A wedding supplier collaborative shoot at new venue Little Dower House with boho Romantic and gothic themes, beautiful settings, bridal hair and makeup inspirations, and featuring the latest Jesus Peiro wedding collection.
I have such a treat for you today with these images from our beautiful styled shoot at new exclusive wedding venue the Little Dower House. So get ready to feast your eyes and prepare for a plethora of beautiful boho gypsy vibe wedding inspo!
The Origins Of Our Shoot
I came across the Little Dower House whilst browsing Instagram one day. Just the few images I saw online made me want to find out more about this new wedding venue, and this led to me to paying Susie and Hamish a visit. I knew straight away that I wanted to collaborate with them on a project that would highlight their beautiful venue. The venue, (their home near Windsor) with its secret walled garden, wild flower meadow, stream and duck pond, not to mention an expansive paddock, possesses so many possibilities for couples wanting to create a unique magical wedding experience. So many things resonated with me, not least because I really felt a connection with Susie and Hamish, and I just knew that with the right team we could create something very special.
At the same time as all this, Rebecca from Lilys Flowers, had also discovered the Little Dower House and together with Susie and Hamish was also planning to create a styled shoot to highlight the venue and other wedding suppliers. We chatted and soon realised we had so many similar ideas that it would be amazing to come together for this project. There followed phone calls and a planning meeting, as well as the obligatory Pinterest board and pinning of ideas. Next came a search for the right suppliers to bring our ideas to life. We went with a selection of great suppliers we already knew, as well as approaching new suppliers we were keen to work with.
Our Themes
We wanted to create a kind of boho Romantic vibe, if that makes sense and to highlight the alfresco potential of the venue, from getting married in the walled garden, to dining outside at the waters edge.
The Details
Rebecca came up with some great floral installation ideas (more of which you’ll see in part two), as well as styling the waterside wedding breakfast table. Having met Susie and Hamish’s gorgeous horses, I was keen to get them involved with the shoot and show off the venue’s equine inhabitants. I managed to find a vintage golden horse on a well known auction site, and Rebecca came up with the idea of spraying some old horseshoes gold to update the lucky horseshoe tradition.
Rebecca sourced a rich velvet table runner in a deep raspberry, and coloured candles and napkins and created rich blousy flower arrangements. She also provided a decadent crystal chandelier hanging from the Willow above the table adored with roses. The table and chairs were provided by Academy Furniture, and the chairs were draped with fabric by the Chair Dressing Company. We also raided Susie and Hamish’s possessions and were able to incorporate their green coloured glass, silver cutlery, and vintage mismatched crockery.
Jesus Peiro Dresses
I asked my friend Emma from Miss Bush Bridal to come on board, and she was able to supply an exclusive selection from Jesus Peiro’s latest collection (including the rather Flamenco flavoured 157, and delicately laced 136 and 990 on special loan from the designer). She also brought her years of experience in styling and considerable knowledge of latest trends to help us achieve really inspiring bridal looks.
Model Hair & Makeup
For our model, it had to be Chloe Keenan who I’ve now worked with many times. Not only is she a perfect Jesus Peiro dress size, but I felt also had the perfect look. Rosie Scott was able to interpret the hair and makeup ideas we had pinned, and gave Chloe the perfect Romany look. This had to include those luscious deep pink lips! This was a real creative process with Emma and Rosie working together to embellish Chloe’s hair with a variety of flowers from Rebecca.
Stationery and Cake
Our stationery was provided to brief by Lou from Lou PaperBespoke Wedding Stationery, featuring gold calligraphy to follow on from our theme against a green watercolour background.
When we discovered Anna Lewis Luxury Wedding Cakes, we knew she could provide something inline with our theme, but what she created was so much more. She literally took our ideas and turned them into an amazing cake that encompassed every vibe we wanted to get across. The deep charcoal icing and fabulous sugar flowers, along with the deep velvet ribbon, were perfect!
With the wedding table near perfection, all that was left was for me to add a few pomegranates and grapes. The overall effect was not unlike an old masters still life painting. It was rich, boho, a little gothic, a little Romantic, and all in the most outrageously beautiful setting of the Little Dower House.
A Big Thank You
I want to thank everyone involved in this shoot. You all worked so hard, and yet it was the most relaxed collaborative shoot I’ve ever been involved with. It was possibly a tiny bit mad to try and pull this off in the middle of wedding season, but we did it!
Susie and Hamish, thank you for allowing us to invade your beautiful home, and thank you for all your help with setting things up, providing tea and cold drinks, and helping the horses model for us so perfectly.
If you are a bride and groom looking here for inspiration, PLEASE take a look at all the suppliers involved, as well as this magical venue. They are all superb.
Scroll down for links and credits, but for now, here’s what we achieved. J x
Venue – Little Dower House
Planning, Concept, Coordinating, Photography – Juliet Mckee Photography
Planning, Concept, Coordinating, Floral installations and props – Lilys Flowers
Dresses – Jesus Peiro from Miss Bush Bridal
Model – Chloe Keenan.
Hair and Makeup – Rosie Scott Hair And Makeup
Cake – Anna Lewis Luxury Wedding Cakes
Stationery – Lou Paper
Chair drapes – The Chair Dressing Company
Vintage trestle table and cross backed chairs – Academy Furniture Hire
Glass wear, crockery, cutlery – venue’s own.
