When Lisa from Lincs weddings which I have been a proud member of now for a few years, announced she wanted to create a magical Christmas Forest styled shoot, I didn’t hesitate to put my name forward for it, as it sounded right up my street. Lisa told us that she was inspired by her trip to the Elm Tree in Hundleby when she visited at Christmas time with her daughter the previous year, where she felt a touch of Narnia magic about the venues atmosphere. She had collected a few photos of what she was hoping for to give us all a starting point, and trusted & encouraged us suppliers to use our creativity to bring her vision to life.
I don’t mind telling you I let out a little squeal when I received my congratulations email to say I’d been chosen as stylist & florist. I couldn’t wait to start working on on the design brief.
Here is a list of the wedding suppliers involved:
Wedding Directory/Concept Lincs Weddings
Venue The Elm Tree Weddings and events.
Photographer The Jasmine cottage studio.
Stylist and Florist Confetti Sweethearts
Bridal Hair Natalie george the makeover fairy.
Bridal Makeup Lc makeup artistry uk.
Bridal Store/Hair Accessories Osh gosh gowns.
Stationery Raspberry rose designs.
Food Salted orange fc.
Bespoke Garments/Accessories Jessica Purdie ltd.
Celebrant Silver hare celebrations.
Celebrant Outfit Hats and tiaras uk.
Celebrant Makeup/Hair Natalie george the makeover fairy.
Jewellery Evelyn.amos.accessories.
Model Raya Culshaw
If you're reading this unsure what a styled shoot is let me explain..
Styled shoots are fantastic for wedding suppliers to showcase their creativity and talents. We do them to inspire couples with fresh ideas, helping you visualise our work for your own wedding. We want to show you what’s actually possible when you put your trust in us, and collaboration is a fantastic way to do this.
Now let's get into the details of the shoot.
I had never been to the Elm Tree before, so I immediately paid a visit to get a good idea what spaces I had to play with. I also had never seen the Narnia film so I had to do a little research before I began layering up my ideas. This isn’t unusual for me, as when any of my couples tell me about themselves, a little research is always required. This is actually such a fun part of the design process for me, I get totally lost in it. So I delved into the movie trailer on you tube and as I was chatting to some of my family about it, as they had seen it, so they shared some key highlights of the story line with me to help. The ideas then soon started to flow in my mind.
Mood Board
The first thing I did was create a mood board, as I always do with wedding designs, so that we had a concrete colour scheme to follow and a vibe that summed the concept up. This helped guide the other suppliers involved with their choices and made it easy for them to visualise the end goal. I could then develop my ideas in a style guide of each area I was styling, and choose the perfect decor to compliment it, to help bring it to life. Once I had it all laid out in front of me it made it easy to build the ideas out and make sure all the elements were all cohesive with each other.
Wardrobe Styling
I wanted to provide subtle nods to the Narnia inspiration to help tell the story, but I was conscious not to go over board with the theme. When I went to visit the venue ahead of time, as I chatted about the ideas I had, I asked about their wardrobes in the bedrooms. I am delighted to say they had a charming wardrobe to create an inspired Narnia backdrop. This excited me no end, and I got straight to work on developing the idea!! I couldn't wait to style it.
On the day I styled it with an abundance of forest foliage which I wanted climbing up the wardrobe so it felt like it was part of the forest, I had always wanted to add some greenery to some dresser drawers, so I had lush ferns and greenery spilling out of them. The wardrobe had a quaint top cupboard with nicely spaced shelves which gave me more styling opportunities, so I styled with my vintage books, brushed gold candle sticks and wooden jewellery boxes, with trailing ivy and moss spilling out. I thought it was the perfect place to showcase all the bridal accessories from the wonderful suppliers involved. We included the veil, clutch bag and jewellery items.
The Chaise Lounge
When I went to visit the venue, Niki the venue co-ordinator let me know that we could use their lavish red velvet chaise lounge for the shoot. I thought this was an amazing idea, and I could just imagine the forest floor growing up all around it, to create a stunning backdrop with the model. I styled it with large arrangements around one side and created a forest floor in front so the model was surrounded by the foliage. The photographer got some stunning shots of the model eating scrumptious Turkish delight which was served on a moss covered stand, which was another nod to the film, which I was super keen to include, helping tell the Narnia story.
The Tablescape
Designing tablescapes are a labour of love for me, I really enjoy obsessing over the little details to help tell a story. I styled with a forest green table cloth and cheesecloth runners to add some texture. Down the centre I created a long centrepiece with fresh forest greenery with added dried grasses which kept a wild look. I also added some potted plants & pinecones to add fullness. I added brushed gold candle sticks to lift and give contrast to the design and smoky black crystal tea lights to add a moody glow, all from my prop catalogue. Each place setting had a forest green charger plate, black linen napkins tied with an emerald green bow, and complimenting stationery with a fern design. Sleek black cutlery and textured green glass goblets added a stylish touch and completed the whole look.
Ceremony Area
I positioned my large arrangements in front of the fireplace where the venue hold their wedding ceremonies. A few plants were placed down the aisle and chairs were covered in faux fur. It was the perfect backdrop from photos with the wedding celebrant.
Bridal Bouquet
I don't mind telling you this was my first attempt at a bridal bouquet. I was super keen to show brides that opting for a no flower look can be just as beautiful. I used a variety of fresh greenery, lush ferns and dried grasses to create a bouquet for the model to hold. And it was used throughout the shoot.
Cake
This cake was absolutely stunning and went so well with the concept. A beautiful forest green base with gold flakes, a textured pattern on the bottom layer and a green velvet ribbon to match the napkin ties.
The whole design concept came to life the minute the model stepped into this enchanting forest world. I enjoyed every second of bringing this design brief to life and I enjoyed working with the other suppliers on it. I hope you feel inspired after seeing all the wonderful photographs. If you would like to check out Lisa's blog post over at Lincs Weddings to hear what the other suppliers got up on the day you can check that out here .It's a fantastic read, if you want to hear more juicy details.
If you would love some help bringing your wedding design to life, you can check out my wedding styling packages here.
It's my favourite thing, helping couples transform their venue into something truly magical.
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