Coral Elegance at Swanton Morley House & Gardens 

The chosen colour for 2019 is ‘Living Coral’, a peachy orange shade which is meant to reflect the “innate need for optimism and joyful pursuits”. Swanton Morley House & Gardens curated a fabulous team of wedding suppliers to bring this coral palette to life, so keep scrolling and see what you think of this years hue!

Caroline says…

It was a pleasure to welcome some of Norfolk’s finest wedding suppliers on a cold and rather wet day in February but, we were all warmed by this colourful and inspirational styled wedding shoot. The idea of the shoot came from Amber Briggs of Love Wedding Cakes who wanted to showcase how couples could add bright and warm colours into their wedding day, by either adding small accents and “pops” of colour or by embracing a full colourful spectrum. ‘Living Coral’ is a perfect colour to add depth, warmth and vibrancy to a wedding colour scheme and compliments many other colours too.  For our shoot we also added cool greys and hot pinks to give a modern elegant feel.

The Venue

Here at Swanton Morley House and Gardens, we are known for our 10 acres of beautiful gardens, meadow and woodland.  However, our love of gardens also extends into our elegant wedding venue rooms which surround our unique courtyard marquee.  With planting throughout, our courtyard has a lovely Mediterranean feel and flows seamlessly through double french doors into the surrounding rooms of the converted stables with double height ceilings, exposed oak beams and panelled walls.

Available for weddings between May and October, we are an exclusive wedding venue offering only a limited number of weddings each year. For the shoot we used the courtyard marquee, ceremony room and even ventured outside to one of our covered seating areas.  So, whatever the weather our venue can always offer plenty of areas to capture stunning wedding imagery.

The Photos

The imagery for our shoot was captured by Tim Stephenson Photography and videography was by Mike Savory. Both are award-winning and experts in their field and worked incredibly hard to capture the shoot perfectly. They have a fun and relaxed style which puts couples at ease but definitely have all the skills and creativity to capture beautiful and timeless wedding imagery.

The Fashion

The gorgeous bridal gowns were provided by Adella, a luxurious bridal boutique located at the historic Ketteringham Hall in Norfolk. Owner, Amy brought a selection of bridal gowns and accessories from the boutique’s extensive range which includes designer labels and Adella’s own collection which is designed in-house and exclusive to them.

Libby wore a Madison James gown in ivory champagne with a beautifully fluid chiffon skirt, balanced with an intricately beaded bodice and cold shoulder detailing. This gorgeous gown was also teamed with a bespoke designed hand painted leather jacket by artist BertieValentine for an effortlessly cool bridal cover-up.

Lydia, also wore a Madison James gown in ivory and silver. This gorgeous sheath styled dress included a delicate feather-like lace and sequinned detailing with a tiered effect.

Jumara wore a Dando London Gown in ivory. This stunning all-over lace column style gown, featured shoe string straps with a sweetheart neckline, cut-out illusion side panels and a dropped V-back.

The Bridesmaids

The bridesmaids dresses were designed and made by Holly at Willow and Pearl and featured their newest sleeve design which has been added to their “create your own” designer dress range. The “Waterfall” sleeve is the sixth sleeve to be added to their range, sitting alongside six bodice options, two dress lengths and 51 colour options bringing the total number of different dress design combinations to a dizzying 3,672.

For the shoot, Holly selected the Temple dress with its classic straight bateau neckline, the Cloud dress with its draped cowl neck and the Fern v-neck dress. These were all made from their signature fabric in coral with all the bodices being paired with the new Waterfall sleeve. The beautiful jersey fabric is incredibly flattering to all shapes and sizes and has lovely movement and femininity.

The Hair and Make-up

The elegant and romantic make-up and hairstyles were created by make-up artist Amanda and bridal hair stylist Michelle for Amanda Steed Hair and Make-up. With a passion for make-up looks which enhance brides natural beauty and elegant hairstyles to suit face shapes and bridal gowns, Amanda and her team are experts in creating contemporary looks with a timeless feel.

Using soft peaches and warm tones, Amanda created a natural look that was sophisticated and beautifully complemented our models stylish bridal gowns and bridesmaids dresses.

Michelle, added to the overall look with some amazing hairstyles, mixing between plaits and twists to create texture and shape with a classic twist. Libby’s hair was styled with fishtail braids crossing over with a Dutch braid through to the top and finishing with an infinity braid and beach waves. For Lydia’s hair, Michelle created a low textured chignon bun and Jaumara’s elegant up-do included braids and twisted rose shapes.

The Cakes

Amber of Love Weddings Cakes designed and made an elegant trio of cakes which created a stunning display. The cakes included a single tier cake, hand-painted in a watercolour ombre effect of coral through to white. The two-tier cake was decorated with a delicate grey marble finish and the centre piece was a four-tier cake finished in white icing with a beautiful contemporary edge.  All the cakes were decorated with handcrafted sugar flowers in shades of bright coral, peach and pink and included gorgeous roses and blousy peonies.

The Flowers

The stunning flowers arrangements for the shoot were designed by Corrina of Olive et Fleur. Corrina used a colour palette of warm coral and peachy tones, hot pinks, fresh greens, whites and slivers to create sumptuous handtied bridal and bridesmaids bouquets. Brimming with blooms, including the elegant “Juliet” rose by David Austin, the bouquets also included tulips, ranunculus and anemones with texture being added with the use of ferns, delicate waxflowers and succulents.

The bold colours and lavish flowers were also used for the two striking pedestal arrangements and also included masses of greenery, trailing ivy and jasmine for a elegant flowing look. The luxurious floral theme was continued with blooms and greenery being added to the table décor and Corrina dotted roses, ranunculas and tulips amongst the wispy jasmine trails to evoke a fresh garden inspired feel for wedding dining.

The Tablescape and Wedding Stationery

To set the scene for elegant dining, our wedding breakfast table was dressed with a runner of wispy foliages and contrasting peach and pink florals. The tableware, which was provided by CMA Hire included their white marbled glass plates and their new range of stylish matt grey concrete plates. The look was completed with dove grey linens, antique gold cutlery and glassware including smoke grey water tumblers.

Sam of Sam Wood Design, handcrafts beautiful and bespoke wedding stationery which are unique to every couple. For our shoot Sam created sophisticated wedding invitations and complementary wedding stationery items using a coral watercolour wash on white card for a crisp and clean look. Other designs including, bespoke menus, table numbers and a welcome sign were hand-painted in white onto clear acrylic boards with washes of coral on the reverse to give the designs a burst of colour.

And finally…

We hope this beautiful shoot provides lots of wedding day ideas and inspiration and finally, but by no means least, we finish with Mike’s beautiful storytelling film of the shoot which also includes some behind the scenes moments!

Venue Swanton Morley House & Gardens

Photography Tim Stephenson Photography

Film Mike Savory

Bridal Boutique Adella Bridal Boutique

Bridesmaids Dresses Willow & Pearl

Cakes Love Wedding Cakes

Flowers Olive Et Fleur

Hair and Make Up Amanda Steed Hair and Make-up

Tableware CMA Hire

Stationery and Signage Sam Wood Design

With thanks to models Lydia, Libby and Jumara