A celebration of bridal colour, craft and luxury fabrics

This shoot was the culmination of an idea I’d been sitting with for a really long time. As a wedding dress designer who loves colour, I’ve always introduced subtle tones into the dresses we create – champagnes, pale pinks, metallics, oysters and of course ivories – colours that fit beautifully within the bridal palette, but that wouldn’t necessarily be requested if weren’t presented as options. The idea for this shoot began as a vehicle to showcase the differences between those subtler bridal tones, to really highlight the variety and nuance between colours.

Over the last year we’ve added in some coloured dresses to our in-studio collection – created with brides in mind who want to wear a beautifully luxurious silk wedding dress, but aren’t keen to stick with the ‘white’ version. Coloured wedding dresses are always something we’ve created on request, but as dopamine dressing is having a moment right now, we thought we’d put these options out there instead of waiting to be asked.

These new colourful dresses meant that the shoot grew in scope, and became a celebration of colour, craft and luxury fabrics. With that in mind, we set about planning a one-day shoot utilizing six different backgrounds to showcase my dresses: gold, pink, green, blue, pale silver/dark grey (one paper backdrop lit differently to create two different looks) and champagne.

Photoshoot Set planning

I knew I wanted to mix up how the backgrounds looked in terms of texture and styling, and planned out of the seven colour sets with Anna from Swallows & Damsons – together deciding which ones should be keep plain, and which we’d style with props and fabrics, as well as which ones would feature her florals. I then sourced various fabric options to hang and drape over props, creating the texture and variety I was hoping for. I also made a set of 4 large circles, which I painted in shades of pinks and champagne to create background interest along with the additional props.

My lovely 2022 bride Alys was kind enough to lend me some of her epic collection of disco balls, delivering them in person from Liverpool – a car full of disco balls is a things of pure joy! Alys also loaned me her gorgeous Shrimps handbag too – thank you Alys!

Anna delivered two stunning bouquets for us to use – for the pinks: a two-tone pink beauty with tones ranging from deepest pink to ivory and all the tones in between. For the gold tones: a sunshine-filled bouquet full of poppies, blossom and ranunculus. She also installed blossom branches and green vibernum opulus which we used across various sets.

On the day, photographers Danni and Hollie, along with Debbie and I, worked to build up each set between looks, while Jenn switched up the model’s make-up to complement each new colourway.

Styling gowns with wedding accessories

We paired my dresses with headpieces from Debbie Carlisle’s latest Goddess collection, mostly utilizing her new botanical crowns which worked so well with my gowns and our model Nicole’s relaxed bob hairstyle. Debbie hand makes her pieces in gold-, silver- or rose gold-plated wire, and the crystals she selects come in different colour options too, so it was great to be able to pair up accessories that worked tonally with the looks we were creating.

Spanish shoe designer Chie Mihara was kind enough to lend four pairs of their stunning heels for this shoot. I’ve always been a huge fan of Chie’s deigns, I love their use of colour and playful yet elegant aesthetic. I opted for styles in bronze, blue, pink and green that we could blend with some colours and contrast with others, and they worked so beautifully with my dresses.

I also added in a few pieces from my own curation of accessories to elevate the looks – a couple of Daisy Sheldon’s intricately embroidered veils which worked so well with the pink and blue set-ups, and some modern freshwater pearl earrings by Blue Meadow. Jeweller Cathy Sutherland also lent us a wedding and engagement ring set too.

Shooting in both digital and analogue

Danni was our lead photographer on the shoot – shooting digital – and she invited Hollie along to work alongside her and capture some analogue pictures too. Hollie brought along a couple of old-school film cameras, in order to create different effects. Working in both mediums was great – it meant we could look at Danni’s images in real time on a computer screen as we went, checking we were happy with the set-up, lighting etc, whereas what Hollie captured was more of an unknown until it came back from the film developers.

Danni explains: “With analogue, you can achieve a softer, more organic feel to the images. It's also really exciting to see the results once the film is developed, as there's always an element of surprise and unpredictability. All in all, incorporating analogue photography into a styled shoot can add an extra layer of depth and artistry alongside the digital images.”

All female team

We shot this editorial on International Women’s Day, and it was such a privilege to create these gorgeous images with such a wonderful and talented group of women. Thanks so much to whole team for bringing this shoot to life with me.