The team at Howards Events have been busy with a real treat for you in this loved-up styled shoot, with fun and whimsical styling and balloons galore.
We’ve got the ‘getting ready’ photos that you and your bride tribe will be swooning over, all the blush tones and hushed hues, and an abundance of florals and pops of ultra-pretty, soft, warm peachy pinks as a twist on the traditional Valentine’s palette.
This shoot makes a real statement with unbelievable and on-trend OTT floral crowns and timeless dramatic views over both the Hooton Pagnell grounds and the surrounding wild Yorkshire countryside. And that’s without mentioning the fabulous patterned dress!
We’ve been chatting to Tammy and Mike from Howards Events to get the low down and bring you all of the dreamy details.
With images by Terri Pashley Photography
INSPIRATION
TAMMY & MIKE SAY
: We wanted to create a styled shoot with a difference and a real concentration on bridal prep. Inspired by Valentine’s Day, we created a luxurious valentines shoot using balloons, but not in the traditional Valentine’s Day red colours. With the stunning 13th century Hooton Pagnell Hall, we chose the colour scheme to match the mood of the rooms.
LOCATION
We wanted something a bit different, Tammy had an idea in her head of a free-standing bath filled with balloons, and of being able to use this room for bridal prep. It also tied in with Valentines day coming up so rather than using the typical reds we opted for more blush, ivory, mocha and rosewood tones to match the rooms we used. Hooton Pagnell has the most amazing rooms and grounds, so we knew it was the right venue for our shoot.
STYLING
Over 80 helium balloons were used to fill the ceiling, then balloon arches were created to give the look of them flowing out of the bath.
We had a range of handmade headpieces from Flox Bridal. The flowers used to create the stunning bouquet by The Flower Shop were avalanche roses, veronica, eucalyptus, olive leaves, pampas grass, white hypericum berries and some dried gold and silver leaves, all tied with a taffeta ribbon. We wanted to work with flowers that were on trend at the minute and pampas grass is huge right now. The bridal headdress was wired using the same flowers to match the bouquet with the added pampas grass. We kept the colour scheme neutral so it would tie in with anything.
ATTIRE
The gowns featured are from Its Bliss Bridal in Doncaster, a family run bridal shop that’s been helping brides for over 30 years. As one of the largest stores in the South Yorkshire area, you can find a huge range of styles there from traditional, romantic bridal gowns to some more unique designs like the ones featured in this shoot.
They stock your traditional designers like Ronald Joyce, Mori Lee and Justin Alexander and have also built a range of gowns that are from limited collections, as well as bespoking existing gowns, for those looking for something a little more unique. We chose the particular dresses in the shoot to match the Valentine’s themed, warm colour palette, while still fitting in with the more traditional surroundings of Hooton Pagnell Hall.
BEAUTY
For the make up looks, we wanted to use a neutral palette with a touch of pink on the lips to tie in with the theme of the shoot. The skin was kept fresh and natural, subtle gold tones were used on the eyes, again to compliment the theme.
For the hairstyles we wanted to show the versatility of the accessories that we used. The first look was a soft boho, relaxed wave, whilst our bride was getting ready. The second look was a textured, relaxed updo. We added a matching hair comb to show how several pieces can work together to create your chosen look.
For the final look we added a fresh, floral crown to show the flexibility of the colours we had chosen, and to match with our final dress choice. All of these looks were created to suit the modern bride who wants to have a traditional look but with a modern twist, to make it their own.
RESULTS
It was such a smooth shoot, everything from each supplier worked perfectly. Hooton Pagnell hall was the perfect venue to bring everything together. The tones of the balloons, the flowers and the dresses worked together to create a pretty Valentine’s inspired colour palette. A highlight for Terri, as the photographer, was when the sunshine came out at just the right time to light the shot in the bridal suite, as the caramel tones work perfectly.
