Winter Wedding Inspiration

One of my goals for 2019 was to capture a styled shoot, and as December approached I was worried that it would be a goal I’d miss out on! But thanks to a collection of amazing suppliers (all of whom are featured on Engage Wedding Blog) we managed to get a date worked out and put together the most amazing shoot!

We wanted to give our shoot a Festive edge, being so close to Christmas, without being hugely Christmassy. Many winter weddings I’ve worked on want to steer clear of full on ‘Christmas’ styling and opt for a more wintery, festive theme with small nods to Christmas.

The venue

The setting for our shoot was one of my favourite wedding venues, and a spot that I’ve worked at many times before, the beautiful Coltsfoot Country Retreat. We were incredibly lucky with the weather and blessed with beautiful sunshine. It was also very chilly, and very windy – our model Laurie was an absolute trooper, stood outside in her dresses with barely any cover!

Coltsfoot is stunning in all weathers anyway, but in winter the sun is low in the sky and the light gives a beautiful side-lit glow all day long, rather than just in the evening like at a summer wedding. The views are spectacular, and as always the staff are so accommodating and lovely!

It’s real love

I was really pleased to be able to work with a real life couple in this shoot, something that is really important to me as I work best capturing real emotions and fleeting looks, gestures and glances – the stuff of real love that means so much more in a photo than with posing models. Capturing a real couple who are happy to have a kiss and a cuddle creates so much more warmth and meaning to the photos! Laurie and John were the perfect models for this festive shoot.

Deck the halls with gorgeous flowers – Winter Wedding Inspiration

I absolutely loved working with the beautiful Sara from Queen and Eden. Her work is absolutely gorgeous and I love the subtle details that she added to the styling to give our shoot a festive and wintery edge – from the subtly sequinned table cloth to the mimosa grey foliage, accompanied by white flowers, Astrantia, snow berries, avalanche roses, spray roses and tulips.

Stunning Stationery

As always, the wonderful Katy from Olive and Millicent worked her magic and created a gorgeous stationery suite for us with white wax seals, frosty vellum and a subtle botanical wreath design. All absolutely stunning.

Our stunning bridal looks

We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to borrow two gorgeous bespoke gowns from the lovely Lisa Lyons Bridal (a fellow winner in the Four Counties Wedding Awards!) and each of them added a different feel to the two looks created by our styling team on this shoot. The first was ‘Mira’ with subtle silvery winter botanicals embroidered, and accompanied by a glittery tulle overskirt for an extra subtly festive flourish.

Our wonderful hair and make up team was Michelle from Michelle Nash Make Up (another Four Counties winner!) and the wonderful Claire from Barberella Bridal Hair (you may have seen me capturing her work before in my styled shoot from last year and also from this post).

With ‘Mira’ Claire and Michelle created an elegant look with a more traditional updo to accompany the fitted dress, accompanied by a gorgeous hair piece by Rachel Sokhal Bridal Accessories. Michelle created a natural look with a subtly gold highlighter and cream blusher, which she says is ideal for winter weddings.

For our gorgeous bride Laurie’s second look, Lisa provided us with the gorgeous ‘Stela’ lace dress from her Modern Bohemia Collection (this was my personal fave!). I really loved the elegant lace train, it was so stunning, Claire created a style with a side chignon and another beautiful accessory from Rachel Sokhal.

Not complete without a cake!

Finally I must mention the incredible cake, created by Nina from Meadowsweet Cakes. Those that follow my blog may have seen her work before and her incredible cakes, and her creation for this shoot was no exception. The cake featured gorgeous edible glitter and a beautiful sugar work flower, which Nina is so well known for. It was the perfect element to complete our wonderful shoot.

This was such a fun shoot to work on and I’m so pleased to share it with you this festive season! If you’re looking to plan your wedding locally, definitely make sure you check out the Engage Wedding Blog where you can see more from all of the suppliers featured in this shoot, and drop me a line if you’d like to chat more about your photography. If you’re a supplier and would like to collaborate on a future shoot, please do get in touch as I’d love to hear your ideas and create something beautiful together!

I hope you’ve found this Winter Wedding Inspiration helpful in planning your day! Merry Christmas!

Dream Team – Winter Wedding Inspiration

Photography: Me!

Venue: Coltsfoot Country Retreat

Florals & Styling: Queen & Eden

Dresses: Lisa Lyons Bridal

Hair: Barberella Bridal Hair

Make Up: Michelle Nash Make Up

Cake: Meadowsweet Cakes

Accessories: Rachel Sokhal Bridal

Stationery: Olive & Millicent