Farm-Fest Wedding Photo-shoot
A Bride, Groom and...Two Goats!
As an ‘On the Day’ wedding co-ordinator I am generally booked by couples who are planning a D.I.Y wedding. When choosing the D.I.Y option it means you have the freedom to create whatever you like, which is why I love to share ideas that can be achieved when you put your creative head on.
Stick me in a field with a tractor and a mountain of hay bales and I am in my element!
Having worked with Lucy Bernier Hair & Make-Up on a previous shoot I was thrilled when she suggested we organise another one with her friend and photographer, Antony from Lightbox Studios. Putting our heads together and chatting through our options, Lucy mentioned her friends Barry and Nicola owned Abbey Farm in Titchfield. Lucy went onto say they had a very big field that was used for hay baling, not only that, they also had two little pygmy goats...well, my eyes lit up!
With the shoot planned for just after hay baling season Barry and Nicola offered us as many bales as we needed, as well as providing us with two huge hay bales to use as a backdrop.
Our theme didn’t take much thinking about...
...we were going to build as many wedding props as possible out of hay and straw bales to create that Farm-Fest wedding vibe!
Between Lucy and I we contacted some fabulous wedding suppliers who were all keen to collaborate and bring our vision to life.
Check this team out...
Why have the ‘norm’ ceremony arch when you can build a beauty like this?
Several straw bales, a scaffold plank and stunning flowers arranged by Nia from Luvshifting Flowersshould hopefully inspire you to do something different on your wedding day.
Our models Abbie and George show our straw bale arch off perfectly...
Oh, and don’t forget the goats!
After your ceremony you will definitely need a drink and there is no-one more perfect than the lovely Jan to pour it for you (or in this case George!).
Served from Jan’s charming converted horsebox bar The Fizz Tin , they couldn’t have looked more at home than in this Farm-Fest environment.
How’s this for a 2 for 1 wedding idea?
Once your ceremony is over transform your arch into a photo-booth frame just like we did with this wonderful door frame from Gayles Wedding & Events Prop Hire.
Gayle and Michael supplied all the fabulous rustic props for our shoot...
...from the coconut shy
Abbie and George needed a bit of practice!
...to the galvanised tub
...this is generally used to keep drinks cool, but we put Abbie in it!
...vintage blankets
...to make our straw sofa and table seating less scratchy on their legs,
...wooden crates
...which can be used for anything but they made great flower pots for Nia,
...statement wooden cart wheels,
...a wooden ‘Sweetheart Cart’
...which we used as a wedding breakfast table with straw bale seating,
...and a wheelbarrow
Beer or Abbie?...anything goes when it comes to Farm-Fest!
Abbie’s dresses were just to die for and you won’t believe me when I say Zaneta Burnett Designs whipped them both up from scratch in only ONE WEEK! I was thrilled when Zaneta stepped in to join us on our shoot and when she said she could possibly make two dresses we were like...
...WOW!
Zaneta is an extremely talented wedding dress designer who works with you to design your dream dress so you can be certain your wedding dress will be a one off.
With a beautiful bride it was important to have a dapper groom and George fitted that bill!
Wearing two different three piece suits with a mix of accessories all from Charles Gale Formal Wear Hire , George looked fabulously...
...countryfied (what a great word!).
Would a farm styled shoot be complete without a pair of braces and a flat cap?...the answer NO!
To finish the look off we stuck them both on a tractor that Barry had left us in the field and ‘Voila’...the perfect ‘It’s a Good Life’ wedding setting!
There is no point wearing heels on a farm so boots it was!
These amazing bridal boots were designed and supplied by Sarah at Wedding Converse , a fabulous alternative and comfier option for bridal footwear.
A bouquet and button-hole are a traditional floral feature for a wedding.
True to form Nia from Luvshifting Flowers arranged these beauties, with Orchids, Sweet William, Allium, Lilac Fern and Foxgloves, to name just a few.
Hair up, Hair down?...
...the lady behind Abbie’s gorgeous hair and make-up was the very talented Lucy Bernier Hair, Make-Up & Beauty. Lucy mixed it up with two different hairstyles to show off the two amazingly striking handmade crowns from Janie at The Lucky Sixpence.
‘Baa Baa Black Sheep have you any... ‘amazing wedding stationery’?
Laurel Designs
certainly has!
Not only did Carol produce these super cute
name place settings...
...as well as this gorgeous stationery set,
...but by using the straw bales Carol created this fantastic table-plan. Incorporating Gayle's milk churns and decorating them with flowers from Nia it looked just perfect for our Farm-Fest theme.
With the chilled out festival wedding vibe Chef Gary created a ‘help yourself’ style meal for two. This delicious platter shows how instead of a traditional three course meal it is also OK to offer your guests something that can be shared.
Food is definitely the answer to bring everyone together!
The cake can be a big feature of a wedding with everyone desperate to see what cake design the couple have chosen.
Kelly from Caked Away designed this stunning cake which fitted perfectly with our styling. With the asymmetric sprinkling of purple and pink dried flowers it had that natural feel to it without being too fussy, which is exactly what we wanted this shoot to portray.
Our videographer, Tom, was a complete saviour when he offered to capture our shoot on film.
Tom, (who is Lucy’s son) has just finished his A Levels in Film & TV Production and is now applying to join the Navy. Take a look at Tom’s fabulous video showing what went on behind the scenes of our photo-shoot.
You can imagine how thrilled we all were when our shoot featured on ' Unconventional Wedding '. It is such a great feeling to see the whole teams hard work go live on a wedding blog and of course we do love to receive a badge!
I am sure after reading this you will be wondering if the goats behaved themselves...
“Oi Antony...point the camera at me...I want to be in the limelight”
“What do you mean I can’t eat on set?...these flowers from Nia are scrummy!”
True diva supergoats!
This is what makes our photo-shoots so much fun. I mean what’s not to love about getting creative with fellow wedding suppliers and two pygmy goats in the great outdoors?
Lots of Love
Supplier Credits:
Photographer: Lightbox Studios
Field: Abbey Farm
Hair & Make-Up: Lucy Bernier Hair, Make-Up & Beauty
Dresses: Zaneta Burnett Design
Groomswear: Charles Gale Formal Wear Hire
Stationery: Laurel Designs
Catering: Chef Gary
Cake: Caked Away
Bar: The Fizz Tin
Props: Gayles Wedding & Events Hire
DM Bridal Boots: Wedding Converse
Florist: Luvshifting Flowers
Headpieces: The Lucky Sixpence
Videographer: Thomas Waller
...and our fabulous bride model Abbie Mayne and awesome groom model George Okoye!
