The Inspiration
The name of the shoot is Endless Summer and the inspiration for the colours used actually came from a Sophie Tea Art heart print that was hanging on my living room wall. The vibrant pinks, corals and turquoise used in the picture were exactly the riot of colour that I wanted to bring to the shoot and the basis of Endless Summer sprang from there.
The Table
Sometimes I think we need to be bolder in our choices and I knew I wanted a patterned tablecloth rather than a plain one so I started looking at materials that incorporated some of our wedding colours and the summer vibe of the shoot. I found a stunning fabric by Sanderson aptly named Summer Harvest and I just knew that was a perfect choice. I spoke to Kim at Applemoon Interiors and she sourced the material and turned it into a beautiful billowing tablecloth and from there the tablescape using vibrant coloured glass candlesticks from Issy Granger and Ester & Erik candles in coral and turquoise started to bring that feeling of Summer celebrations alive.
We added in mismatched brightly coloured cushions for the chairs and coloured drinking glasses. The jewel-coloured bud vases were filled with blooms from Tony Dunn Flowers and dotted along with the table. Tony also created a beautiful bridal bouquet along with a table centrepiece bursting with dahlias, trailing honeysuckle and fragrant sweet peas. All those English flowers that you could have grown in your garden. I wanted this table to be a beautiful backdrop to any kind of wedding whether it was a large affair in a marquee with floral installations hanging overhead or a smaller, more intimate wedding set in someone’s garden with close friends and family.
The Bridal Look
Our lovely model Kate looked absolutely stunning in both outfits that day. To keep with our summer theme I wanted dresses that were light, floaty, modern and fun. The first dress is an Inbal Dror design from Morgan Davies Bridal. It’s just beautiful with layers of tulle for the bottom half and on top, the sheer bodice with silver beading down the back and tulle ribbons on the shoulders made the whole thing very light. The perfect dress for a summer wedding.
The second outfit is actually a top and skirt made especially for our shoot by the talented Emma Guard Design. Emma created a lovely full skirt with layer upon layer of tulle. She then added a cascade of pale ivory ostrich feathers tumbling down to the ground. The sheer top was stunning with a scalloped hem that sat mid-torso. The beautiful embroidery to the front was continued around the back and was finished with tiny covered buttons and a keyhole back completed the look.
Our talented HMUA Monica kept the make-up pretty and fresh, the perfect look for a hot summers day. She created a low messy bun for Kates hair that worked well with both outfits and also with the hair accessories that came from Clare Lloyd Accessories. As soon as I saw the flower crown and hair clips on Clare’s website it was as if they had been made for this shoot. They were quite literally the perfect mix of salmon pink, coral and verdigris and they looked stunning. Clare even made us some matching hoop earrings to complete the look.
Di Hassall made both pairs of shoes. Delicately ruffled ones with silver detailing to match the first dress and for the second pair, Di added vibrant pink, orange and turquoise pom-poms to complement Emma’s beautiful skirt and top. These were definitely the party shoes!
The colourful rings were kindly lent to use by Baroque Jewellery. They featured all of our colours in a mix of diamonds, coloured sapphires, emeralds and tourmalines. We stacked several rings together to create a bold look and their large rainbow sapphire cluster ring and rainbow eternity bands added that extra pop of colour.
The Edibles
We continued our colourful theme by incorporating our summer grazing platters into the day. Having platters of fresh tropical fruits, veggies and dips mixed amongst our cheese and charcuterie boards literally brought all those relaxed summer vibes we were after to the wedding breakfast.
The stunning wedding cake was made by Kass from Kasserina Cakes and was a tall and slender, modern four-tiered creation with a coral ombré effect to the base tier. The top three tiers were decorated with stemmed rosebuds and leaves that extended out from the cake to create movement and flow. We used a painted vintage dresser from Hire Your Day to display the graze and with a quick turnaround, it was also the perfect place to show off the wedding cake.
Stationery
The stationery suite was created by Louise from Fine Art Design Studio. Louise took our ideas of florals and colour and incorporated them into her design but kept the overall look modern with straight edges and the colourful tassels which she added to the menus. Louise used her beautiful calligraphy skills to create the place settings using gold ink to match the hardware on the table and by using the white wax seal on white card the look was elegantly modern.
Let’s Celebrate
After the last 18 months of living with lockdowns and restrictions the weddings and events industry is finally coming out the other side and I wanted to put together a shoot that was a celebration of many things. A celebration of life starting to return to normal, a celebration of colour and joy and of those long summer days but most importantly a celebration that love wins… Always!
Credits
Concept and Styling: www.gracefullygrazing.com / Furniture and Co Styling: www.hireyourday.com / Photographer: www.charlenewebbphotography.co.uk / Venue: www.sussexpast.co.uk / Cake: www.kasserina.com / Flowers: www.tonydunnflowers.co.uk / Model: Kate from @the_robinsons_couple / HMUA: www.monica-cortes.com / Dress: www.morgandaviesbridal.co.uk / Top and Skirt: www.emmaguarddesign.com / Shoes: www.dianehassall.com / Hair Accessories and Earrings: www.clarelloyd.co.uk / Rings: www.baroquejewellery.com / Table: www.lunaandthelane.co.uk / Stationery: www.fineartdesignstudio.co.uk / Glass Candlesticks: www.issygranger.com / Tablecloth: Sanderson Summer Harvest Fabric www.sanderson.sandersondesigngroup.com made by www.applemoonshop.co.uk / Emma Shipley Cushions: www.applemoonshop.co.uk / Graze: @gracefully_grazing
Concept and Styling: @gracefully_grazing / Furniture and Co Styling: @hireyourday / Photographer: @charlenewebbphotography / Venue: @michelhamprioryandthelongman / Cake: @kasserina / Flowers: @tonydunnflowers / Model: Kate from @the_robinsons_couple / HMUA: @monicacortesmua / Dress: @morgan_davies_bridal / Top and Skirt: @emmaguarddesign / Shoes: @di_hassall / Hair Accessories and Earrings: @clarelloydaccessories / Rings: @baroquejewellery / Table: @lunaandthelane / Stationery: @fineartdesignstudio / Glass Candlesticks: @issygrangerlondon / Tablecloth: Sanderson Summer Harvest Fabric @sanderson1860 made by @applemooninteriors / Emma Shipley Cushions: @applemooninteriors / Graze: @gracefully_grazing
View the Gallery 
