Today its my pleasure to share this lovely Styled shoot captured by Karen Massey Photography at Coughton Court in Warwickshire.

The Shoot was collaborative with the basis being the Dress Designers Degree work, but also showcasing a number of local suppliers.

 

 

The Shoot Venue, Coughton Court has been the home of the Throckmorton family since 1409.

It holds a unique place in English history with its close connections to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.

Behind the Tudor gatehouse house you will find the courtyard with its fine Elizabethan half-timbering, where a knot garden leads to lawns and fine vistas of the Warwickshire countryside.

The house stands in 25 acres of grounds containing some of the most breathtaking gardens in the country.

It was Clare McLaren-Throckmorton’s intention to create a garden that complements the beautiful house, and to give it the setting it deserves.  She also wanted to create a wide variety of gardens: formal and informal, traditional and innovative.

Created over the last 15 years, the gardens are now mature and varied and are solely managed by the Throckmorton family.

 

The House and its gardens were key to staging of the shoot.

 

Shoot Inspiration

 

Alexandra Stevens, designer explains her inspiration for the shoot,

The shoot had two themes to it, the first being a ‘Dolls tea party’ Both models/Brides were made up to look doll like whilst also highlighting other styling aspects such as cakes, flowers, vintage china and other quirky objects.

The vintage and floral head pieces helped to create the soft feminine feel that I wanted but the headdresses that I made of the rabbits and cats gave it an edge and hinted at the Mad Hatters Tea Party.

 

 

 

 

The second part of the shoot was held indoors, this was to have a a much more sophisticated dark feel.

The look was dark crimson lips with smoky eyes, and taxidermy head-wear along with the dark antique furniture of the house blended to the darker edge.

The dresses were created as part of my Final Major project, for the degree  Fashion Design with Design for performance, with the award of a First Class BA Honors Degree.

The beauty , elegance and happiness that is en-captured in a wedding has always drawn me to Bridal.

I felt my FMP was the perfect opportunity to begin to build on my dress making skills under the experienced tuition of my lecturer, which has hopefully set me up to start my own business in the Bridal industry.

 

 

 

The inspiration behind each dress

Cassie’s brief was to design and create a dress suitable and complementary to a woodland wedding.

My inspiration for this dress was woodland textures and wild plants growing in an organic and uncontrolled way.

Danielle asked me to design and create a dress that was elegant and had a vintage inspired style with a superhero twist.

My inspiration for this dress was 1930’s and early 1940’s fashion and shapes along with the character superman.

I wanted to do a styled shoot in appose to a studio shoot so that I could show of my skills in styling in addition to my dress making knowledge.

My ambition for the future is to own my own business where I am able to make beautiful dresses for the bridal and red carpet market, with the possibility of working as a stylist.

 

Thanks to Karen for sharing her imagery and to the rest of the team for sharing their lovely products.

 

Suppliers:

 

Photography – Karen Massey Photography

Dresses – Alexandra Stevens

Jewellery – Bunny loves Evie

Stationery – Ink Love Weddings

Hats – Sharper Millinery

Taxidermy – Death and Glory 

Cakes – Delovely cakes

China Hire – Touch of Vintage

Signs – Potting Shed Designs

Hair and make up  – Cherry Conquer

Models/ Brides  – Cassie Leedham and Danielle Lade