Botanical Boho Luxe

I really wish I could inhale this whole page and take in the scent of the fabulous florals by Floribunda Rose. They really bring this wonderful concept to life. The thought behind the shoot, planned by Charlotte Nichols & designed by Fleur and Fig was based around timeless botanical with a slight nod to boho-luxe, combined with the natural backdrop of The Matara Centre venue, an abundance of fine art imagery by Philippa Sian Photography and a ‘destination’ wedding feel, and you have some pretty heady inspiration. With a whole wealth of other talented suppliers and pretty to pore over, make sure you're sitting comfortably so you can enjoy every inch of this botanical beauty.

Venue

Victoria the Bride : The Venue: The Matara Centre in the gorgeous Cotswold countryside provided the backdrop for this editorial. The Grade II listed period home set within 28 acres of glorious parkland is a unique, characterful and informal venue with subtle asian influences. The abundance of greenery, beautiful terracotta stone floors and charming cloistered courtyard really helped to create the 'destination' wedding feel that we were going for.

Colour Palette and Design

The luscious gardens and interiors of the Matara Centre inspired the colour palette of forest and sage green contrasted with soft blush and ivory tones and delicate touches of rose gold. The design was based around timeless botanical with a slight nod to boho-luxe and combined natural backdrops with an abundance of fine art imagery and a 'destination' wedding feel.

Tablescape

The tablescape reflected the natural and authentic feel of the surroundings. We used a bare, chunky wooden table draped in a soft sage and blush table runner by Silk & Purl, who also made the gorgeous ivory napkins that were tied in velvet ribbon with handmade, marbled clay name tags by Made in 57. For the dinnerware we chose textured dark green plates from H&M and striking white-handled cutlery and straight, rectangular glasses from Zara to add a modern and minimalist touch. The table setup was completed with gorgeous oak cross back chairs by Blue Goose Hire. A combination or blush toned and rose gold candlesticks with ivory tapered candles decorated the table along with a large cascading floral centrepiece. The table was positioned outside in the cloistered courtyard underneath a luscious, hanging floral hoop.

Paper

de Winton paper co's designed an absolutely gorgeous invitation suite and menus to tie in with our botanical theme. The stationery comprised a series of hand painted watercolour designs printed on deckle edge Khadi 300gsm paper finished individually by hand with rose gold metallic monogram and titles. The monogrammed initials are surrounded by a series of palm leaves and bright blooms in coral, pink and teal, that continue throughout the suite.

Bridal

Our lovely bride Sophie, showcased two different boho-luxe bridal looks. She wore two stunning dresses provided by the East London Bridal Boutique Heart Aflutter. We choose dresses from two designers, both with an untraditional, boho feel yet super sophisticated and romantic. The first was Kemp by San Francisco based designer Daughters of Simone. This was a simple, silk off the shoulder gown with flutter sleeves and a cascading, rounded train. The "fit and flare" look was complimented by a gorgeous selection of accessories, including the phoenix headband by Tilly Thomas Lux, detailed with textured golden feathers and designed to appear as if floating in the hair. For a more editorial and 'on trend' look we also complimented the gown with some statement blush tassel earrings and peacock printed wrap in blush and greens, both from Topshop. For look two we chose the captivating Sasha gown by Australian designer Made with Love. Made out of the most gorgeous crochet lace that delicately covers a tan underlay, it creates so much contrast and is the perfect choice for an effortlessly Boho or unapologetically luxurious bride. To accessorise this look we chose a gorgeous pair of leaf drop earrings and the Amy Leaf Comb by Tilly Thomas Lux. To capture a more modern, retro vibe that may appeal to brides looking to 'cover up' in a more casual way, we paired this with a fitted denim jacket. The wonderful hair and makeup artist Alison Jenner also created two looks for our bride Sophie. Look one was super on trend with a centre parting in the hair and slicked back behind the ears with soft movement through the rest of the hair. The makeup was kept very dewy using Bobbi brown tinted balm, soft golds on the eyes with little mascara to colour the lashes rather than add drama. For this look, the main emphasis was on the mouth with a rich, berry colour to make the lips really pop! The look was completed with a soft blush and shimmer across the cheeks to emphasise the shape. For look two the hair was smoothed to remove movement and gently put into a low chignon. Again, we kept a centre parting, but left two oversized pieces down at the front to soften the look. We also created a more even tone in the skin with Bobbi brown longwear foundation and a soft pinky blush. The focus of this look was a gorgeous urban decay eyeshadow in a vivid green with lashes and liner to add drama, yet not going too dark or smoky. With this look mostly being photographed outdoors the green blended perfectly yet popped at the same time. The skin was powdered to take away too much glow as the eye was the main focal point. We featured footwear by the super luxurious Harriet Wilde Shoes, including the gorgeous Joanie Blossom Blush (a favourite with brides at the moment) and the slightly bolder Bridgette Grey Cherry. Both elegant, pump style heels feature a handmade embellished heel with delicate gold leaves and cherry flowers. The Joanie Blossom Blush also feature delicately placed Swarovski crystals in the centre. Both pairs exuded elegance, style and femininity and are made truly special by the exquisite details. The London Victorian Ring Co provided a striking edwardian style emerald and diamond cluster ring and a traditional vintage 'forget-me-not' hand engraved gold wedding ring.

The Flowers

We love Floribunda Rose's signature floristry style that is laid back British glamour. Every petal is grown with love by their fabulous British flower growers and every piece of foliage was responsibly foraged by the team for this shoot. The flowers for this shoot featured muted tones alongside deeper hues for depth and interest. A few beautiful pops of colour were also incorporated to really showcase the best of Autumn and quirky grasses for softness and light. Sarah of Floribunda Rose places a big emphasis on textures and always strives to curate combinations of florals and foliages that could conceivably have grown together so that there's an air of the natural alongside the created. The flowers that made it into our flower palette included - Dahlia, chocolate cosmos, beautifully fragrant garden roses, foxgloves, scabious, wild rose, snapdragons, male, sweet peas and hydrangeas. And the foliages included - Pampas grasses, white cat tail grass, scented pelargonium, reships, hawthorn, ivy and spotted oleaster. Floribunda Rose created a stunning hanging arrangement over our tablescape in the outside courtyard cloisters as well as a vibrant and cascading table centerpiece, asymmetrical bouquet and a selection of buttonholes. They also used some single flowers to decorate a wicker peacock chair, provided by Classic Crockery, for a truly wild and bohemian statement.

Cake

For the cake, The Vanilla Pod Bakery created an elegant and simple three tier buttercream cake decorated in exquisitely detailed and romantic sugar flowers.

Photography

This editorial was beautifully captured by Philippa Sian Photography, shot with fuji 400h film and digital.