Category Archives: Vendor Love

Neon Dreams – A Cool Romantic Styled Shoot

Today on Marry Me Ink, I thought I would brighten up this blustery week with a floral romantic neon shoot from a rally of Devon and Cornish suppliers including Freeformimages Photography at the An Mor Hotel.

The An Mor Hotel, a real hidden gem in the Cornish Seaside town of Bude, is very unique and quirky, with its very own gin bar. With the hotel decor having retro themed wall dressings and eclectic features, it set the ideal backdrop for our themed styling. Using iridescent fabrics to offset exciting walls and neon lighting to set the mood it made the styling a joy to do! The colourful palette of props, historical photos and paintings around the hotel allowed us to capture, not just vibrant colours but character with a slight edge. This combination of modern and imaginative decor was inspirational in the choice of props and styling used. The classic shape of the stationery was chosen as it complimented the mirror that displayed the table plan from here the shape was then used to create the place settings and the colours chosen complimented the neon pinks and purples bringing everything together.

The first dress from Always & Forever Bridal worn by the model, “Cassandra”, takes sophisticated glam to a whole new level. The extravagantly beaded bodice paves the way to perfection! This long sleeve ballgown by Casablanca Bridal is a bona fide show-stopper, the dramatically sleek satin skirt reflecting light and cascading effortlessly from the natural waistline. This jaw-dropping gown provides a removable lining option, for the most opulent and versatile wedding day look.

The second gown has glittering rhinestones that create lines throughout. “Bria” from the belt at the waist, to the V-shaped linings of the front, back and underarm panels of the bodice and lace applique’s sprinkle across the hemline of the dreamy soft tulle skirt, matching the lace on the fully lined front and illusion back of the bodice, again by Casablanca Bridal.

The leather jacket from Sammy Lea’s Retro Emporium was inspired by the current neon lights trend. It’s groundbreaking in the UK as no other UK based supplier is yet offering jackets that are both lit and painted. 

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Gothic Winter Solstice Wedding Inspiration

Are we all ready for the winter break that is Christmas and New Year? With the dark winter here for a while longer, I thought I’d share with you this rich and full of texture inspiration shoot from Legend Bridal, Electric Blue Photography and Scarlett Envy Events. I had the chance this week to speak with Charlotte of Legend Bridal and this is what she said about the beauty of the day..

With the winter solstice fast approaching we wanted to create a styled shoot that celebrates the darkest and longest night of the year, welcomes in the light and celebrates new beginnings.

The idea was born after conversations with Kate at Dead Things by Kate when it became obvious that we shared an appreciation of earth-based/pagan traditions. We decided on a deliciously dark Winter Solstice inspired Hand-fasting with a specially designed gothic gown and incorporating Kate’s gorgeous taxidermy.

We pulled together a crazy talented bunch of suppliers to make the idea come to life and OH MY WORD!.. We can’t stop looking at the images! The flowers are to die for! There are no words for that bouquet. The floral staff is such an awesome idea, and we LOVE the pentagram wreath – so much beauty and meaning. 

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Gothic Glastonbury Wedding Inspiration

Today on Marry Me Ink, I get to share with you this dark, gothic shoot from Swan Photography and Sarah of Photo Press. Sarah runs an Alternative Wedding Suppliers Facebook Group and asked who wanted to be involved. Choosing to make it as inclusive as possible, she included anyone who was happy to be involved. It was difficult to organise with so many people on board but it was worth it in the end, Sarah managed the whole thing and everyone involved pitched in where needed, it was very much an equal collaboration from everyone else.

It was at Glastonbury Wedding venue on a grey and rainy day in March meaning that the moodiness of the day contributed to the shoot. It was a shame we didn’t get more shots outside due to the rain, but some of the cloudy shots look really great and fit the theme perfectly. The venue is a de-consecrated church so they can hold any non religious wedding which is appealing to any type of couple, traditional or alternative, especially great as it’s so close to Glastonbury. The venue has lots of original features and has been recently restored. It is about two miles from Glastonbury and is surrounded by farmland with amazing views of Glastonbury Tor.

I wanted to create an alternative shoot and given the venue, I felt gothic was perfect. We wanted to go for dark colours, non-traditional dresses from Devlin Bridal Couture and Belle Of The Ball Bridal as well as alternative looks for the models hair and make up. The models also have piercings and tattoos and we chose a same sex shoot as we wanted to appeal to a wider audience because I feel that this is often overlooked.

I think all of the aspects of this shoot could apply to real life. All items are available to buy from established Wedding Suppliers so anyone wanting to have a dark or gothic theme to their wedding could easily recreate this look. I supply newspaper stationery for peoples weddings so I don’t get to try things at weddings as such, but I’d love to see more weddings with black dresses or cakes and those dark red and purple flowers were truly beautiful!  Continue reading

Dorothy & Tin Man – Wizard Of Oz Wedding Inspiration

We’re not in Kansas anymore Toto! Today on Marry Me Ink I get to take you to Oz with you this enchanting styled shoot from Kieran Paul Photography which was created by Jen of My Pretties UK and her team of flying monkeys (I mean some awesome Northern wedding suppliers).

The original idea for this shoot was brought to me by Emma McNamara from Ochre Eclective, she said she had an idea for a really alternative Wizard of Oz invitation and if anyone was planning a shoot, could she come in on it.. So my mind started working overtime as it often does and I volunteered my services to get it up and running. (If I am honest with a name like My Pretties, a Oz themed shoot had always been on the cards!) 

My first search was for a venue in the heart of Yorkshire that had beautiful yellow fields, I was adamant that this shoot needed to take place outdoors and Thief Hall in Northallerton was stunning! Kieran Paul Photography was an obvious choice for me, his easy going nature and preference for natural light meant he was able to capture such vibrant images. 

I knew I wanted the over all look to be vivid and vibrant, like the scene where Dorothy lands in Oz and it shifts from black and white to ‘smack you in the face’ technicolor. We went with a classic vintage look for our Dorothy with help from Elsie Vee Vintage dress design – she used an original 1940’s dress pattern to create the stunning dress, Doll’s Mad Hattery took Dorothy’s classic blue bow and added a birdcage veil. For hair and makeup we stuck to a classic 40s pinup look and we were very excited to have lingerie loaned to us by the fabulous ‘What Katie Did‘. Our Tin Man groom had a lot of steampunk elements to his look with fabulous makeup, headpiece and tie to accompany his awesome suit supplied by Dandy Threads.

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