Valentines Day Wedding Inspiration
It’s time for another Coocouture shoot – this time, a Valentines Day Wedding treat filled with hearts and roses! And gorgeous topiaries – thus earning the title “Queen of Hearts”.
Words by Gwenda from Vintage Floral Design:
For this collaboration, we took an historical Tudor-esque theme as our starting point and filled it with classic Valentines Day wedding iconography: hearts, roses, pink and red!
I used a combination of fresh, dried and preserved flowers and foliage to create a bouquet, tablescape and standalone heart in ombre shades of pink and red, with gilded accents. I also went a little crazy with the flowers on Lau’s ‘barely’ naked single tall tier cake with pink butter cream, and finished it off with Michaela’s glittery hearts. Her strings of ombre hearts made a fabulous backdrop for the table setting and some portraits of our beautiful model, Rhiannon (it would make a great photo booth background, too!)
Anneke took her inspiration for the hair from Renaissance paintings – intricately arranged to suggest decadence and romance. The makeup was kept simple with a multi-tonal iridescent eye, and a sensual glossy red lip. The matte skin balances the reflective lip and eyes to make it wearable and the cheeks were flushed, in indication of being in love! To translate hair and makeup from a shoot to your wedding, she explains, “It depends on your personality, your dress and how much makeup you are comfortable with wearing. Your makeup artist will be able to adjust according to your preference, and be open to ideas, you might be surprised at what works. It’s all about context, what works in the office or even a night out, might not work at all on your wedding day.”
Karen’s Queen of Hearts dress was created to reflect true love in rich golds with 100 red roses! Describing the construction of the dress, she explaine that “the top layer was ombre gold silk chiffon with a soft touch fabric in ivory under and a flash of red chiffon as a lining. The bodice was pleated to enhance the ombre affect. The pleated hearts on the front and at the centre back was embellished with small red ribbon roses, a sign of true love. The dress had a soft and floaty feel for a touch of real romance. The matching headpiece mirrored the hearts on the bodice and the very long red/gold lace veil was an alternative for a tad more drama! All brides want to be the most beautiful and unique on their big day. A dress can be anything she wants. No rules. No following. Choosing to have a bespoke gown made enables you to encapsulate not only body shape and size issues but enables a bride to really tap into their personality and have the most perfect unique dress. A bride doesn’t have to compromise and the fit will be perfect. It can reflect the theme and styled shoots will show how all aspects of a wedding can sit together and ensure all parts of the day complement each other. It means your photos after the big day show a couples style and personality and makes for beautiful memories.”
Marsha’s footwear was made from luxurious red velvet with a subtle swirl design. The cut of the boots was inspired by the shape of a love heart with small roses outlining the edge, inspired by the romance of receiving roses from someone you love. A delicate ribbon fastens them at the front and they are adorned with gold links sweeping around the back of the heel, contrasting beautifully against the deep red velvet. The finishing touch is a gold edging to the soles and the heel, just to add to the decadence of the occasion. Many brides like to wear their shoes after the wedding so going for a unique pair of bespoke shoes with perhaps a contrasting colour not only looks great on the day and make for some really great photos, but will bring back so many wonderful memories when worn again.”
The stationery, name tags and table plan were all letter pressed by hand using gold ink to match the colour scheme, to create a classic look. The theme of luxury was continued by mounting it all on a dazzling glittery board, with red glitter and black hearts to add some fun and romance, which took the theme a step further.
The goal of the Coocouture Collective is to show how alternative themes can be made accessible and translated into the highest quality wedding styling. Nothing you see here is impossible to recreate and some could even be DIY’ed! The trick is to be bold with your choices – you’re more likely to regret what you didn’t do than what you did! Engaging the right vendors is the second key – take time to find those who understand your vision and are willing to go the extra mile to bring it to life.”
Super Suppliers – Floral Design: The Vintage Floral Design Co.// Photography: Kat Forsyth Photography// Cake: Frenchmade// Hair & Makeup: Retromorphosist// Shoes: Marsha Hall Handmade Shoes// Stationery: Claire Spake Design &c.// Brides Attire: Dornellie// Also joined by Comeuppance// Venue: Hall Place, Bexley Heritage Trust
