Dusty Blue Wedding Styled Shoot at Shortmead House | FJS Photography

August 1, 2021

fjs Wedding Photography

Dusty Blue Wedding Styled Shoot at Shortmead House | FJS Photography

Last year, I organised a super successful photoshoot, with a pink, gold and white colour scheme. It was featured in Affinity Weddings Magazine (click here for the link to their blog post all about it. I was so overwhelmed by the positive response to the photos, and the phenomenal work and beautiful products created by the suppliers. So this year, I was determined to do it all over again. My inspiration this year was a gold, foliage and dusty blue wedding.

So this year…

So this year, I was inspired to create a dusty blue, gold and foliage colour palette for my styled photoshoot. I was in awe of the incredible suppliers who came on board, some I loved so much from last year I asked them to be involved this year again. Their work was exquisite, and I couldn’t have asked for more perfect execution of my vision.

The Venue…

Shortmead House is a beautiful 16th century manor house set in 24 acres of grounds on the outskirts of Biggleswade, Bedfordshire. It has stunning permanent stretch tents up, which provide the prefect mix of indoor and outdoor to suit all your wedding needs. There is also an outdoor ceremony area, situated under a thatched roof. It fitted my vision for the shoot perfectly, and the stunning grounds were a pleasure to photograph the models in. The highlight for me was producing the beautiful image in front of the house itself, in all its grandeur.

The Styling…

Foliage is one of my favourite looks for a wedding, it has an absolutely timeless elegance. Dusty blue is a beautiful colour for accompanying it, as many foliages have a blue tone, for example the eucalyptus that we used. And gold perfectly marries the tones of the foliage and blues, providing luxurious detailing. Gold is often a colour overlooked in weddings in favour of silver.. I have no idea why! I adore the warm tones and luxe feel of gold. Sara at Queen and Eden, florist and venue stylist, brought the look together perfect, marrying wild foliage with blue toned flowers.

Situated outside in the stretch tents in the grounds of Shortmead House, the colour scheme looked flawless. The hand-dyed blue and grey runners over the grey tablecloths looked magnificent. The gold cutlery and charger plates, and dense foliage runner with candles nestled amongst it all, brought that touch of luxe.

Sara also created the most beautifully wild foliage and white flowers, offset with blue thistles. I adore the wild look in bouquets, and Sara is so talented that she got the look perfect. This styling would have looked perfect at any dusty blue wedding.

The Dress and Suit…

As soon as I saw the Morilee dress at Kate Joseph Bridal I absolutely fell in love with it, and knew it was perfect for the shoot. The plain slim skirt called back to the plainer dresses worn by Meghan Markle and Princess Eugenie at their weddings last year, and ended in an absolutely stunning lace cut-away train, co-ordinating with the clear crystal beaded embroidery on the bodice. The suit from Chimney Mens Formalwear complemented the dress perfectly, in a mix and match style, with a handsome vintage style waistcoat and blue chino trousers. The tie was a gorgeous paisley in blue tones, and provided detailing which co-ordinated beautifully with the dusty blue wedding colours.

Wondering what season to get married in? Check out my blog post to see my pros and cons of each season!

The Hair and Makeup…

Because of the detailing in the dress, and the beautiful back to it, I wanted the back to be visible so a relaxed updo was perfect. Kate Atalay from Kate Atalay Bespoke Hairstyling brought this to life perfectly, with tendrils falling around model Charleys face. As the flowers were planned to be fairly wild, I wanted the hair to be relaxed and not too sleek. With the makeup, a smokey eye worked perfectly to bring a touch of glamour, which Vikki from She Does Makeup MUA did brilliantly. The hair accessories worked perfectly in the updo, and I adore that Rachel hand crafts them all. The flowers are so delicate, and looked stunning nestled in amongst Charleys hair. The earrings were also made by Rachel and matched the hairpieces perfectly. Rachel at Rachel Sokhal Bridal Accessories hand makes all her exquisite hairpieces, which I personally am in such awe of.

The Cakes…

Nina from Meadowsweet Cakes went all out on the cakes, and created not one but four cakes, plus cookies. The three tier cake was beautifully adorned with handcrafted sugar flowers and hand-piped lace work, as were the other two cakes. The cookies were hand decorated with beautifully delicate patterns. Nina was one of my suppliers from last year who I was so excited to have on board again, her cakes are absolutely exquisite.

The Models…

Charley and Tom modelled for me this year, and my goodness they were incredible. Charley is a previous Miss Northamptonshire winner, and Miss England competitor, and Tom has lots of modelling experience too. They were just wonderful to work with, and their modelling experienced was accentuated by the fact that they are a real-life couple, and just so lovely with it!

The Stationary…

The beautiful stationary suite was created by the incredibly talented Sarah at So Bespoke Design. I adored everything about it, from the delicate insert in the envelope to the watercolour background on everything. It was a perfect summary of all the styling of the shoot, with dusty blue watercolour and foliage. The full suite added another layer of elegance to the finish of the shoot.

In Conclusion…

From the bottom of my heart, I cannot thank the venue, the models and all the suppliers enough. I told you my vision, showed you some inspiration photos dusty blue wedding, and you created it before my eyes. It was an absolute pleasure to photograph! For anyone looking for wedding suppliers, these guys are up there with the best. I am so pleased with the images, and have been absolutely itching to show you them! I hope you like them, please take the time to look at the slideshow below. Have you chosen your colour scheme yet? If not, I would definitely consider dusty blue and gold, it brings a touch of class and elegance, alongside originality. Let me know your favourite photo!

I wasn’t the only one who loved this photoshoot… Its been published in Your Herts and Beds Wedding Magazine, so head down to your local Tesco or Asda (also available in smaller independent newsagents and WHSmiths) and pick up your copy now!