Winter in Rye: A Rustic Luxe Bridal Shoot with a Nautical Vibe

Winter in Rye is a rustic-luxe bridal shoot with a fresh nautical vibe – captured at The Gallivant in the quaint sea-side town of Rye, the watercolour blues of the stationery, pretty coloured glass and textured and rustic detailing will have you dreaming of your own beach inspired wedding.

Words by Lau and images by Kathryn Forsyth Photography.

We were looking to create an inspiration shoot that showed an elegant, attractive and unusual way to include nautical themes, textures and colours while keeping things light and fresh.

The colour scheme came from a photograph of some rusty chain from a fishing boat, and when we were offered the use of the beautiful space of the all year round marquee at The Gallivant, we jumped at the chance to make our ideas real. Our watchwords were rustic luxe, and we really felt that winter styling is about more than icy colours and red and gold.

The dresses were about elegance and simplicity, as a foil to the textures and colours in the rest of the styling. The blue satin is a remarkably flattering colour, and while unusual for modern weddings, is an ancient and traditional colour for brides.

The lightly structured bodice adds a touch of formality, while still being easy to wear, and the off the shoulder neckline gives both a modern and period look in one.

The ivory lace and crepe backed satin dress is a very fluid and unstructured gown, for a woman who wants complete freedom of movement while still feeling dressed up.

To complement the beautiful dresses, Jem used two knit creations. First, a dusky blue shawl which is called ‘The Beauty of the Rain’ and made with 100% yak yarn. Also, a lacy silver shawl called ‘The moon and the Sky’ and made with a merino silk mix yarn.

Both shawls were designed and knit by Jem at Arrowsmith Designs and the patterns are available to download through the knitting website Ravelry.

For the cake, being a nautical inspired photoshoot, Lau at French Made wanted to recreate that rust effect you see on big chains in harbours and add a few flowers for extra prettiness.