Cosy up for a closer look at this perfect, autumnal orchard styled shoot. We’re heading to Cheshire, Duddon Mill Farm, for some good old fashioned fresh air and apple pickin’. And a beautifully curated styled shoot, of course!
Photographer Jo was inspired by her literary heroes to create an idyllic English country style affair in a perfect orchard setting, one which suited her romantic, editorial style wedding photography to a T. Gathering a dream team of some fantastic local suppliers, she’s pulled together a whole lot of Autumnal inspo for you guys! If you’re currently in the planning stages of your wedding and seeking some super pretty traditional country styling, then look no further!
We’re being swept up in warm, deep and neutral tones coming through in the wild florals, bespoke stationery and some amazing cake artistry. The intimate and understated setup has really been reflected in the boho chic bridal wear, coupled with an undone but bold beauty look for the lovely model. We reckon Tess Durbeyfield herself would be a fan!
Over to the talented Jo to find out more about ‘The Orchard’ shoot behind the scenes…
With images by Jo Bradbury Photography
Jo says
: I’d had an orchard shoot idea floating around in my head for a while, and I particularly wanted to shoot it in Autumn, with all the beautiful colours and the fruit ready for picking. I’m also a big Thomas Hardy fan, my favourite book being Tess of The D’Urbervilles with its portrayal of country life, so I wanted to also give a little nod to this in the shoot. The shoot is simply titled ‘The Orchard’.
LOCATION
I love Instagram for inspiration and am always scrolling. I stumbled across a beautiful picture of an orchard which belonged to the wonderful Duddon Mill Farm, a new family-run wedding venue near Tarporley in Cheshire. The wonderful team were very happy to let us shoot there and couples can actually hold wedding blessing ceremonies in the orchard itself too.
STYLING
Kate, from Agnes and Bee, is so talented. She creates seasonal and unstructured florals using the best of British grown flowers. She created this absolutely stunning, wild, natural in style, asymmetric arch for us, using an Autumnal palette of deep reds, caramels, golds and coppers, a colour scheme which also ran through the bouquet and table decorations, and ribbons which were provided by Cfleursdesign.
I found the bespoke stationery, White Flamingo, on Etsy and Kimberley very kindly added in some key names from Thomas Hardy’s novel. Mel from The Bakery At Number 4 created a beautiful hand painted rustic cake with her usual impeccable attention to detail, which sat perfectly amongst all the apple trees.
ATTIRE
Amy at JJ Designs Bridal, one of the leading bridal shops in Staffordshire, was so wonderful and loaned us a selection of beautiful gowns for the day. We chose a very soft romantic dress in keeping with the theme and then went for a more boho trouser suit for a slightly edgier look. Both models, Melissa and Elliot, looked perfect in situ.
BEAUTY
Manchester-based Jen Eachus chose a soft romantic look for Melissa’s hair and make up, to tie in with both the dress and the country feel of the day. Then she went for a stronger lip colour and a soft loose hairstyle for our second look.
RESULTS
It’s a real joy when you work with such talented people, and also get to work in such a beautiful landscape, surrounded by trees, deep in the Cheshire countryside. We were very lucky with the weather too, it cleared early on so we had a rain free day and I’m so happy with the results.
