Small Wedding Inspiration Vibes
This gorgeous shoot was inspired in essence through lockdown and wishing we were eating something delicious, celebrating love and being somewhere sunny!
We don’t want to harp on about COVID but when a previous shoot with Jackie from Fox and Beau and Grace from Young Blooms was cancelled due to lockdown, I knew that I wanted to make something magical with them as soon as we were allowed to get outside and play!
Jackie’s style is so informal, yet captures those intimate and gorgeous moments, I love her work and I did the biggest squeal of excitement when I saw them come through!
Words by Lauren Alexander Weddings. Photography byFox and Beau.
With so many of my weddings postponed or changed, I noticed that the most important element to my couples was that they were with their closest friends and nearest family. The dream of a larger wedding, although was still their number one choice, was being replaced with a more intimate, small wedding where they can say their vows, make a beautiful commitment to one another and celebrate in whichever way they could at that point.
Through lockdown, the importance of family and our closest friends really shone through, and for us suppliers, we really wanted to showcase how beautiful and intimate micro-weddings really can be. They might be a ‘Plan B’ for some couples, but they can also be a really beautiful way to bring together your nearest and dearest and celebrate the love you have for one another in a stylish way, and I predict that this will now start to become Plan A, with perhaps a larger party later on when that looks more valid.
Certainly, the call of summer months, the sunshine and the lack of holidays abroad influenced my styling. Creating a Greek-inspired wedding day brought out the beautiful tones of the summer, but is also so uplifting and nostalgic. I love watching ribbons play in the wind, as well as candles dancing into the twilight night sky, and as such the outdoors was so important to embrace for this wedding.
I wanted to create a table fit for a family to sit at, to graze, and to informally eat. I imagined lots of wine, beautiful songs carried on the wind, the smell of lavender in the air and stunning food and cake. Then dancing the night away outside under the stars, they could dip into the small greenhouse and take part in a covid secure non-contact photobooth by The Proper Booth and just while away the early evening dancing and laughing. The table has so much colour, texture and interest. From greek tiles used as trivets, deep blue glassware and vintage cutlery to woven placemats and vintage blue and white plates.
The table was delicately finished off with Grace’s stunning floral arrangements. We chose Hartley Farm as the venue as it has just the most beautiful outside space, filled with gorgeous flowers, plants and a rich Somerset history. Young Blooms has her studio at Hartley and grows the flowers used in this shoot in the gardens here too. I loved the literal farm to table vibe that we had with this, and we were so lucky with the weather to show off the beautiful sunflower arch created for the ceremony!
The Greek-inspired tones of the Santorini blues and whites, zingy lemons and fruity oranges really carried through from the table settings to the stationery. From Sally With Love, created beautiful leaf name cards which were pinned into fruit, her menu was handwritten on an enamel plate and the run of the day was just beautifully illustrated.
Adorabella Cake Designs created a Santorini masterpiece with romantic white icing with pops of lemon, olive green and the tiles. Simple yet oh so elegant, this three-tier was a dream to see and Xavier’s work is so intricate. Brentwood Bakesmith created stunning greek tile biscuits as part of our favours and for the sharing table, hand painted and beautifully delicate these were a true hit and is a fun and playful way to get around the age-old question of whether or not to have favours. These sweet treats are perfect for the post-dancing pick me up in the taxi home, or as the perfect sugar hit to help with the hangover the next day!
Jessica Turner’s eco-friendly dress was elegant, simple but oh so beautiful and was offset perfectly with hair accessories by Rachel Sokhal. Not wanting to create the traditional Greek goddess in swathes of fabric, this was a modern take and popped with the beautiful hair and makeup by Nicky Bragg. The outfit was finished off perfectly with sparkly trainers from Schuh. Keeping our groom casual in a shirt from Asos, his accessory was their beautiful pup who we accessorised with a lovely floral collar.
Credits
Planner and Stylist: Lauren Alexander Weddings / Photography: Fox and Beau / Wedding Dress: Jessica Turner Designs / Flowers: Young Blooms / Stationery: From Sally With Love / Accessories: Rachel Sokhal Designs / Videographer: Shannon Lawford / Venue: Hartley Farm / Cake: Adorabella Cake Design / Biscuits: Brentwood Bakesmith / Photobooth: The Proper Booth / Hair and Makeup: Nicky Bragg
Planner and Stylist: @laurenalexanderweddings / Photography: @foxandbeauphotography / Wedding Dress: @jessturnerdesigns / Flowers: @YoungBlooms / Stationery: @FromSallyWithLove / Accessories: @rachelsokhalbridal / Videographer: @Shannon_Lawford / Venue: @hartleyfarm / Cake: @AdorabellaCakeDesign / Biscuits: @Brentwood.Bakesmith / Photobooth: @TheProperBooth / Hair and Makeup: @braggnicky
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