Linen and Silk Inspiration - a teal and gold wedding shoot by Fiona Kelly

Buon giorno lovelies! Hope you’ve all had a fabulous week! I’m still trying to get into gear following my holiday, but with a bit of planning, this week I’ve finally managed to bring myself back on track with the various projects going on at L&S HQ. If you follow me on Instagram, FB or Twitter, you will have noticed that I’ve started talking more about a project I’d been keeping quiet for a while… So next week I will hopefully be able to talk about it even more, so watch this space as a new L&S service is going to be announced 🙂

Today, however, I want to finally share with you something that turned out to be the highlight of 2012 – the stunning pictures by Fiona Kelly of the shoot I styled and coordinated at the end of last year with the support of an incredibly talented team of suppliers. The inspiration behind this photoshoot came about when I visited Ranger’s House. This opulent Georgian mansion, housing a rare art collection by Sir Wernher, is often used by mature couples or second marriages, so I decided to take on the challenge to show how a younger bride, with an appreciation for traditions and art, could style this venue in a fresh and stylish way, without compromising its integrity.

The theme

When I first visited Ranger’s House, I was immediately struck by the amount of gold and the imposing painted tapestry hanging on the walls. One thing that is often hard to do with environments like this is introducing colour in a way that doesn’t clash or create a cluttered feel. After spending some time looking at the images of the venue, I picked on teal and accents of gold to bring out some of the tones and colours of the artifacts within the main hall of Ranger’s House, while graciously introducing more modern touches in the shapes of our props, table styling, and the stationery, all complemented by a neutral white base.

Styling

Our table was styled with linens and chairs by Jones Hire, and crockery and glass-wear by India Jane Blackheath, a home interior shop that has now launched a gift list service. I liked the elegant, yet less traditional shape of the plates, as it made the table, otherwise linear and minimal in its decor, look more dynamic. To add colour and tie in with the theme, we used aqua-coloured wine glasses and asked Reshmi of Anges de Sucre to create some cute teal macarons favors with gold speckles.

Floral designer and stylist Jodie of Boutique Blooms interpreted the theme with some gorgeous white hydrangea and gypsophila, arranged on bold teal and gold vases – the focus of our table set up. For the bridal bouquets, Jodie and I agreed to explore the option of something colourful, yet modern and non-conventional – she created three bouquets with hydrangea, brunia albaflora & silver tree protea (the silver and green bouquet) and king protea and china grass (the single flower bouquet) which beautifully complemented the three bridal looks we had created.

All our stationery, chair pompoms and balloons were supplied by Eagle Eyed Bride, purveyors of stylish stationery and décor. I briefed Katie asking her to think about a bride who is chic, elegant, loves art, but is modern at the same time. What she came up with is the perfect representation of the bride I had in mind. Katie created a stunning stationery suite that incorporates a modern element (chevrons) with a more traditional element (lace), which are gold-foiled for a high shine contemporary look.. The stationery in the Ranger’s House shoot became part of their Modern Metallics Collection. Eagle Eyed Bride also came up with giant gold initials as an alternative to the traditional guest book, and a contemporary table plan with hanging names for each of the guests.

Abi of The Abigail Bloom Cake Co. is the woman behind our stunning cake. Inspired by the room where we were shooting, she created a 5-tiers cake decorated with a hand-painted gold rose and leaves.

For our dessert table, we used votives and glass bowls from India Jane and a mix of my own sourced at a local store. Each jar was decorated with toffee popcorns (perfect for that gold look!), Pashmak Persian fairy floss sprinkled with edible gold gloss (an idea of the ever resourceful Sam of A Little London Wedding!), macarons by Anges de Sucre and white mint pearls.

The choice of dresses was utterly important for us. I’d seen a lot of vintage and lace this past season, and I really wanted dresses that were elegant and timeless, but also modern and fresh.

Blackburn Bridal offered three stunning gowns by Clinton Lotter and Sarah Janks, which we used to create a range of bridal looks to represent three different, contemporary brides – a confident bride (wearing ‘Garbo’ by Clinton Lotter, a strapless Graecian dress with an intricate gold belt), a sophisticated bride (wearing ‘Acacia’ by Sarah Janks with a stunning sheer back), and a young romantic bride (wearing a timeless spotty tulle dress by Clinton Lotter with an Audrey Hepburn feel and a sweet hair bow to add a touch of youthfulness), all styled by hair-stylist Hayley Frances and make up artist Carla Ramsey who worked together to bring to life the vision I had in mind for each of the three looks.

Our shoes were supplied by Upper Street – an online shop with a studio in London (by appointment only) where brides can design their own bespoke bridal shoes. For this shoot we used a glam platform peep-toe heel with white Italian satin and white snakeskin details.

All accessories were intentionally chosen from a range of bridal and non-bridal jewellery by Glitzy Secret and Stella & Dot. Every piece was selected in relation to each bridal style and with the intention of giving our bride a modern romantic look that remains faithful to her youthful personality.

We had an amazing day and lots of fun on this shoot. In sharing it with you, I really hope that not only you get an idea of my style as a wedding planner, but that you’ve also found some inspiring ideas for your wedding. Next week I’m going to share a glimpse into the design process and the moodboards I shared with the team. This will hopefully give you some guidance on how to go about picking a theme for your wedding.

Have a fabulous weekend!

The guys that rocked it:

Photography: Fiona Kelly Photography

Styling and coordination: Elisabetta, Linen and Silk Weddings

Assistant Stylist: A Little London Wedding

Venue: Ranger’s House

Wedding dresses: Blackburn Bridal

Floral design: Boutique Blooms

Accessories: Glitzy Secrets, Stella & Dot

Shoes: Upper Street

Hair: Hair by Hayley Francis

Make Up: Masterpiece by Carla Ramsey