Winter Wedding Moggerhanger Park

Romantic dusky pink and brass wedding styled shoot

As a photographer planning a styled shoot, I am always making sure I keep up to date on the latest fashions and trends within the wedding industry.

Months before the shoot, I came across two images on Pinterest and quickly saved them and referred back to them time and time again. One image was a blush pink dried flower arrangement and the second, a brass tray with a ring box and flower bouquet.

I approached Elizabeth Hall Event Design with the idea of a bridal inspiration shoot around this theme and she jumped at the chance to try something little often seen. As a wedding planner and stylist and caterer, Elizabeth used images favoured by brides to establish the wedding theme that they are looking to create. We agreed that brass was something may of us had grown up with in our parents houses, but has been somewhat taken for granted by the wedding industry. For many couples, it can be important for them to incorporate family items or heirlooms in their wedding, so picking out beautiful brass items was a nice touch. For example, I used my mother in law’s brass plate which is been in her family for generations to display the beautiful stationary from Carla of Carla Corrado Designs.

Using our pinterest board, the whole team were able to follow the direction in which we were going and contribute ideas accordingly. Joanna from Woburn Bridal chose two bridal looks for the shoot. The first was a soft tiered dress from Katya Katya Shehurina. For the ceremony photos we paired the dress with heels from Florence and a pearl choker from Kelly Spence Bridal Accessory Design. We changed up this look for outside by adding a tiered veil from The Couture Veil and swapping the heels for leather floral trainers from Florence. The dress is feminine and the soft layers of tulle move beautifully. By accessorising with modern trainers and a choker the look was fashionable yet wearable.

For the photography in the woods we chose a one off couture dress from Terry Fox. The dramatic dress is made of ombre pink lace with flowing bell sleeves and an illusion back and suited the wild surroundings. The vintage silhouette of the dress and soft waved hair were complimented with vintage drop earrings. It created a striking bohemian bridal look.

The hair was inspired by the fact that I was looking for movement and texture within the shots. Morna from Wedlock created a sophisticated, yet loose up do which was able to hold the veil but also move freely with the wind.

It was important to me that the make up was relevant to the Winter season. Emma from Athena Mobile Beauty used a foundation which created a dewy glow and applied a cream to the eyes for that sparkle bright eyes look.

Elizabeth picked up on the theme expressed in a bridal table scape with beautiful dusky pink fabric as well as a seating area where the couple and wedding guests would be welcome to sit and share a hot chocolate with marshmallows. Using the incredible flower arch from Becky Florae Foray, Elizabeth used foliage with pink touches to create a beautiful handing instillation for the ceremony area inside Moggerhanger itself. Using the brief Becky opted for dusky pinks with strong warm tones, designing a, not oversized but dramatic shower bouquet using Menta Roses, Anthuriums, dried Lotus Heads, Astilbe, Grasses and Grevillia trails.

In terms of the photography, I had a very clear idea of what I wanted to achieve and having admired Moggerhanger Park for years, was keen to use as many of it’s unique corners as possible given the light limitations relative to the time of year. The aim was to capture images with golden tones, where the couple would be cuddling and smiling and keeping each other close for warmth. I planned to use the woodland for atmospheric shots, the front of the house for the open and epic shots and the walled gardens for the romantic close shots.

As a photographer, a wedding venue with such variety as Moggerhanger is truly a gift and can provide the couple with a chance to sneak off and digest that they are actually married! All the while I can capture those precious moments in a natural and non obtrusive way with 30-45 minutes.

Winter wedding weather can be a real advantage when creating those intensely frosty scenes. For our shoot, the weather was overcast and windy but this helped create wonderful movement from the veil and hair as well as heart warming expressions on the couples faces.

Sparkles, glitter and candles work really well during winter weddings and can create fun for friends and family before you head in for your warm wedding breakfast. Making the most of our time was crucial and between 3-3:30pm, you can see the rich light added a wonderful warm shimmer to the brides face and dress.