dreamy, romantic bridal portraits in the Peak District heather

With the Peak District heather back in full, glorious bloom just now, I was reminded of this lovely little collaborative shoot I arranged last year with photographer Danni Maytree, which for some reason I’ve not shared yet in full.

Danni and I were keen to create some ethereal, romantic pictures out in the heather, and asked our lovely friend Lauren to model for us. The wonderfully talented Lauren Eaton was up for helping us out on hair and make-up duties, creating a soft, tousled wave in Lauren’s hair, and fresh subtle peachy tones on Lauren’s cheeks, eyes and lips. Danni arranged for Campbell’s Flowers to create a stunning, soft toned bouquet full of late summer floral goodness – Cosmos, Dahlia and Zinnia in shades of white, blush and apricot.

Styling our silk and lace wedding gowns and bridal separates

For our first look, Lauren wore my Dahlia all-over lace gown. This dress was an old sample gown and was already damaged at the hem – which meant we could be less careful than usual about taking it outdoors and Lauren could get right in amongst the ferns – a very liberating experience for a bridal designer let me tell you!

We styled Dahlia with a simple but striking pearl headband Prue by Debbie Carlisle and a pair of two-toned diamond-shaped pearl earrings by Jennie Gill – two pieces selected from our accessories curation.

The full skirted style of Dahlia looks so dreamy in these images – I love the shape it creates as Lauren moves through the ferns and grasses.

Second up, Lauren changed into the Rosa lace jacket worn over our Camellia silk slip dress. We swapped the earrings for another pair by Jennie Gill – this time a beautiful looping pair with a south sea pearl at the centre of a delicate seed-like shape.

The oversized cut of the Rosa jacket works so well paired with a slimline slip dress, the two pieces paired together balance one another so beautifully. This simple two-piece style is such a gorgeously laid-back, gently bohemian look.

For our third and final look, we kept the Camellia slip dress as a base and added in the Thistle long sleeved lace top. An elongated style created in a delicately patterned Chantilly lace, brought in at the waist with a slimline herringbone bugle beads ribbon belt that we make in the studio.

This was such a fun shoot to be a part of, it was really just a lovely afternoon hanging out with (very talented!) friends – and I love the shots Danni captured – hope you like them too!