Remember the gloriously hot July we had this Summer? It may feel a little bit like a distant memory now. The day of the photo shoot at the Thistle Haydock was on one of these days; a day bathed in sunshine and topped with the most perfectly clear blue sky. This shoot was put together by a collection of leading wedding professionals to promote the Thistle’s wedding fair that takes place on Sunday 7th September.
The Thistle looked resplendent as we arrived with its lush hanging baskets crammed full of summer blooms and the cooling sound of the fountain bubbling away. Our photo shoot was a day of two halves – in the morning, we photographed in their luxury marquee which is surrounded by mature manicured lawns, then in the afternoon we decided to take advantage of the stunning weather and found an abundance of fantastic photo locations around the Thistle’s grounds.
All images are by Lindsay Ashton Photography, and Lindsay worked together with Glamour Bridal Boutique, Duncan Fisher of L’Hairport, Make-up Artist Steph Lalley, Bouquets & Venue Dressing by A.M. Flowers, The Lovebus Wedding Company and our gorgeous model, Natalie. For full company links, see the end of this post.
Our Makeup artist on the shoot was the very talented Steph Lalley.
For this photo shoot I needed a look that was quite versatile and could suit different styles of dresses and themes. I chose to go for a quite delicate look yet not too natural – enough to give impact but not so much it would take away from the dresses and our model Natalie. After prepping the skin with Clinique moisture surge (this is a must for dry or flaky skin to give an instant moisture hit), I began applying the eye makeup, and for the eyes I used my Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette. This palette can be used on all skin tones and is easy to create a quick day-to-night look. For this particular look i used more of the darker shades “busted & snakebite” but blended them out with “verve” and “foxy” finishing the eyes with Clinique high impact mascara and Benefit Brow Zings for the eyebrows. To keep the skin looking super natural but flawless I used Mac face and body in C2 and gradually built up the coverage using a duo brush. I added some soft contouring with Tom Ford Shade & Illuminate, Intensity One, and to finish my look I lined the lips in No7 Nude lip liner then finished with Clinique Chubby Stick in Curviest Caramel.
Natalie’s hair was styled by the very sought-after hair stylist, Duncan Fisher.
“As a specialist in bridal hair I love to work with the whole bridal look and take into consideration the flawless make-up, gorgeous accessories and of course the stunning dress. On the day of the shoot these helped me to bring my hairstyle in to place working closely with Debbie from Glamour Bridal. For our model, I wanted to create a very romantic yet fresh and organic look, taking into consideration the 1920’s feel of her flowing dress. I set Natalie’s hair on big hot tongs using ‘Schwarzkopf Session Label flexible hold hairspray’ (used on the runway of New York fashion week) and started to pin into place creating a modern take on a 1920’s Gatsby style. Natalie’s second look was to be simpler so not to take over the elegant simplicity of the dress. This was done by taking the hair of the models face and creating a high simple chignon with a touch of volume.”
The Dresses
In Autumn 2014 Glamour Bridal Boutique will be celebrating their third year in business and in this time have firmly established themselves as one of the North West’s premier bridal boutiques. Owner Debbie Buck tells us a little more about the gowns she has chosen for this shoot.
Our first gown chosen for our photo shoot is Elena by Lillian West, a label derived from the same team behind the Award Winning Justin Alexander bridal label. Here we have a beaded Venice lace over a chiffon fit and flare gown with a beaded band at the waist, a scoop neckline and delicate lace cap sleeves. The gown is finished with covered buttons and a sweep train.
Our second gown is Beatrice by Sincerity. This matte satin ball gown features box pleats, a bateau neckline and an embroidered and beaded detachable matte satin belt. The back is finished with a V-back and satin covered buttons to the end of the chapel length train. All accessories are also available from Glamour Bridal Boutique.
A.M. Flowers did an amazing job of dressing a table in the marquee and providing our bouquets. Owner Angela Tickle says,
Dressing the table in the Thistle’s marquee was such a breeze as their marquee is completely neutral in decor and very airy with lots of natural light – just about any colour scheme would look fabulous in there. We dressed the chairs in white cotton chair covers to give us a blank canvas to work with, and chose a very popular dusky pink rich taffeta for the chair sashes. Taffeta is a beautiful fabric to work with; it is very sumptious, very elegant and very grand looking. To finish off the effect we tied the sash with a beautiful diamante and pearl brooches to add a little extra finishing touch.
To match the chair cover sashes we dressed the table with a dusky pink taffetta table runner, however just to soften it slightly we also placed a delicate ivory lace runner over the top of it.
Angela continues, “Then onto my favourite part of my job; the flowers for the centre of the table. I wanted quite a large arrangement to give impact in the marquee with lots of colour to brighten up the room and also with lots of different varieties of flowers to make the centrepiece interesting.
I took an 80cm large flute vase and frosted it white to give a sparkly effect. My central height was created by using pussy willow, a great little foliage that is very sturdy. And then my absolute favourite part, creating a design using lots of my favourite flowers in dusky pinks to compliment the chair cover bows. In lots of differing shades of pink I used a seasonal favourite, peonies, which have a wonderful scent to them, and I also used the very elegant and dramatic phalaenopsis orchids and large country open roses. I added a contrast of colour by adding green hydrangea which is a brilliant flower to add a touch of drama to any floral display. I used lashes of fresh greenery and filled in with the very delicate ivory calla lilies and ivory roses. Add a touch of gypsy and the display was nearly complete. I always love finishing touches as I think it just shows that extra bit of care that we take to our floral design. I draped little glass globes and added flowers heads inside alongside drapings of crystal droppers. Place the design on a mirror and then we were done.”
“Our next spec was to create two different bouquets which were to be modelled by Natalie in two beautiful gowns from Glamour Bridal.
I chose two completely different styles of bouquets yet both with a common theme running through them. We made a shower bouquet to showcase a more traditional bouquet and also a more modern brides posy.
We kept both the bouquets in shades of white and ivory flowers including calla lilies, phalaenopsis orchids and differing sizes of roses. We then went to town and added lots and lots of finer accessories including diamantes, crystals, beads and my love of vintage marcasite brooches to create a truly dramatic effect which would stand out beautifully against the beautiful gown.
I personally love doing photo shoots as we get to choose all the designs ourselves and we can really go to town and showcase our floral designs and venue dressings properly, especially when they are being photographed by such a talented photographer as Lindsay Ashton.
Hope you like what we did, we had a ball doing it.”
Then finally we were joined on the photoshoot by Daisy & Delilah of The Lovebus Wedding Company. They own four iconic bespoke VW campervans; two double sliding door Bay window campervans and a rarer sliding door split screen samba campervan. All vehicles are in neutral colours to tone beautifully with any wedding or civil partnership ceremony. Daisy is a 1974 VW Bay and award-winning Delilah is a 1966 Split Screen Samba, and they both basked in the sunshine whilst the hustle & bustle of the pho toshoot took place around them.
Many thanks to Lindsay Ashton Photography for the use of these images.
Lindsay is a professional photographer based in Lancashire and specialising in wedding photography for today’s couples.
She covers weddings across the North West and beyond on request and by taking on only one wedding on any day Lindsay can ensure my full time and attention is spent on you and your special day.
Role Call:
Steph Lalley – Fully qualified professionally trained makeup artist
L’Hairport by Duncan Fisher – Award-winning professional freelance hair designer
Glamour Bridal of Bolton – In Autumn 2014 Glamour Bridal Boutique will be celebrating their third year in business and in this time have firmly established themselves as one of the North West’s premier bridal boutiques. They have a beautifully decorated and spacious boutique spread across two floors and located in Bolton town centre just opposite Prestons of Bolton.
A.M. Flowers – Professional Florists, Venue and Event Dressers with over 20 years in the Wedding industry.
The Lovebus Wedding Company – Chauffeur-driven award-winning fleet of VWs that will set you apart from the crowd and a VW ice cream/candy van that is cooler than cool!
Huge thanks to Lindsay Ashton Photography for the collection of fantastic images. Lindsay is a professional wedding and portrait photographer with a dedicated photographic studio based in Horwich, Bolton and covers locations across the North West and beyond on request.
Thanks also to our hosts on the day Thistle Haydock, a well-established & sought-after wedding venue with the flexibility of a choice of function suites plus their permanent luxury marquee, sumptuous accomm0dation suites, superb cuisine and pamper yourself at the Otium health club sauna & pool.
