Bohemian Wedding Inspiration at The Boat House

Written by Emma Hla
Having both worked at Aston Marina’s stunning modern venue The Boat House on numerous weddings, award-winning Samantha Jayne Photography and venue dresser Elegant Affair were keen to use the waterside setting for a styled shoot. When they approached events manager Aishah with their idea, the response was an enthusiastic “yes please” and the partnership began to mull over themes that would help beautifully showcase both their work and the venue.

Aishah’s research led her to fall in love with the greenery trend – not only would the simplicity of the theme look stunning against The Boat House’s minimalist, modern design but would perfectly suit the spring timing of the shoot while being easily adapted to any time of the year.

With the theme decided, Aishah asked Laura at Elegant Affair to create a greenery-themed wedding taking inspiration from a mood board she had created on Pinterest. With few couples opting for a ‘sweetheart’ table for two for their wedding breakfast, Aishah asked that this be incorporated into the scheme in the main room, with the shoot showcasing the Marina’s gorgeous outdoor ceremony space, which is an increasingly popular choice.

To meet the brief, Elegant Affair went all-out using the colour palette of green and neutrals with hints of gold to create an elegant look with a boho twist; brought to life using a mix of acrylics, geometrics and florals in the décor.

A key element of the design was a Moongate; which was equally stunning set behind the sweetheart table or when taken outside as a backdrop to photos. Drawing on this, the team created a series of ‘Mini-moons’ especially for the shoot, comprising of mainly green foliage with a hint of ivory flowers. They worked fabulously as table centres that allow guests to see one another and communicate, with the table décor finished off with gold tealights and a hanging table numbers. Chairs were dressed using three different styles of back bow in a break with tradition, each reflecting the colours and materials of the main theme for a pretty and elegant overall look.

The sweetheart table was, however, the pièce de résistance. Given the brief to ‘go big, or go home’ Laura went all-out to stunning effect. Hanging eucalyptus adorned the front of the table, with geometrics then scattered to the front of the table and candles on the floor in the foreground. The top of the table was then decorated with a chiffon table runner, geometrics with floating candles and little bottles of flowers. The Moongate sat behind the sweetheart table, bringing it all together yet affording the newlyweds their own private space to enjoy their first meal together as a married couple.

To complete the scheme, the all-important welcome sign, which sets the mood for the entire wedding, was crafted using an acrylic board topped with eucalyptus, the floor surrounding the sign was decorated with petals and geometrics and giant balloons to add height, colour and texture to the room.

The team then had to choose the other suppliers who would help them bring vision to reality; the bridal gown was sourced from local bridal boutique based Bridal Couture by Josephine – one of the top bridal lounges in the area – which stocks leading designers including Pronovias, Dando London Bridal and Justin Alexander. To complement the simplicity of the theme, model Kristy was dressed in a white, heavily beaded illusion bikini bodice A-line gown by Justin Alexander. No accessories were added allowing the dress to take centre stage, with Kristy doing her own hair & make-up. Dan, meanwhile, wore a stylish suit in Royal Blue with matching accessories and mid-brown brogue shoes provided by Gents which is also based in in Newcastle-under-Lyme and among The Boat House’s preferred suppliers.

The bridal bouquet was created by preferred supplier and top Stoke-on-Trent florist Parsley & Sage – given the ‘greenery’ brief they came up with a simply beautiful design that incorporated pink David Austin roses, white ranunculus and eucalyptus.

The cake was sourced from another preferred supplier Amerton Cakes which, constantly coming up with new collections, is at the forefront of modern cake design in Staffordshire. Their take on the brief was based on the ‘Luna’ design, which captures modern simplicity by using a minimal colour palette to highlight the crisp white base. Bringing together the green shades of eucalyptus with metallic geometric lines created a boho-luxe feel perfect for the stylish couple looking for an on-trend wedding cake.

When it comes to how couples can draw inspiration from this theme for their big day, Aishah says “We just loved the way this theme came together. It combined on-trend elements and materials to stunning effect that would work well in almost any setting and at any time of the year. It particularly suited The Boat House as it made the most of the blank canvas that the space offers, while bringing the gorgeous greenery that surrounds the venue inside and creating a seamless feel between the indoor and outdoor aspects of the day. Although this was a spring take on the theme, it would work equally well in summer, autumn and winter by simply switching the greenery used and accent colours. It’s hugely versatile.”

Credits

Venue The Boat House, Aston Marina

Photography Samantha Jayne Photography

Venue Dressing Elegant Affair

Florist Parsley & Sage

Dress Bridal Couture by Josephine

Cake Amerton Cakes

Suit Gents Suits

With thanks to models Kristy & Daniel

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