Recently we have been involved in a few photoshoots. I love them. A chance to get creative with the best flowers, and of course the best ribbon. Yes, I do have a special box of ribbon that I save just for photoshoots! Currently containing Heirloom Silk, VV Rouleaux velvets and all the Silk and Willow that I can afford.
When Mandy of Hair By Amanda Jane suggested a photoshoot at Gawthorpe Hall, a National Trust owned Elizabethan mansion tucked away behind the busy roads of Burnley my mind started to whirr. Gawthorpe is famous for the vast collection of embroidered textiles it houses and I wondered if that could be incorporated into what we did. ‘Elizabethan’ also conjures up images of sumptuous velvets, roaring fires, men on horses… Of course, in the real world, you end up working with what you’ve got and it turned out that on a quiet Sunday in May, Gawthorpe just happened to have the most amazing bluebell woodland, which the intrepid photographer Toni Darcy was not going to pass by. And rightly so, especially when, quite by coincidence, one of the models was wearing a dress the colour of bluebells and clutching a posy of forget me nots (tied with the traditional Burnley colours of claret and blue double sided velvet).
Most of the flowers were grown by us, although I confess that the stunning Fritilaria Persica was bought in, as it was one of my favourite flowers in spring, and we will be growing it next year if I have my way.
Above are two small posies one of simple Lily of the Valley, Solomon’s Seal and Dicentra, the other of delicate snakes head Fritillaries, Aquilegia, seeded Hellebores and Cornish Scilla (tied with our very own Heirloom Silk in Yorkshire’s Constance).
Our Belle Époque tulips did their best to upstage the beautiful Becca, but that was never going to happen.
There did come a point when it seemed only right to use the hall we had been granted access to. I particularly love the colour of this ribbon with the door frame and the Belle Époque tulips although I know that most people will only be looking at Alex in this stunning dress!
And when two large dogs, carrying even larger sticks came running by, it was time to get a little wilder.
The team behind this photoshoot are Toni Darcy, photographer ( www.tonidarcy.co.uk), Hair by Amanda Jane and make-up by Lisa Emmett. All dresses and headpieces were kindly loaned by Lulu Browns Bridal, an award winning bridal boutique based in Whalley near Clitheroe.
And now for the behind the scenes shots- which add a little perspective. Apologies but I was too scared to photograph the large dogs!
