The inspiration for this beautiful Autumnal styled shoot came from the Song title 'All The Gold In California' by Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers. We wanted to create a wedding theme with soft ivory white tones, botanical greenery in shabby chic/Tuscan styling with California oranges to contrast this. Additional hints of barely there gold/copper to evoke a mood of warmth autumn delights and fresh fun welcoming a new season and a new breath of life in nature.

Creative Director, Styling & Flowers: Afmena Events

The chosen site for the styled shoot was Tudor Barn, Eltham. After a site visit, we fell in love with the truly unique venue which holds the distinction of being the only existing Tudor Barn in London. With such a naturally beautiful backdrop, not much work was required to create the inspiration shoot. The styling evoked a mood of warm, autumnal delights, welcoming in a new season. To style the table, we used a focal piece comprised of Salix branches intermixed with a messy floral arrangement to celebrate nature at its finest. Within the floral styling and for added details, we played around with textures, moss, silk fabric and floristry sisal, as well as different smells and fragrances from the wax flowers and stems of eucalyptus. All these visual and sensory elements combined, helped to create the experience of bringing the outdoors in.

When we style weddings, we also provide the bouquets and bridal party flowers so that all details from bouquets and boutonnieres to the floral design used for the decor, are consistent in theme and design. As such, the brides’ bouquet for the inspiration shoot again incorporated different textures of flowers in an unstructured and simple arrangement.

Photographer: Sharon Cooper

Sharon Cooper is a talented, popular London, Herts, UK wedding photographer. Sharon's favourite photos show the gorgeous couple, relaxed and happy, she placed them in beautiful light, in front of yellow flowers in the grounds of the venue.

Hair Accessory: Bespoke Vintage Castle

The handmade Bijou accessories were created with hints of ‘barely there’ gold and pearls. The gentle pearly Atelier hairpiece emphasised the theme of grace and femininity. It also complimented with soft ivory and white tones from the beautiful gowns.

Dresses: Ritva Westenius

“Mauritius” - Chenca wanted to design a dress using tulle in an inventive way as she generally has a dislike for tulle due to her career as a ballerina. Chenca loves textures mixed with the most expensive silk for movement and fluidity. The top is made from Italian ultimate silk and self-lined to give a fabulous tactile feeling against the skin. The skirt has been designed using the old ribbon work technique interspersed with hand beading.

Suits: Keye London

As the shoot was Barn themed, we played with warm earthy tones i.e. Greens and Browns with a splash of Orange which reminded us of nature. A barn setting automatically makes you think of things in their unspoiled form, so we bounced off this and interpreted it with the colours used. In terms of the styling, instead of going for super smart which is typical of traditional weddings, we chose to go for a stylish but laid back look which worked very well with this wedding setting.
Our advice for recreating this look or any other look will be to draw inspiration from the themes and settings of the occasion. Colour is always a big part of styling so it is very important to think of the colours which compliment you and tie in closely with the theme. Do not be afraid to use white to bring balance to the look or in other words bring the look together. Lastly, be you!

Hair & Makeup: Malkia Roberts

The base for makeup needs to consider the season; I used a dewy YSL Touche Eclat foundation to keep the skin looking moist and fresh, (in summer a more matte foundation works better). Robin, the bride, has light makeup as I wanted to focus on an understated look that allowed her features to take centre stage. This can be achieved by using eyeliner on only the eyelid and rather than prominent eye shadows; a lipstick brings warmth and life to her face whilst illuminating her beautiful smile.

Stationery: Dimitria Jordan

Stationery is important as the first physical item that sets the tone for your day to your guests. To recreate the look, choose stationery that has delicate but strong illustrations as part of the design, and has a ‘rustic’ feel. The choice of paper will also help with this – we used a chic crisp white for the shoot, but a textured card or kraft would also look lovely. Choose contrasting but complementing colours to lift the design to match your colour theme. For the shoot, we used a Californian orange and forest green, but this design from our 'Tuscany' collection would work with any colours.

With special thanks to:

Styling & Flowers: Afmena Events

Photography: Sharon Cooper Photography

Venue: Tudor Barn

Stationery: Dimitria Jordan

Bridal gowns: Ritva Westenius

Bespoke suits: Keye London

Cakes & Confectioneries: Safiyas Cakes

Hair accessory: Bespoke Vintage Castle

Hair & Makeup: Malkia Roberts