Renaissance Romance. A Fine Art Wedding Creative Shoot at Newby Hall

CONCEPT

Ellen says: Catherine of Boho Chic shared a tablescape scene taken on an olive grove in Italy on her social media. Both myself and Gayle Hussan from Where the Ribbon Ends commented swiftly that it would be lovely to do something similar in Yorkshire and the ideas began to build from there.

Catherine was inspired by Italian Renaissance art and the Last Supper scene but due to the pandemic that has dominated 2020, we needed to adapt ideas so rather than our original plan to invite suppliers to sit at the dining scene alongside the couple for the supper image, we instead shifted focus to the table itself. Catherine wanted the table to be vegetarian, bountiful and laden with nature’s rich foods, florals and drinks but not in the way the more on-trend grazing tables work because, although they are gorgeous, we wanted a more Renaissance feasting look.

Catherine is based in Yorkshire but travels throughout the UK and Europe and she has specialised in natural wedding photography for the past 15 years after studying photography in Leeds. Her photographs have been described as chic, stylish and natural with a touch of magic.

LOCATION

As soon as our mood board became cohesive, we immediately knew that the Orangery at Newby Hall would be the perfect place for our shoot. Catherine and I had visited it previously and were over the moon when we were very kindly given permission by UNVEILED Network Member Lucy Wright who manages weddings at Newby Hall, to use the venue’s Orangery in their stunning grounds.

STYLING

Catherine’s original image inspiration featured deep, rich colours and as we move into autumn. We wanted a palette which supported that so we combined plums with yellow tones rather than oranges. I translated this into the food styling for the table by bringing in black grapes, plums, blackberries, cherries and blueberries and for the lighter shades, pistachio nuts, walnuts, peaches, apricots, white grapefruit and pears. Both Catherine and I wanted a big feature on yellow pears but sadly due to Covid related supply issues, it was hard to find plentiful amounts of these so I ended up spraying a lot of them in antique gold but it actually looked really striking.

Bureau Botany offer out-of-the-ordinary floristry, styling and decor hire. Bethan Howlett provided most of the serve wear for me, in the shape of urns; some flaked with gold leaf and some in stone colour. I used Bethan’s brass candlesticks to place purple and white dinner candles around the table. The table settings had antique cutlery laid next to white dinner plates with gold rim detail. On the plates were stunning napkins designed by Valentina, featuring pear motifs and on the napkin, we placed a real pear with the guest’s name tag pinned into the pear with gold pearl pins.

Mingled with the food were the florals. Bethan used a mixture of urns and bust heads which had been loaned by Sarah from Styling Farm, to place purple hydrangeas, café au lait dahlias, buttercup, Cassandra and Lady Lindsey garden roses to name a few. Styling Farm are a studio based within MacKenzies Farm Shop, just outside Harrogate offering bespoke florals, home interiors and gift retail as well as a full styling and hire service for the North Yorkshire area.

Where the Ribbon Ends specialise in bespoke wedding and occasion cakes which are pretty yet modern in design. Their cakes taste as delicious as they look and are all made bespoke, following a one to one consultation. Whilst we did shoot a few images of the cakes on the main table, we wanted a feature of them in their own right. Bethan provided Gayle with some white plinths, which we styled around a large statue belonging to the Orangery. Gayle designed two different size cakes in pale icing with dripping caramel detail, dehydrated pear pieces and real florals taken from Bethan. Alongside this, Gayle provided real pears dipped in either chocolate or caramel and honey to dip and drizzle all of which made perfect styling detail.

Next to the cakes we placed a romantic poem which Valentina had designed onto a long draping banner, hung from a frame decorated with greenery from Bethan. Valentina Marsden from Bradford based Velvet May specialises in wedding invitations, both customisable house collections and higher end bespoke work, to suit different needs and budgets. For the main stationery images, Valentina designed a suite which ran with the pear design but also featured the venue we were using which is such a great idea for couples who want guests to get a first glimpse of where they will be celebrating the day. These were printed on to luxury papers in the paler shades we were using from the palette but teamed with the name tags which were hand torn, calligraphy in plum with gold wax seals.

ATTIRE

Catherine has been a big fan of Claire Pettibone’s romantic designs and when she shared our ideas for the shoot with UNVEILED Network Member Heidi from Lace & Co. in Wakefield, Heidi immediately knew which dresses would work and having just received them into the boutique. It was great that we were the first to use them.

The lovely award-winning boutique hosts a beautiful collection of romantic modern and bohemian inspired dresses, stunning traditional French lace gowns and gorgeous 1950s tea-length dresses from a range of exclusive designers. The first we featured was Eloise by Claire Pettibone which had a pale blue underlay. To show off the strapless design; Deborah styled Kayleigh’s hair in long loose curls and used one of UNVEILED Network Member Garter and Veil’s headpieces.

To compliment Kayleigh’s look, Will was dressed in the first of Dandy Threads’ suits. This was a pale grey/blue waistcoat and jacket with gold thread running through and paired with a white shirt and gold tie. The trousers were slightly darker blue wool. The cut of the coat meant no buttonhole was added but the detailing in the suit was striking enough to let it stand out without one.

Dandy Threads are passionate about what they do, offering private tailoring and styling consultations whether you are tailoring for everyday or a special occasion.

For the couple’s shots we moved Kayleigh into the Sienna by Savin London dress which had intricate florals sewn into the lace. Deborah changed up Kayleigh’s hair a few times so we could showcase more of Garter and Veil’s gorgeous pieces as well as a very unique floral necklace that Bethan designed. Garter and Veil create luxury accessories and statement jewellery for the modern style conscious bride. Using only the finest materials and exquisite detailing, all pieces are designed and handmade in their studio.

Will was then changed into a navy suit, which was a modern and rich Prince Charming piece; elegant and timeless in style.

BEAUTY

Debs of Love Hair and Beauty Boutique is a highly experienced bridal hairstylist and makeup artist specialising in bespoke, luxe and intimate weddings in North Yorkshire. There were four variations of hairstyles in our shoot, all quite different! Keeping the hair down over the shoulders with tumbling and soft waves is a dream look for brides wanting to enhance their own natural beauty. Braids and boho looks are perfect for brides who want to look a little less fussy and don’t want to look too over styled. The makeup look chosen for this shoot was understated, appealing to brides who want to look flawless yet natural.

RESULTS

We were extremely lucky with the weather, as it had rained off and on in the days preceding the shoot. Whilst no photographer wants it too bright, Catherine’s style really does lend itself to the light and of course we wanted to take full advantage of the absolutely breathtaking grounds which Newby Hall are famous for, which is always a risk in the rain as we need to be very protective of any attire on loan to us.

As mentioned, the shoot needed to adapt to keep in line with social distancing regulations and some things we loved weren’t in season but anything that changed did nothing to ruin the outcome. I am personally very happy with the images and what a great team effort we all achieved.