We’re getting your Tuesday off to fine start with this styled shoot which features ones of the dreamiest colour palettes for the time of year. Rich berry and golden tones turn up the heat at the opulent Soughton Hall, a Georgian country house in North Wales that once was a bishop’s palace.
Award-winning make-up artist Cathryn Kerwin-Rawlinson engineered the shoot, having witnessed a dramatic change in the interior style of the venue since it changed ownership in the last couple of years. Here she shares her story behind the shoot and introduces us to the talented suppliers who assisted her in achieving her vision…
With images by Teresa C Photography.
cathryn says:
I regularly work and exhibit at Soughton Hall, which is close to Chester in the North Wales countryside. I love the details outside the property and the décor inside and wanted to create a rich and romantic look to complement the high-end venue.As a wedding venue, it is my personal favourite and I thought it was a great place to do an autumn/winter styled shoot, so I spoke to friends and contacts in the industry to see if they were interested in a collaboration. Everyone I asked was interested in the shoot and venue and wanted to take part. The theme we chose was romantic styling with rich berry and autumnal tones.
The interior décor of the main room at Soughton is navy blue and gold, so we wanted to pick up on the colours of the room but use rich colours to complement. We opted for a colour scheme of gold, navy, deep reds and burgundy. A Pinterest board was created and everyone knew that the look and feel for the shoot was opulence and richness.
For the table decorations, Vikki Sweeney from Sapphire Bespoke Events went for very rich golds and jewel colours, while the flowers by Carol Anne’s were a mix of deep reds, again taking inspiration from the Pinterest board we all created before the shoot. Lindsey Devlin of Devlin Designs created invitations and table cards, again picking up on the chosen colour scheme.
In the summer, I did a wedding for a bride who wore an Essense of Australia gown from Bellissima Brides and I rated it my top dress for 2017. And so, when Carol Ellis-Thompson, our hair stylist, contacted Bellissima to see if they would like to take part, we asked them to bring some of their Essence gowns along. Our model, Gaby, suited these gowns perfectly and they fitted her like a glove!
Hair stylist Carol is known locally for her love of romantic and soft hair styles and, with this shoot featuring several gowns, she wanted to do a mix of hair up and hair down dos to show off her varied ability with bridal hair styling.
As a make-up artist, I love to produce classic, timeless and elegant looks. For this shoot, I wanted to create flawless, glowing skin, which was achieved using RCMA foundation with highlighter from Charlotte Tilbury. The eye colour I used was a mix of champagne tones with berry accents, using a ‘Modern Renaissance’ palette from Anastasia Beverly Hills. For Gaby’s lips, I chose deep reds, dark burgundies and a pink/berry tone; as we changed dresses, I changed the lip.
Our male model for the day was Josh, who styled himself using his own clothing – and what a wardrobe he had! Burgundy chinos, dicky bows and blazers. We wanted to go for a country gentleman look and Josh looked really fantastic: very dapper and striking.
When looking for a photographer, Teri, of Teresa C Photography, was very much on our must-have list. Her work is beautiful and she has such a wonderful reputation in our area, so getting her involved was amazing.
The whole team got on so well and each of us embraced the theme and the styling for the shoot; this really shows in the way it all came together and in the stunning images Teri produced.