Stapleford Park - Styled shoot featured in You and Your Wedding
We’re super excited to share this beautiful, detail-rich, French inspired shoot which, we’re proud to say, has just graced the pages of the latest edition of ‘You and Your Wedding’ magazine. Until it did, due to exclusivity rights, we’ve kept relatively quiet about this exquisite collaboration and I have to admit, it has been hard as it was such a creative dream to work on.
We’ve had the pleasure of shooting a number of stunning weddings at Stapleford Park and, every time I shoot there, I’m struck by the beauty of the French chateaux styled architecture. Based on this, I had a nugget of an idea for a striking styled shoot blossoming in my head and this idea really came to life as soon as I started chatting to the lovely (and incredibly creative) Sophie at Sophie’s Flower company.
Working together, we built a creative team of some of the best in the industry including RS Bridal, Georgie Steeples, Elizabeth Clare, Emily Harmston Cakes, Rose Press Designs, Premier Events UK, Blakes Models and The Cutlery Commission. We then had the joy of combining creative talents to design an opulent, luxurious, French styled shoot showcasing the grandeur and romance of Stapleford in summer.
As the venue itself had been the primary influence for the theme, we were also keen for it to be the greatest influence for the styling.
Stapleford is a beautiful Georgian Grade 1 listed country hotel with breathtaking Capability Brown landscaped grounds. The architecture conjures up a Renaissance Art feel with full rounded designs; gilded gold urns and vessels. These heavy influenced our choice of tableware, urns for the statement floral displays and even the colour tones for the bridesmaids dresses.
The cake by Emily Harmston was hand painted and inspired by the beautiful floral wall papers in the hallway and bedrooms at Stapleford. The design was then embellished with handcrafted edible wafer paper flowers to complement those found in the grounds.
The bridal fashion had a heavy French influence with lace-backed gowns and a striking blue suit for the groom (cf Ryan Gosling/Eddie Redmayne). RS Bridal: ‘The luxurious, elegant and timeless style of Stapleford’s hall and grounds heavily influenced the styles chosen; the stunning trains and simple silhouettes reflect the bold lines of the Georgian architecture and the contrasting statement ball gowns symbolize the history and grandeur associated with all things Stapleford’. The bride wore Essense of Australia and Mori Lee. The Bridesmaids were in Sorella Vita (sister company of Essense)
We focused on understated elegance for the wedding stationery by Rose Press, choosing the tactile feel of a letterpress piece, beautifully printed by hand on their antique press. The blush-tone ribbons used in the design also featured in the brides bouquet, table centrepieces, chair backs and place settings.
We were over the moon with the finished result and, naturally, so pleased to see it in print in You and Your Wedding. As a bride, I poured over the glossy pages myself for inspiration and I really hope this shoot provides equal inspiration for all those excited brides to be!
