Images by Charlotte Wise Photography.
Taking inspiration from current leading trends, and a touch of the Italian countryside, ‘The Modern Fairytale’ staged at wedding venue Hale Park is a contemporary love story. However, the bride is no longer a damsel in distress, but a strong confident woman living her best life.
The beautiful blooming wisteria that covers a large section of Hale Park was the driving force behind this styled shoot. The team waited patiently to make sure that they captured it at full flower, and it certainly did not disappoint! That is the fine beauty of Hale – just when you think you’ve discovered everything about this stunning wedding venue, something else astonishing happens during the calendar year.
Over to the shoot director and makeup artist, Frances Moore, for all the details…
Notes from the Director
Frances says…
Beside the impressive wisteria is a gorgeous sweeping terrace that overlooks the neatly clipped gardens of Hale, and beyond a view of the River Avon. To make full use of the vista and flowering wisteria, venue stylist and art director the Fabulous Company, designed a tablescape to complement such a unique setting. Using a soft purple tablecloth as the base to mimic the lighter shades of the wisteria flower, gold cutlery and white crockery were then added to elevate the design. Contrasting candle votives and additional simple florals provided interest without detracting from the setting. Beautifully designed personal place names and menu cards by Peony & Rose Wedding Stationery provide an elegant touch.
Deciding early on in the planning stage of the shoot to embrace a broad spectrum of colours – we played with the idea of introducing soft peach, pinks, greys, greens, blues, golds and of course the typical shades of wisteria such as purple and cream. Thankfully gone are the days where a couple might feel like they needed to stick to a particular ‘palette’ for their wedding and as wedding suppliers, breaking walls is something we utterly embrace.
Hampshire based florist, Jo Hicks Flowers, perfectly designed a fragrant bouquet using peonies, roses, greens and stocks to encapsulate that delicate fine beauty. Whilst cake designer Sparkle Bakes five tier masterpiece looked like something from a dream. The addition of the smaller complementary cupcakes, with real flecks of gold, provides a beautiful treat for guests.
Our heavenly bride Sophie perfectly modelled a Watters Wtoo wedding gown in the design ‘Naharah’. The gown features conservative long-sleeves with a modern touch. Tala lace covers the v-neck bodice which is then finished off with elegant pearl buttons, flowing down the back into the gown’s soft netting skirt. This along with Rachel Simpson shoes in ‘Cecilia Ivory’, ‘Mimosa Quartz’ and ‘Olivia Mauve’ were all provided by Hannah Elizabeth Bridal Boutique located in Botley.
All hair accessories were provided by the incredible award winning Kelly Spence. Showcasing an array of attractive adaptable designs through varying hairstyles and placement techniques, you can definitely understand why Kelly is so popular. And creating those perfect wedding hairstyles came down to talented hairstylist JMS Hair Design – mixing two up-styles into a gentle hair down style to prove how light and soft all styles can be made to be for this dreamy fairytale scheme.
Soft pinks featured heavily in the make-up looks, especially through the eyes. An Urban Decay palette was used along with MAC Dazzle-shadow liquid in ‘Not Afraid To Sparkle’ for the eye design. Keeping cheeks naturally flush with a peach toned blusher and lipstick by Dior in Coral, a shade favoured by the Duchess of Sussex, completed this princess perfect look.
Charlotte Wise Photography beautifully captured the fairytale look and feel of the styled shoot.
Credits
Venue Hale Park
Photography Charlotte Wise Photography
Director & Makeup Artist Frances Moore MUA
Venue Stylist, Art Direction & Tablescape Fabulous Company
Accessories Kelly Spence
Gown & Shoes Hannah Elizabeth Bridal Boutique
Hair JMS Hair Design
Flowers Jo Hicks Flowers
Stationery Peony & Rose Wedding Stationery
Cakes Sparkle Bakes
Ring Box La Petit Box
Glitter Eco Glitter Fun
With thanks to Model Sophie
