Florist Emma Lappin says – “The flowers were a key ingredient to the styling of the shoot and were designed with a bride in mind, a bride who wants to make a luxurious and glamorous statement. They were designed to exude romance, opulence and provide a soft blush palette to work with the gold. Key flowers were roses, peonies, dahlia and hydrangea, all of which are heavily petalled to give a very full look to each arrangement. I discovered a new favourite peony for the shoot, called Bowls and Cream and is definitely the most beautiful peony I have ever worked with.

We layered the arrangements with different heights so that you have impact when guests first see the table and then further visual treats when sat at the table. Two particular floral highlights were the chair backs and the place settings. The chair backs are just so pretty – a perfect solution to further dress a bride and grooms seats when the top table is a round table and placed centrally in a room. The place settings were a mix of peaches and gold sprayed succulent plants which really added to the look.”

Brides of Winchester lent 3 fab bridal gowns – the Beatrice and Ellie by Sassi Holford and the Markova by Chanticleer, all of which looked great on model Danielle and fitted perfectly with the opulent surroundings. The bridesmaid models, Amelia and Francesca, wore dresses by TwoBirds Bridesmaid, in rosewater and putty – these dresses are so clever as they come in lots of colours, various lengths and can be tied in 15 different ways, so your bridesmaids can choose the style which best suits them. 

To compliment all of the pretty dresses Hermione Harbutt sent some of her fabulous sparkly creations for us to use on the shoot and we used a mix of lovely hair accessories, earrings and bracelets.

Kirsty McCall and assistant Lyndsey Ward did a great job on the hair and makeup with their brief – big hair with natural but shimmery makeup.

Zoe Clark (The Cake Parlour) created the amazing cake which we decided to display in the beautiful gardens of Lainston, surrounded by flowers and trees. I think Zoe thought I was a bit strange when I told her I wanted a gold cake (who wouldn’t) but she definitely saw my vision and translated it perfectly. The gorgeous stationery was provided by luxury stationers Borrowed Blue Press who used their unique ‘gold swan’ paper on the various items.

We framed the individual table plan cards in all different coloured and shaped frames and hung them with ribbon from one of the fabulous old trees in the grounds of Lainston. We also hung empty frames and flowers to complete the look. This is a lovely idea for a bride with nice outdoor space and you could vary the design to suit your scheme – by using different frames and flowers and even by using something other than a tree.”