), I got in touch with two talent agencies, Caroline at DK models and Julia of Stanley Model Management who were extremely prompt in replying and wonderfully helpful, delivering a package of models that fitted the criteria. 

In my mind’s eye, I was longing for a Lilly Cole with long flowing hair, kissed by fire, but when I saw Paige’s smile and her portfolio, I couldn’t say no! Her look worked really well with our chosen Groom, Michael and it was a unanimous ‘whoop’ from the team. The pieces were falling into place and all that was left to do was the styling and prop shopping… and the rest. 

Oh Crap! I forgot the rings!

A wonderful, authentic and very couture jewellery shop (more of an experience) I have worked with before; The Hirst Collection, on Portobello Market is run by a friend of mine, Amanda. As we have talked a million times of doing a shoot in which I could showcase her wonderful rings, we had arranged months back that I could pop in and she could suggest a few options for me to take for the day. As it was organised in my head … it obviously slipped my mind! Doh! No worries – A quick pedal up to Notting hill solved that glitch.

On the day, the crew call was a 07:30 so we could get a cuppa’ on the go and talk through the styling, props and how we were going to adapt to any last minute, inevitable curveballs on the day. 

There were a few! My blustery, windy beach day with a few nice stormy clouds in the sky turned into a beautiful almost Caribbean summer’s day with not a cloud in the sky! Thanks!

Ok, we can adapt! 

Fran’s flowers had taken a turn, still sublimely beautiful, her chosen favs had not arrived so she had adapted seamlessly, the night before and created something that now as it happened, went perfectly with our new, weather adapted shoot plan. 

Our chief tea supplier (Victoria) didn’t have any matches (we shan’t go into detail on how she solved this issue) so tea was delayed, and we all know how catastrophic that can be! 

And our wonderful groom rolled up 30 mins late… Lucky for him, he’s a charmer so we quickly forgave him.

We spent the morning on the beach, enjoying the unusually pastel colours for the location, of the sand and flowers and sky looking for that floating timeless feeling of light-hearted fun, one I whole-heartedly associate with the beach. 

Although, the story we ended up with, is a very different aesthetic and visual to the one we set out to tell, I am really happy with the images and the story they do tell. One that is honest and full of moments, giggles and a lot of sunshine. 

As always, we learnt so much, both as a team, and as suppliers, I got to really explore and experiment with communicating to the models and transferring the images in my mind to the images on camera, which is a golden opportunity when it comes around. 

One of the best lessons I have learned from my time as a creative, is that you rarely get exactly what you set out to achieve. Sometimes as a result of the process, what you end up with is different; better. You just have to be able to take stock of the lessons learnt and see the ‘good’ in front of you, for its own merits.

As always, we are nothing without the team we stand with, so I would like to say a special thank you to my team, their suppliers and all those who kindly contributed to make this all happen :

Contributors and special thanks to local suppliers: 
Dress by @ivoryandco
Rings from @thehirstcollection 
Flowers grown and sourced locally from @evolveflowers and @oldfarmhouseflowers 
Ribbons by @bertieandfred

Sara’s Wedding Dress Journey

I was so pleased when my bride, Sara, offered to do a blog for my website. From the fist time I met Sara and her mum I knew she would be a very special Ivory Room bride. We managed to create a bespoke look for her dress and I think you’ll agree it suited her perfectly and meant she felt amazing as she walked down the aisle towards Jason. Here is her story –

My Wedding Dress Journey

I was a bit clueless when I started my wedding dress search, I had some ideas about the things I didn’t want but not many about what I did.

I knew I wanted sleeves but that was about it.

I visited a few shops before we entered the haven which is the Ivory Room Woodhall Spa and was disappointed by the process. The dresses had all been badly fitting and the shop assistants had waxed lyrical that I had looked a delight even when I knew I reassembled an 80’s Neighbours wedding extra!!!

And then I met Victoria…

From the moment my Mum and I, frazzled and a  bit sick of lace chat, entered the beautiful store we realised we were somewhere different, somewhere special.

We felt able to relax, talk freely, honestly critique the dresses and give feedback and thoughts which Victoria responded to and found solutions for.

She cajoled me to try a few things, just on the edge of my comfort zone, and it was her expert knowledge in doing this which led me to found my perfect dress.

It was something I never would have chosen but Victoria was able to show me how a few additions would build a dress which would incorporate the elements of the dresses I had already tried and loved.And bringing in her fellow magic worker Bernie (also known as a seamstress) I built my own dress by making a few, excellent value additions to an existing design.

The journey to create my wonderful dress was one of my favourite parts of the wedding experience.

I loved going to The Ivory Room, the entire experience was fantastic.  Victoria even gave my bridesmaids a tutorial on how to help me into the gown, and how to shape my train for ultimate impact.

I know everyone always says lovely things to a bride on her day but even the caterers told me it was the most beautiful dress they had seen.

I felt incredible but despite having the most wonderful and elaborate dress I was able to fully enjoy every element of my day.

If you want somewhere with a beautiful selection, honest advice and a little creative thinking then I could not recommend the Ivory Rooms more highly.

Thank you Victoria and Bernie for making my day, and the journey to the day so beautiful (and a lot of fun) xx

Photoshoot at Washingborough Hall

love coming together with fellow small businesses to share ideas and learn about what trends are really popular at the moment. The best way to do this is to have a photo shoot where everyone brings their own unique talents and the results are really exciting.

I have a recently taken on a new Bridesmaid supplier, the fabulous Sorella Vita. I wanted to showcase these stunning dresses and show how well the adult, junior and flower girl styles work so well together and cover all ages of bridesmaid. I contacted Vicki at Vicki Head Photography and we chatted about the best way to do this. The obvious choice for a venue was Washingborough Hall as it is superbly decorated and welcoming venue that has great backdrops both indoors and outdoors (just in case the weather was kind to us on a January day!). We then got Shirley from S&A Floral Design and Emily from Emily Johnson Hair and Make up on board, Shirley suggested a sweeping bouquet with lots of foliage and herbs for an on trend look and Emily kept the make up subtle with a beautiful up doo for the bride.

So I had models for the bridesmaids in mind, huge thanks to Fran, Imogen and Jessica, but Vicki suggested running a competition to find a recently engaged couple to be the bride and groom for the shoot. We ran the competition on Facebook and were overwhelmed with the response and how many fantastic couples there are out there. We narrowed it down and then finally picked Liz and Dave who just fitted the bill perfectly. Now we had a groom to dress as well we spoke to Andrew from Andrew J Musson Ltd ‘The Lincolnshire Tailor’ and he provided two very dapper suits for Dave to wear. My favourite was the navy suit with the tweed waistcoat, it just adds that extra texture.

The shoot was great fun and we even managed to squeeze a few prom dress shots in at the end for which Emily gave Fran a much stronger look with smoky eyes and darker lipstick finished off with an elegant up doo.

Here are a few of the results of everyones hard work, dresses are all from The Ivory Room.

Dresses – The Ivory Room, Photography – Vicki Head Photography, Location – Washingborough Hall, Suits – Andrew J Musson Ltd, Hair & Make up – Emily Johnson, Flowers – S&A Floral Design.

Jewels of Rutland

My husband and I recently had a short break near Rutland Water and I soon realised what a little wedding gem it was. As we were biking around the reservoir I was constantly having to stop to take pictures of the stunning venues and beautiful churches. Now, I have a few brides getting married in these parts and it’s no surprise as Rutland is just a short journey down the A1 from Lincolnshire, it has lush undulating hills and the wonderful backdrop of Rutland Water which is any wedding photographers dream.

The first little jewel we came across was the extremely picturesque Normanton Church. The church can be used for civil ceremonies and although it is right on the lake side, well almost in the lake, it has a dedicated car park just a short walk away and an ice cream van nearby, during the summer months, which could keep your guests happy whilst you have a few pictures!

Just adjacent to Normanton Church is the Normanton Park Hotel. Offering stunning views of the reservoir and as a venue for both civil ceremonies and wedding receptions it is a great package. They offer a dedicated wedding coordinator and plenty of accommodation for your guests.

As we continued around the reservoir the next venue I spotted was the most amazing marquee set up close to the shore. It was the teepee style marquee which I think look just superb and give a real individual look to any wedding. The best bit about a marquee is being able to make it your own and to hold your reception exactly where you want it to be, with the landowner’s permission of course! There are many great suppliers in Lincolnshire/Rutland for these.

Once we had biked up the steep hill to get us onto the peninsular of the reservoir we were rewarded with a view of Hambleton Hall. If you are wanting a small wedding in opulent surroundings then this is the venue for you. With maximum capacity for 60 guests this country house hotel offers gourmet food with wine to match and yet again stunning views of the reservoir.

So nearing the end of our day out, legs getting a little tired by this point, the final venue we came across was Barnsdale Hall and Country Club. Now I have to admit that I know this venue well and have many happy childhood memories here but it really does offer the most stunning location. The Country Club offers many different packages but my favourite is the Edith Weston Suite which holds up to 200 guests and keeps your whole day private and secluded.

For a day out on the bikes I think Rutland Water proved its worth when it comes to offering a great variety of venues and such stunning scenery for any wedding. Include it in your search when you are planning where to have yours x

Romance by the Coast pt 2

So you have seen how the first part of our shoot by the coast went and the beautiful scenic shots that Mel took with blue skies and white sands, well the second part was a little bit different! Mel, from Mel Brown Weddings, had some crazy ideas for the more urban part of the shoot, here is her blog on how the second half of the day went………

Well one of the things in my life that always entertains me, is that deep down, I’m a rocker and a bit of a metal head at heart, my favourite colour is black and if I could sleep in a coffin rather than a bed, I would! I love dark and brooding images full of deep hidden political, social and emotional meanings, mix a skull, a few crows and a hex or two and I’m as happy as Larry!

… but then, everything I shoot, is light and bright and full of unicorn giggles it makes me super happy, like I’m doing a little jig all over the rainbow.  Many a mead filled evening has given way to me pondering on how I come across in my work and if it’s a true representation of my inner being…

I then realise that that was probably one glass too many and head to bed.

The second part of our Local to Louth shoot, let that side shine out a little more, and I would love to know what you think of the end result.

We hopped over to Skegness, I really love a typical English seaside resort, the tea cup rides, the ferris wheels, the slot machines, the ice cream vans that sell hot chocolate. The really bright colours mixed with the cacophony of sounds and the people who love to be there but look as if they wish they were somewhere else. To me it’s got a charm that you can’t find anywhere else.

Making full use of the amazing arrangements that Fran had brought with her and my rather over-loved leather jacket, we took a little bridal sass to the streets of Skegness.

With a morning getting to know each other on the beach and capturing lots of shots, we knew that now we could just have some fun. We were a little more limited as we needed to be careful of the dress, so it had a new set of dimensions that we needed to work with and to, as a group. One of the biggest ones, and the least talked about (until Mel enters the room) is that fact that we will bump into other people and they will likely assume that they are a real bride and groom. So we plan out a back story to pre-empt and embrace the un-intended, kind and very generous, disruption to the work flow.

So here were our couple, ‘newly married’, local to the area divulging an array of stories to anyone who engaged them with conversation. Talk about cat among the pigeons. The more elaborate and detailed Michael’s stories became, the more interesting Paige’s reactions were!

I hereby formally apologise to all and every wonderfully loving, kind person that congratulated our couple on the day! We are grateful for all your help on our shoot and hope you will forgive us for leading you astray.

We pushed boundaries, spoke to strangers and ended up loving Skegness, the people there and a ‘shoot wrap’ full of lots and lots of hugs.

Again, a huge thank you to everyone who took part, as it would not have been the same without you. You all made it extra special and full of laughter, because of who you are and your honest love for all things wedding.

Go Dream Team!