The life of a creative wedding industry type is a busy one and photographer Camilla from Camilla Lucinda Photography wasn’t alone in feeling exhausted at the end of a hectic and successful summer season. However, instead of hanging up her camera and kicking back for a well-deserved break, she rallied together a group of like-minded North West and East-based industry experts for some sublime creative play at her family’s farm in Carlisle. And boy, are we glad she did.
This rustic, nature-inspired autumn wedding shoot is full of charming homespun details with crates, chalkboards and pops of autumnal colour all making an appearance. It also features the bridal trend we can’t get enough of: yup, a sumptuous berry lip. Half prim and proper, half full-on fashion-y, we’re huge fans of this bold, seasonal look.
If you’re planning on getting hitched in autumn, this one definitely is for you. Making the most of the season’s gorgeous light, Camilla showcases the kind of sun-soaked photographs you can aspire to if you’ve set the date for September or October.
With images by Camilla Lucinda Photography. Model Sian Ashton.
camilla says
: After a busy summer season for all suppliers involved in the wedding industry, I approached a couple I knew regarding doing something a bit more fun and creative. When shooting weddings (or creating bouquets, headwear, cakes etc), you tend to be creating something to a fairly strict brief – with the shoot, though, we wanted to establish an overall theme and then let each supplier run with their own ideas. It was a shoot where we could all afford to think a little bit more ‘outside the box’. Personally, I wanted to do something that refreshed my creativity, and allowed me to play with natural light. After all, you can only really test your ideas on a shoot like this rather than on someone’s big day.
The title we all worked off was ‘A Rustic, Sun-Drenched Autumnal Wedding’. I created a big mood board for all the suppliers and let them use that as their starting point for inspiration. Colour-wise, we all looked towards plants and trees in autumn and the colours they naturally produce: darker green hues, maroons, rich reds, as well as burnt oranges. The sunshine really worked with the scheme, drenching the photographs and props in beautiful golden sunlight.
Colt Close Farm is our family farm; my grandparents – both 91! – currently live there. Since starting my wedding photography career and shooting lots of different barn-styled weddings, it’s been on my mind how amazing our family farm could be for a wedding or styled shoot. Therefore, it was totally my first choice location-wise. It allowed us to have full run of the property and surrounding land too, which was a huge bonus.
We wanted the styling to be in keeping with the look of the farm, so a mix of elegant vintage and a natural rustic vibe. The farmhouse itself is a beautiful sandstone brick building, so with the table set-up we went down the vintage/elegant route with a floral table runner, vintage table settings and candle holders from my gran’s personal collection. Calligraphy-wise, Jessica from Handwritten Decor created wooden and chalkboard signs, following the current trend in the industry and fitting nicely with the rustic farmyard setting. The flowers were supplied by Roseberry Floral and were stunning. We mixed and matched lots of details in different settings, for example the floral table runner was used on the table set up, over the bride’s forearms behind the cake, at the bottom of the Pimp Your Prosecco station, and around the Love At First Bite setup – it’s creative (and cost-effective!) to reuse elements for different parts of a day.
We wanted the flowers and headwear to be a colourful focal point, and we wanted a very classic, elegant and simple gown to go with them; a dress that wouldn’t draw focus from the other two elements, but instead one that would complement them. Linda from White House Bridal did an amazing job of selecting the ideal gown!
Hair-wise, we didn’t want anything too ‘set’ but rather a feminine romantic vibe, especially with Sian’s beautiful long dark locks. I asked talented stylist Claire from Peaches and Cream Hair to keep the hair down, but also add a style or braid to it, keeping the look very clean and pretty looking. Claire was an absolute dream to work with: she took my very vague brief and created something awesome!
For the makeup, we really wanted to showcase a berry lip. Lauren (from Lauren Amy Makeup) and I have both noticed the trends turning from brides asking for a nude, natural finish to a stronger look. We both love a bolder lip on a bride – it suits nearly everyone and just accentuates the face a little more. I definitely notice the difference when editing my final photographs!
The wedding industry is amazing; however, it can be quite a solitary existence. The aim for the shoot was for suppliers to come together and work creatively with each other – sometimes you need a little refresh and to bounce ideas off other creatives. Sara of Sara Gadd Millinery created a headpiece especially for the shoot, and she and Jessica were a fantastic creative team, organising each little decorative station, i.e. the Love at First Bite area and the Pimp your Prosecco stand. They even came up with the idea of putting Sara’s headwear on top of the cake (from The Cutie Pie Cake Company) to add more colours and a floral finish.
Our creative aim was definitely achieved; it was simply an incredibly fun day with a truly lovely lot of suppliers involved. The saying ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’ definitely did not apply to our situation!
