FELISITI GREIS: A Bridal Couture Collection Shoot at Newburgh Priory

Fashion-forward, couture bridal attire meets the world of upcycling and sustainability in this exquisite styled shoot, crafted by Felicity, the creative director from one of our favourite wedding brands, Felisiti Greis.

Set at the enchanting Newburgh Priory, a stately Tudor home in Yorkshire, this shoot is all about the destination wedding that’s home from home.

With UNVEILED Network Member Felicity’s captivating new Adiepena collection centre stage, the shoot features four couture pieces, and the craftsmanship and attention to detail is simply stunning.

The Felisiti Greis label perfectly encapsulates how the world of luxury wedding gowns can successfully combine with creative processes such as upcycling to create a highly covetable look for your big day, with a thoughtful nod to the environment, too.

Other elegant styling touches to the serene ceremony space, interior, and perfectly landscaped walled gardens further complement this shoot’s luxurious fashion focus, and celebrate all things home-grown and British. It’s a sheer delight, so let’s explore the finer details.

With images by ElsieLove Photography

Concept

Felicity says: As part of my collection and editorial shoot, I also conceived and organised a styled shoot to inspire couples who may dream of the idea of a destination wedding that is also close to home, hence the title “destination at home”.

Attire

The shoot showcases my Felisiti Greis collection, called Adiepena. It’s of Akan origin and means ‘something so rare and valuable, that is difficult to find anywhere else’.

A bridal collection inspired by the resourcefulness of the everyday woman – it combines my desire to preserve quality craftsmanship with my childhood dream of empowering women by designing beautiful pieces that celebrate their beauty in every way imaginable.

This collection is for the modern bride seeking quality and uniqueness to escape the norm. It embodies comfort, luxury, and elegance. It comprises four exquisite couture pieces which are beautifully handcrafted with careful attention to detail. I constructed these dresses using couture techniques to create beautiful inner workings and intricate embellishment for the pieces. The dresses have finer details, stunning silhouettes and impeccable fit.

I am a strong believer in quality over quantity and wanted to create pieces that were handcrafted with a lot of thought and love. I am constantly looking for ways to contribute to the sustainability of fashion as a whole, and my decision to create fewer pieces allows for a small yet impactful collection.

I knew the four couture pieces that made up the collection had to fully embody Felisiti Greis as a brand, in terms of our design aesthetics. There are three wedding dresses and a translucent two-tiered mint dress with bustier bodice, which will be perfect for an outdoor occasion. One of the wedding dresses from this collection, which has wavy all-over translucent sequins, is an upcycled luxury bridal couture gown. You don’t usually hear upcycled, luxury and couture in the same sentence, but maybe we should hear it more often. If luxury and couture pieces cost our environment dearly, then we may need to rethink what luxury and couture means.

I believe there are many different ways to achieving sustainability, and upcycling one of our old gowns was the perfect way to contribute to the sustainability of our environment.

This collection is redefining bridal couture and offering modern brides the chance to be fashion forward and thoughtful.

Location

We wanted to create an intimate setting that brought the feeling of a destination wedding to our home soil.

I also wanted to celebrate diverse British talents and the beauty that is birthed when we all work together in harmony, while acknowledging and celebrating one of the most historic and beautiful venues Britain has to offer.

With resourcefulness and the desire to inspire destination wedding couples in mind, Newburgh Priory was the perfect venue for this shoot. Newburgh Priory boasts beautiful architecture, interiors, landscaping, and stunning grounds. It has similar features to what a destination wedding venue offers, and it has one of the most understated yet beautiful gardens.

Styling

The wonderful Cyehis Events helped to coordinate and style the shoot on the day.

The ceremony took place in Newburgh Priory’s long gallery ruin, while the reception was set up in the utterly stunning walled garden at Newburgh Priory.

UNVEILED Network Member Tweedle Floral Design created the most stunning floral arrangements for both the ceremony and reception set up. They handpicked all the flowers and foliage from British home-grown farmers.

The shoot also featured beautiful stationery from UNVEILED Network Member Bianco Blanc Paperie and intricate calligraphy from the talented Nibs and Notes.

Beauty

Our pared back beauty looks worked perfectly with the bridal collection, and these were achieved by hairstylist and make up consultant Vicky Boateng. Embellished crowns and headpieces supplied by Saint Beth complemented the models’ effortlessly chic hairstyles.

Results

UNVEILED Network Member Matthew Laraway Weddings wowed with his amazing videography. Matthew’s drone footage captured the breathtaking grounds of Newburgh Priory and the overall beauty of this shoot.

The images are truly stunning, captured perfectly by ElsieLove Photography. Melissa of ElsieLove Photography gave creative direction for each shot, so it is no surprise that these images are perfectly framed and tell an emotive story with lots of natural light beaming through. Behind the scenes photography was also captured on the day by the amazing Joshua Thursby Photography.