Woodland Meets Industrial

One of the biggest trends this year when it comes to wedding food, has been the grazing board. Not only do they look utterly gorgeous, but they are plentiful, delicious and just begging to be delved into, fork in one hand, plate in the other. There's nothing like relaxed, shared dining to break the ice and get your guests chatting, laughing and having a wonderful time. The reason I'm salivating over grazing boards, is because this gorgeous Autumnal shoot includes one of the most beautiful grazing boards I've ever seen, along with a dreamy looking cake, fabulous florals and balloons too! The styling is stunning, the team were going for a woodland meets industrial look and I think they've got it spot on...how about you?

Woodland Meets Industrial

Brigitte The Photographer:Our Woodland Meets Industrial styled wedding collaboration was created to inspire couples who like to feel close to nature but also would like to incorporate somewhat industrial elements into their wedding day. Because Autumn and Winter weddings are still not as popular as spring or summer weddings we chose this amazing and colourful season to create something delightful to look at and inspirational to help with wedding planning. I discovered a week before our shoot that the trees outside already started their yearly transformation from lush summer green to shades of rusty red and yellow and brown and orange – which I for one always adored. Autumn has a very special place in my heart for sure. On the day of our shoot in early October, it was slightly chilly outside but the sun was shining all day and we had the pleasure of breathing in the crispy and clean country air of Sussex at Patricks Barn, just outside of West Hoathly.

Patrick's Barn, Sussex

Speaking of Patrick's Barn, this amazing farm was one of the main pillars of our planning process and once we decided on the venue we sort of created the whole look of our event to suit the surroundings. At Chiddinglye Farm they have everything you could ever need for a woodland style, farm based, but also industrial inspired wedding.

Ceramic Tableware

An important element we definitely wanted to incorporate was our amazingly talented friend, Erika Albrecht’s handmade ceramic tableware. I had worked with Erika before, photographing her wonderfully beautiful creations and I felt that for this particular styled shoot – where we were planning to mix in darker colours as well – her plates would be the perfect accessory. Erika’s style is really uniquely elegant and quirky at the same time, her work is very coherent, and I am constantly obsessed with her shiny black pieces with the pretty gold accents. I cannot recommend her work enough if you are in need of dinnerware for your intimate wedding or event, or if you would like to gift the newly weds with something really special.

The Stationery

Our stationery provided by White Cottage Weddings was also added bearing the gold edges in mind to suit the overall theme of our dinner scene. I can honestly say that these place setting menu cards are one of the most gorgeous stationery creations I have ever laid eyes on; and everyone present at the shoot was in awe of them too. White Cottage Weddings also made our flag with the lyrics that you see hanging on the side.

The Flowers

Flower amazingness was provided by Jane and Amanda from Garden to Garland. They managed to capture the perfect colours of autumn and tie it in so beautifully, with their bouquets and centrepieces and other greenery bits being the perfect transmitters between the slightly bohemian woodland ceremony and the more structured and somewhat industrial reception setting. Everything these two ladies created and delivered on the day was unique and thoughtful and this was especially reflected in their way of decorating the wedding arch (- provided by GB Elegant Events) paying attention to every little detail; but also in preparing the bridal bouquet and our centrepieces for the dinner scene.

Grazing Board Wedding Food

Let’s keep hanging out around the dinner table, admiring The Garden Chef’s (Rebecca) fantastic wedding cake, and grazing board wedding food. I personally could not decide whether I liked the cake or the platter the most. There is no colour combination or taste variation that would suit any autumn wedding more perfectly than Rebecca’s contributions. This cake! It did not just look so delightful but the smell of the yummy caramel gave such a cosy-end-of-the-year-hygge feeling to the whole atmosphere around the barn! It was definitely the most tempted I ever felt during a photo shoot. Rebecca, The Garden Chef prepared the gorgeous sharing platter in collaboration with Jaki from Perfectly Preserved - who makes artisan marmalades and jams and you can even order wedding labelled jars of chutney from them. All the cheeses are local and the cured meats are also made in Sussex.

The Details

Props and decorative pieces were provided by the lovely Gemma from GB Elegant Events and they matched the theme perfectly; from the gold candle holders through the black candle sticks to the wooden crates. Poppy from The Glitzy Balloon Company created an amazing balloon installation to decorate half of the wedding arch and we never knew that balloons could look so pretty. They were a great addition to approach the fairly bohemian forest scene from a slightly more modern viewpoint.

The Fashion

Now, onto all things bridal. Our bride and groom for the day were Danielle and Jacob. They are the perfect example of why we prefer to have a real couple to model for our styled shoots. They are beautiful and authentic and fun to work with, and oh the chemistry! Aren’t they adorable! Danielle wore two variations of the same bespoke dress, both versions made by the wonderful Lisa Lyons Bridal. For the ceremony in the woods Lisa prepared a softer, floral and vintage-bohemian top where she also added a tulle overskirt to change up the look. For the indoors reception Danielle got a modern version of the same dress, where her top was a pale grey georgette with beautiful silver beads and for this part of the shoot her tulle overskirt was removed leaving the base skirt that gave the look a fresher perspective. Bridal hair and make-up for both looks were done by Natalie-Danielle Hair & Makeup. Natalie is a true artist and she created two very special and modern looks which suited our bride so perfectly. Danielle looked just like a queen, which I kept reminding her of all day long.

The Photography

All photos were taken by me, Brigi from Brigitte & Thierry Photography. With Thierry we both have a passion for storytelling and we thoroughly enjoy documenting love stories that are filled with life, memories and adventures. We have a special kind of appreciation for details and for that reason this particular inspirational photo session was such a paradise to experience as a professional.