Editorial: Into The Woods

Into The Woods

Editorial Shoot

We're heading into the woods with MT Studio Weddings

This is the shoot that nearly didn’t happen. Richard from Something Borrowed Event Hire normally asks me in November every year: So, what are you planning for your annual shoot? And then he badgers me until I eventually give in and actually put the thoughts and plans forever spinning in my head in to words. This is how our creative process has started every year, for the last few years.

So in November 2019, I said I wanted to leave the front and inside of the barn and head into the woods, behind the barn, instead. I tried to paint the picture of earthiness, woodland eeriness, intimacy, the scent of green, soft light and sheer joy.

Richard, bless him, got the gist of that somehow and wanted to set to work straight away. (That’s Richard for you). But the extreme wet conditions last winter, the persistent rain, another high-profile shoot landing in my lap, and the sheer workload mounting for 2020 bumped our shoot from the to-do list to the wish-list.

Lockdown creatives

Then: Lockdown. All of us wedding professionals suddenly in a tailspin of postponements, income streams cut off, workaholics being told you need to stay inside for the next… no one knew.

Richard, going insane with boredom, was back onto the badgering. And I’m glad he did. The glimmer of hope came when it was announced that six people could meet, with social distancing in place, outside. Luckily for me, I had five insanely talented wedding professionals on tap - that could all read my mind like Richard.

A quick Pinterest board, my final decision on colour palette, and we were off.

Monika & Maciek, aka MT Studio – cutest and most talented couple ever – knew of Ailsa Renk: Instagram model and the most perfect woodland nymph you’ll ever see. (Super sweet and articulate and interesting, if you fancy a follow).

Emma at Signature Flowers arrived, van full of blooms and foliage, and set to work on the arch. Although Richard supplied the material, we left it for Emma, as we know from experience that she is the best when it comes to soft draping. She then spent the rest of her time there working on our majestic tree, at the very far end of the woods, while our other friends joined us.

Look at the brief

Charlene at Cherry Tree Cakerie took a quick look at the brief and delivered the most epic, hand-painted cake, full of texture suited to the organic surroundings. She also added biscuits in the same style, to finish off the tablescape.

Anna at Anna Jayne Designs moved away from her signature floral patterns and created something rather celestial in style. She also found the perfect quote to sum up the feeling being conveyed, and printed it on textile in the way only she can do.

Logistics

And what did I do? The “boring” stuff that I love: Making sure there was tarpaulin for rain (yep, it came in good use!), that the timings worked and were kept to, helping move, carry, fetch and supply. Highlight was using Richard’s enormous strimmer to clear our aisle, haha!

And Richard did his usual brilliant thing: Building the right size arch, stringing the exact lights I wished for, sourcing the table, fabrics, candles, crockery, cutlery and glassware to finish the look. That. Perfect. Look.