Styling A Bridal Shoot at Barns & Yard
Barns & Yard at Hanley Hall has to be my favourite local wedding venue, so you can imagine my excitement when I was asked by owner Lisi to write a guest blog post for ‘The Bridle’.
I have had the great pleasure of curating and styling two bridal shoots at the venue, both very different and designed to show the huge versatility of the barns, courtyard and stunning gardens, lake and grounds.
A styled bridal shoot serves several purposes - the main being to produce a set of stunning images which will inspire couples to visualise their own wedding at the venue. The resulting photographs feature different aspects of the venue showing a range of styling ideas, colour palettes and innovative and artistic set ups which explore the potential of the surroundings. Barns & Yard is effectively a blank canvas but you cannot help but notice the mellow patina of the oak beams, the texture of the old brickwork married seamlessly with contemporary materials - there is much inspiration to be taken from these beautifully restored period barns.
As a stylist, I appreciate the importance of choosing incredible suppliers who will work as a team to bring to life the design brief. This of course is especially important for a real life wedding - choosing reliable, approachable and truly creative people to make your dream wedding a reality is the key to success. For each styled shoot I work with a core team of suppliers and artisans and then bring in specialists who provide unexpected elements like the Willow pod by www.willowwithroots.co.uk and the giant paper meadow flowers by junetree.co.uk which featured in a recent shoot at the venue.
Creating beautiful images is the main goal of shoot day and I work closely with Jo from www.joannabphotography.co.uk before, on and after the day. Her relaxed and gentle manner and eye for detail and composition result a gallery of romantic, soft and dreamy images which make all the hard work so worthwhile ! We always have an amazing time - it is a joy to work with other industry suppliers and feed off each other's creativity. Everyone gets a chance to showcase the very best of their work and they certainly pull it out of the hat on the day!!
My mantra is PLAN, LIST and COMMUNICATE!! I cannot understate the importance of detailed planning - as with a real wedding, impeccable organisation will result in everything going smoothly on the day. After visiting the barns I put together a gallery of venue photos and some key descriptive words and set about creating a story. When I curate a shoot the final ideas usually come to me in the middle of the night - for this reason I always keep a notebook on my bedside table!! I then become rather overcome with inspiration, which results in me making copious notes and lists!! Following on, I then choose my Pantone colours and put together a visual mood board covering every element of the shoot. These are sent to everybody involved to inspire and guide. I then work with each supplier prior to shoot day to ensure that we are all on the same page!
My aim is always to showcase the venue and the work of the team, but as with any wedding the bride and groom are always the main focus. It's really important to me that my styled shoots are relatable and for this reason I only ever use ‘real’ people to model - the resulting images are therefore always spontaneous, joyful, serene and sometimes amusing!! Just like in real life!
I want the images created to encourage real couples to explore possibilities for their big day, so that they can express their individuality and maximise the potential of the venue. A shoot mirrors a real wedding day and styling and planning is where it all begins. A stylist knows how to put together colours and will advise on design choices based on your initial concept so the final style of your wedding is co-ordinated and visually stunning! Sometimes the little details can have a big impact - I love to include these a they are often unexpected! The plan for a shoot will evolve just like a real wedding plan with creative input from suppliers and the odd idea from Pinterest ! What is left after the day are the photographs and that is when I am so happy I spent the time tweaking those little details!
By Jane Goldman
Stylist, Bridal Accessories and Wedding Stationery
View more images from this collaboration here.