No Rest For The Wicked: Halloween Bride | Styled Wedding Inspiration

There’s something incredibly spoooooky going on on the blog this morning, in fact, you could say it’s downright wicked! From the moment this otherworldly styled bridal shoot dropped into my inbox I’ve been DYING to share with you.

I love the digital manipulation used to create a levitating bride and the ghostly apparitions. Everyone who contributed should be super proud of their ghoulish involvement and especially Gwenda who not only styled the shoot and flowers but was the hauntingly chic ghost bride too. Enjoy XxX

© 2012 Martin Hobby Photography

The Concept:

The photographer, Martin (Martin Hobby Photography) and I go back a long way and we work incredibly well together – our creative visions are in tune with each other and this makes the styling and production of a shoot work effortlessly. We both desired to create a Halloween-themed shoot but instinctively knew that there wasn’t to be a hint of fancy dress about it.

I sought to infuse the ghostly theme of the shoot with a hint of romance, to create something more glamorous than ghoulish. To be fair, I knew that Martin wanted to push the boundaries further…there’s always next year! I’ve taken on a lot of styling and coordinating projects of late and a throwaway remark I made when this was pointed out gave rise to the title for this shoot…’No Rest for the Wicked’. There was certainly to be no rest for me as I was to provide the flowers, co-ordinate the collaborators, create the overall styling concepts and model the dresses themselves…never let it be said that I shy away from a challenge!

The Other Collaborators:

I have had the pleasure of working with some extremely talented and creative individuals and have built up a strong and reliable network of contacts. As soon as the theme was established in my mind, I approached two exceptional independent dress designers, Faith (Faith Caton-Barber Bespoke Bridal & Evening Wear) and Charlotte (Charlotte Bridal), for the all-important bridal gowns. I wanted each dress to have a different style so that we had a ‘ghost’ for four eras. They met the brief with four beautifully constructed gowns, which I hope I did justice to.

To complement the dresses, the hair and make-up was to vary accordingly – this required a skilled and fast-working hand and this I found in the lovely Ela (Home Hairdressing). She built up the intensity of the look gradually and did an incredible job of handling some outrageous false eyelashes! Two wonderful contributors provided the finishing touches: Caroline (Rosie Weisencrantz Vintage Jewellery) provided some exquisite jewellery and hair accessories – perfectly crafted with an eye for unusual detailing, each piece is a mini-vintage masterpiece; Karen (Dornellie) provided magical veils to add mystery and the essential ghostly ‘swish’.

I have the sweetest tooth, so to satisfy it I asked Reshmi (Anges de Sucre) for some magnificent macarons and Elizabeth (Elizabeth’s Cake Emporium) for some show-stopping cakes and candies – what they both brought to the shoot were beyond my tooth’s highest expectations.

The remaining details emphasised the glamour and beauty side to the bridal shoot. An amazing cascading brooch bouquet was made especially for the shoot by Jinder (The Finer Details). It was entirely encrusted with ravishing rhinestones for the ultimate dazzling wow factor. Gleaming silver and glassware from Isabelle (Couvert) created opulent place settings and the tall lanterns furnished the staircase. Beautiful natural confetti from Rosie (Bespoke Confetti) provided an ethereal decorative touch.  The designs of my flowers (The Vintage Floral Design Co.) aimed to echo the different styles of dresses and be suggestive of different moods – stronger forms for the bolder silhouettes, gentle gatherings for the flowing gowns.

The Day Itself:

The owner of Oxon Hoath kindly allowed us to shoot in the house and gardens – the staff were wonderfully welcoming and accommodating of a bunch of creative types and their peculiar ways!

Though I have provided the overall concept, I’m keen to allow the collaborators who are able to make it in person plenty of input into the styling. They are the experts in their fields and products and know how to make the very best of them. We had plenty to work with and the ideas just kept on flowing – in fact, I think that we must have all led very wicked lives as there was no rest for any of us that day!

The Conclusion:

For and epic shoot, you need an awesome team and that’s exactly what I had. Everyone deserves a massive pat on the back for all their hard work and dedication to realising this concept. I can say that without a shred of doubt, the images Martin captured were everything I was hoping for. In the end, we did manage to sneak in a few ‘less than conventional’ shots… who knew I was able to levitate that high, become almost transparent, rotate my head like something out of a 70s horror film and be devoid of a reflection! Roll on next Halloween…

Oh my god is this shoot awesome or is it AWESOME. I absolutely adore the styling, so, so chic. Beautiful flowers, dresses and accessories definitely make this shoot para-normally pretty. What do you think my dears?

AWESOMENESS CREDITS >>>>>>

Venue: Oxon Hoath

Photographer: Martin Hobby Photography

Model: Gwenda

Hair & Make-Up: Home Hairdressing

Flowers & Styling: The Vintage Floral Design Co.

Wedding Dresses:  Faith Caton-Barber Bespoke Bridal & Evening Wear; Charlotte Bridal

Veils: Dornellie

Jewellery & Hair Accessories: Rosie Weisencrantz Vintage Jewellery

Brooch Bouquet: The Finer Details Design Studio

Cakes: Elizabeth’s Cake Emporium

Macarons: Anges de Sucre

Table Settings & Lanterns: Couvert

Confetti: Bespoke Confetti

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