Pops of pink pack a powerful punch in today’s shoot at the beautiful Pepper Arden Hall, brought to you by the team at Blush & Blossom and some of their favourite fellow local suppliers.
The planner, designer and creative director at the heart of this styled shoot is Chloe of UNVELED Network Member Blush & Blossom Events who know a thing or two about styling and creating amazing weddings and events. Today we’re lucky enough to feature one of their latest creations, a bold take on a wholly traditional venue, albeit one new to the Yorkshire wedding industry scene.
Steady yourself for stunning bridal looks and multiple gowns of chiffon and lace, an explosion of pink toned florals set off by on-trend pampas grass and, in keeping with the limited but romantic palette, a dream cake complete with macramé detailing.
With images by David West Photography
CONCEPT
Chloe says: My inspiration from the shoot actually came from the venue itself. While creating this beautiful shoot, my focus was to have the venue at the forefront, and to have a true reflection of Pepper Arden Hall itself. The goal was to create a breathtakingly bold and elegantly timeless look, respecting the rich history of the hall, whilst emphasising the flexibility of the venue, allowing every couple to really become creative with their wedding and truly make their day their own. I chose a bohemian-luxe theme to portray this, naming the shoot “Breathtakingly Bold”. I wanted the venue to attract the attention it deserves, so I chose vivid colours, complemented with gold accents to give it the wow factor!
LOCATION
I came across the brand new venue through a friend, who mentioned there was a new place ready to take on bookings in North Yorkshire. After a little bit of digging, I found Pepper Arden Hall and met the wonderful owners Richard & Emma, who had recently utilised the mansion as a wedding venue. They were so excited about the idea of Blush & Blossom planning and designing their very first styled shoot! The venue is a stunning blend of contemporary and classic, being a grade II listed venue, with original antique furniture and 200 acres of beautiful land. Upstairs, the bedrooms have been uniquely designed with bold and beautiful printed wallpapers, funky furniture and neon lighting, a perfect combination of classic, romantic grandeur with a contemporary, boujee flare. To me, the upstairs has a comparability to Charlton Hall. Due to the contemporary/classic blend, I didn’t want to play it safe with the colour palette and opted for bold fuchsias complemented with blush tones and mixed foliage to bring the beautiful outside in.
STYLING
As we were lucky enough to be working within a venue that’s surrounded by the gorgeous North Yorkshire countryside, florals and foliage were a huge part of the styled shoot. Pepper Arden Hall’s enormous floor to ceiling Georgian windows provide the most gorgeous views for miles while allowing light to cascade throughout the hall, so our aim was to bring the breathtaking outside in, and surround the hall with bold and striking blooms. All floral elements and installations of the shoot were designed by The Enchanted Florist Durham.
We had a range of both oasis and foam-free designs to showcase the variety of designs. This included a wide range of florals, bleached and fresh foliage, dyed pampas grass and both natural and faux fans to add texture into the designs. I love pampas grass right now, but wanted to portray that if you’re having pampas grass in your wedding, it doesn’t always have to mean that you must have a rustic theme. You can still be experimental and bold by incorporating colour! Julie, from The Enchanted Florist, took my brief and ran with it, creating the most gorgeously bold bridal bouquets, centrepieces and large installations with her Enchanted touch.
The beautiful cake, provided by The Designer Cake Company, was a four-tier bohemian chic inspired cake, which reflected the theme of the shoot perfectly, incorporating fuchsia and blush gum paste florals and a gorgeous macramé design.
Kayleigh Falcus Gifts provided stunning laser cut gifts & accessories for the shoot, including intricate table names, name places and unique bridal jewellery which added that extra touch of bohemian flare to the Breathtakingly Bold shoot.
ATTIRE
For the attire, I wanted to focus on very elegant, textured dresses with bohemian influence, whimsical and flowing gowns incorporating textures and layers. Heather and Emmie from Alice Elizabeth listened to my brief and picked the dresses they’d love to showcase.
Dresses modelled by Emmie included the Heavenly By Heather Harker, exclusive to Alice Elizabeth which is a beautiful handsewn gown, designed and created for Alice Elizabeth Bridal, and the Dawson by Badgley Mischka, a floral lace and tulle mermaid gown with a beautiful low back, which was later paired with the Deanna overskirt, also by Badgley Mischka.
Dresses modelled by Georgia were the dreamy lace Callista gown by Badgley Mischka, which has the most stunning keyhole back which gives the dress a wow moment from whichever angle you see it! Georgia also wore the Ocilia by Enzoani, a gorgeously curve-hugging gown with a sweetheart neckline and detachable, off the shoulder straps, complete with Enzoani’s signature train, and the Nurit, also by Enzoani, a mermaid dress with a plunging V-neckline, lade with beaded embroidered lace and 3D floral motifs.
BEAUTY
The hair and makeup brief for the shoot was elegant with a bohemian twist; free-flowing, tousled curls and very relaxed, with the makeup to be soft, natural and glowy, in keeping with true bridal fashion.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions at the time, I had Carly, our makeup artist and hair stylist, on standby. She was so excited to be involved in the shoot in whatever way she could be, in keeping with the government guidelines.
By the time the day of shooting came around, the government guidelines had allowed for hair styling to go ahead, meaning Carly was able to style the models’ hair, creating the most gorgeous looks on both models, which were complemented by beautiful floral crowns by The Enchanted Florist, and hair accessories and veils by Alice Elizabeth Bridal. Unfortunately, beauty treatments were unable to be carried out due to Covid, so our models created their own makeup looks with their own products. Both looked absolutely stunning and did an amazing job at following the makeup brief!
RESULTS
The shoot went absolutely amazingly. I couldn’t have dreamed of a better team of suppliers to make my vision come to life. The plan was to have a lot more outdoor-focused shots, as the grounds of Pepper Arden Hall are just breath-taking, but the weather couldn’t have been any more typically British if it tried! From setting up to packing away, we had torrential rain, but that didn’t stop our talented team of suppliers getting out there and getting their hands dirty. By the end of the day, everyone was soaked to the bone and the cameras were almost waterlogged… but our rain shots were absolutely INCREDIBLE!
The highlight for me was simply seeing my design brief come to life through the work of the team involved. Not only was it so lovely to see the hard work of everyone create such a beautiful outcome, but it was amazing for us all to get back out into the wedding world, and for us wedding creatives to design a gorgeous shoot together after a wedding season like no other. As wedding suppliers, we have an absolute passion for the wedding industry, so after a year of postponements due to Covid, everyone loved being involved in such a fun-filled day that we get to share with you. It’s given us all a flow of positivity and inspiration that we all needed!
It was such an honour for Blush & Blossom Events to organise the very first styled shoot in this beautiful new venue, which is now available to hire. I wish Richard and Emma all the luck in the world going forward with their new venture into the wedding industry. I already know Pepper Arden Hall is going to be a very popular venue in the North East!
