A Secret Garden Banquet

If I could close my eyes and be transported here for my dinner I'd be very happy. How beautiful is this as a setting for a wedding breakfast?! I have a real thing for walled gardens anyway, let alone with chandeliers hanging from the trees, an abundance of berry toned florals and sumptuous golden place settings. Natalie Hewitt, the wedding planner and stylist behind this shoot has seriously outdone herself! We're SO proud to have her on our List as one of our recommended suppliers, along with cake baker extraordinaire The Confetti Cakery. I love being introduced to photographers I hadn't come across before and I'll certainly be keeping an eye on Henry Lowther... Enjoy this gorgeous inspiration, it's a feast for the eyes!

{The Film}

The Venue

Natalie The Wedding Planner: I love Stapleford Park, it’s one of my favourite wedding venues. As their exclusive recommended wedding planner I get to work closely with their events team and my clients to create perfectly planned and beautifully styled weddings. As stunning as the building is, the grounds are equally incredible and I was really inspired by a particular part of their gardens for this shoot. A red brick walled garden sits proudly in the centre of their grounds. Hidden out view, at the end of a row of shrubs is a tiny wooden door leading into a secret garden. To the side of the wall stands a tree and creeping in to the autumnal months this scene shouted dark and mystical. I wanted to showcase an outside banquet, a forgotten meal, lots of moss, burned down candles and hanging chandeliers in a tree.

The Photography & Film

Henry Lowther was a great choice for photographer to capture this look as his style is typically muted, atmospheric and incredibly striking. I love his observational approach to photography and he’s just great to work with. The Cine Collective have a similar style to Henry and they both complement each other really well. I knew a short film for this shoot would be amazing to demonstrate how beautiful film can be and capture the essence of the look I was trying to achieve and they certainly achieved that.

The Flowers

The florist was an important element of the shoot and I wanted to use someone who’s style represented the raw, rustic and earthy look I was going for. Abigail MacNiven and her team from Petal & Stalk Floral Design fitted the brief perfectly; they specialise in a rustic luxe floral style! We teamed up with Hattie Hatfield Interiors to create the tablescape – I got carried away with the use of moss but in this case, more is more. I loved the floral adorned chapel chairs for the bride and groom which looked great. I love showcasing alternative chair styles! I also like to feature beautiful and unique bouquets on photo shoots and this was no exception. The bridal bouquet was a trailing rustic luxe style bouquet: mixed foliage including grevilea, clematis, seeded eucalyptus and smokebush with a mix of lighter roses to the bouquet and what a stunning shape!  

The Fashion

James Bride in Nottingham has been established since 1860 and their personal services was one of the reasons I approached Pamela to be a part of the shoot. The wedding dress had to have a bohemian look and the gown Cheyenne by the designer Claire Pettibone really caught my eye. The nude underlay makes the top layer lace stand out and has the perfect blend of vintage and modern I was looking for. And for the groom I went to Coneys who are a great designer boutique based in the East Midlands. They stock a range of suits but their range tweed and relaxed jackets are amazing. I didn’t want to dress Mark, from Blake Models, in a formal wedding suit as this shoot had a relaxed feel to it. An open collar and jacket, waist coat combo worked perfectly.

The Cake

The Confetti Cakery, a fellow Rock My Wedding List supplier makes amazing cakes. For this shoot Sophie created an extra tall single tier wedding cake covered with dark chocolate ganache, with gold metallic chocolate drip. Presented on a gilt-edged gold mirror with chocolate and raspberry marshmallows, and chocolate meringue kisses; surrounded by fresh flowers and foliage from Petal & Stalk.

The Beauty

Alison Jenner created an absolutely stunning hair and make-up look for Annie from Blake Models and her reputation, as well as her warm personality was one of the reasons I wanted her to be a part of the shoot.

The Stationery

Lauren from Oh Wonder Calligraphy created some beautiful stationery for me. We were using gold leaf throughout the table set up so Lauren created hand written name cards with touches of gold leaf and beautiful burgundy tones of water colour. I love the use of coloured envelopes, the modern calligraphy in gold ink and god wax seal adds a luxury feel to the invitations and the whole set sat perfectly with the set up.

The Music

Last but by no means least, George from Live-Entertainment also popped down to serenade us during the shoot, which was not only great entertainment for us but showcased the reality of a wedding day. I love live music and it can really add a beautiful element to a wedding – during a drinks reception or during the wedding breakfast.