This afternoon Charlotte Miller of Eden & Eve is going to talk us through these beautiful images created by photographer Cat Hepple to inspire brides seeking to incorporate an Indian vibe into their wedding. Enjoy folks!
“There is so much inspiration in the wedding industry and as a team we wanted to create something that was new, exciting, and most importantly something Brides and Grooms could draw inspiration from. We wanted to break the boundaries for what a Bride can wear on her big day and so chose a bold colour palette and bold jewels.”
Photography Copyright (c) 2014, Cat Hepple
The initial inspiration all panned from a meeting with Paul Styler from Shades of India, a Leeds based company that supply the most beautiful cream canvas raj tents for weddings and events. I loved how different they were to traditional marquees and the fact they have a really luxurious feel to them. In keeping with my outdoor wedding planning company, I just knew I wanted one of the tents included in the shoot and Paul recommended the Cupola; an octagonal shaped structure with wooden scrolls supporting the tent.
The look
The idea of an Indian inspired shoot took quite some thinking out in the initial stages. We wanted to create a look that would be relatable without being overtly Indian. We focused on using simple cut dresses without embellishment, to dress with coloured jewels and then used accents of gold and bold flowers to dress our scenes.
Typically, Indian weddings tend to use bright and vibrant colour palettes such as pink, orange, red and even turquoise. We didn’t want to use a stereotypical colour palette, but rather one that would be sophisticated and give a high end luxury feel.
Capturing the photoshoot and the autumnal light could only be done by the talented Cat Hepple. To capture the romance, but at the same time the glamour and drama of the shoot needed her excellent eye. Cat knows how to make women feel amazing whilst being photographed, and that was so important in this shoot – to get the look just right!”
“Each scene walks through the major stages of a wedding day so couples can see how all of the elements can work in each setting.
The Location
For our shoot we were privileged to use the stunning Goldsborough Hall, near Harrogate in Yorkshire. The red brick exterior with its deep red ivy scaling the walls and beautiful grounds matched perfectly with the glamour and tone that we wanted to create. The natural light inside the drawing room perfectly lit our indoor scenes and the décor carried our bold colour palette with ease.
The Ceremony
We used the cupola from Shade of India for our ceremony structure (which is perfect for an intimate ceremony of up to 30 people). The extremely talented ladies from Leafy Couture created some gorgeous tie backs which just popped against the cream background and defined the focus of the ceremony for our Bride and Groom. Using sumptuous deep red roses, burgundy dahlias and pink orchids we created a look that instantly draws your eyes to the beautiful cupola.
We used swathes of cream chiffon tied with a knot and a single flower to dress random chairs. This is a really simple but effective way of making an impact without having to dress every chair!
The Bride – in this scene the Bride wore a full skirted satin dress from The Bridal Gown in Otley. The dress lent drama to the scene and was styled with two layers of navy and gold jewels and chains. Natalie Willingham, an incredibly creative individual, created a really striking look for our Bride. She used a deep plum eye shadow which beautifully set off the jewels. Emily Hawkes created a gorgeous half up do which she complemented with flowers in her hair.
The Dining Scene
I loved creating the dining scene with Leafy Couture. In the middle of the table we have our statement centre piece using the rich colour palette but also incorporating elements from the outdoors to keep in line with the outdoor ceremony. We used gold candle sticks with green candles keeping in line with the table scape and used delicate gold votives to hold single flower heads and smaller arrangements to give a really full, luxurious look.
We used crisp white plates, edged subtly with gold, which stood out against the different coloured table cloths. I think the combination of the colours and the crockery takes the dining setting from expected to memorable. The deep burgundy cloth allows the individual elements of the table setting to stand out for all the right reasons. ‘By Phylecia’ designed and letter press printed an elegant stationery suite using deluxe cotton paper – though the design was intricate the layout and the print was unfussy, which worked perfectly with the rest of the setting. We placed the custom designed menu on the plate with a single flower head which just transformed the look – a really simple but effective idea. Instead of using a traditional table number holder, we used a smaller floral arrangement as the anchor.
Vintage china has been very popular over the past few years. We wanted to show a new way of using simple matching china to great effect as part of your dining table. To keep in line with our theming we placed small vials of loose tea inside the white and gold edged cups with contrasting thread tied to hold the little note.
Our bride wore a sophisticated lace gown, from The Bridal Gown in Otley, to show a look that can still be made glamorous with bold makeup, but a look that is more understated. Our handsome groom wore a black velvet tuxedo jacket with satin lapels and a co-ordinating burgundy bow tie – we would love to see Grooms becoming more daring in their choice of clothing!
The dress just looks fluid and was the only contender for this part of the shoot. The Leafy Girls worked their magic on the dramatic urn of red roses, piano roses and dahlias to quite a stunning effect.
Cakes and Cocktails
The cake, oh the cake!! Sarah from’ Babycakes of York’ pushed her limits to bring us this stunning creation. Using gold edible lace on the bottom tier and brushed gold on the top tier, the cake looked incredible sat on a solid floral base. ‘Mini Couture Cakes’ also designed some beautiful cake pops which were mounted into a flower hemisphere – this table was beautiful!
Keeping in line with the styling, cocktails using rich colours were placed on the table with a gold gilt frame to display the menu. Using gold votives with single flower heads again filled the table with depth and tone.
Hair and Makeup
The hair and makeup was key to making this look work. We wanted to be brave with our choices and Natalie Willingham created some incredible looks that certainly stood out. Using rich plums and pinks, Natalie created looks that created the glamour and opulence we wanted to portray.
Likewise with the hair, it was so important that the styles chosen not only complemented the bride and her dress, but also the makeup. Emily Hawkes created feminine yet edgy looks with fresh flowers in tones that complemented the make up and jewellery. We showed several looks throughout the shoot to show toned up and toned down versions of what styles could suit such bold styling.
Huge thanks to the full creative team listed below for sharing these images today. I’d like to encourage our brides to visit photographer Cat Hepple’s website in particular – Cat is a dear friend of mine and I adore the feminine nature of her beautiful wedding photography.
Have a lovely afternoon all,
Annabel
Photographer – Cat Hepple
Creative vision, Planning and Organisation – Eden & Eve
Cupola (Ceremony Structure) – Shades of India
Venue – Goldsborough Hall
Floral geniuses – Leafy Couture
Make Up – Natalie Willingham
Hair Stylist – Emily Hawkes
Stationery – Phylecia Sutherland By Phylecia
Cake – Sarah Duck Babycakes York
Cake Pops – Karen Baxter Mini Couture Cakes
Bridal Wear and Shoes – The Bridal Gown
Amanda Wakeley Gowns – Brides of Harrogate
Lyndsey Gough – Model – [email protected]
Vicki Paterson – Model – [email protected]
Lisa Franklin – Model – [email protected]
Chris Hamilton – Model – [email protected]
Richard Foulder – Model – [email protected]
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Annabel View all Annabel's articles
Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.
