Dark Romantic Outdoor Wedding Inspiration at Upthorpe Wood, Suffolk

Dark, romantic and with ‘Twin Peaks’ undertones, today’s styled shoot is just dreamy. Set at Upthorpe Wood in Suffolk it portrays an alternative look and feel to the traditional wedding day and styling, with lots of touches that could easily be applied to your own big day. Here we catch up with shoot coordinator and photographer Maryann of The Menagerie Lifestyle who tells us who was involved and how this Upthorpe Wood shoot was created…

“Don’t fight the darkness. Don’t even worry about the darkness. Turn on the light and the darkness goes.” David Lynch

“I love nothing more than a wedding that’s quite out of the ordinary. So what better theme for a damn fine bridal photoshoot than a little Twin Peaks/David Lynch weirdness mixed in to change things up a little. Being a theme I had wanted to play around with for months, I was so excited when everyone said they were on board, it gave us the chance to explore a more esoteric theme while unearthing a dark, and dramatic side to my photography I don’t often get to bring to life.”

DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY HERE

“My idea was to create a set of images that most would be able to relate to in some way, we all have an inner dialogue that sometimes pulls in opposite directions – I wanted this shoot to be representative of that. And allow all of the suppliers to really show off what we can do, given some creative licence. The concept was bold and luxurious, looking for light in the darkness, alongside surreal, out of place elements, think TV’s in the woods, nontraditional dresses and fake clouds overhead and backlit for good measure, flashes of Twin Peaks iconography with dramatic flower installations completing the scene.”

“I like to think Mr Lynch would approve of some of our oddities. Set on a cold winter afternoon – not that you’d realise, the models and Michelle Lacey, our make up artist for the day did an amazing job despite the cold, creating two different looks in such a short space of time (and such an amazing source of help through the planning stages) While the stylists from Rock the Day created an incredible set that really made my job easy, which is no mean feat seeing as I’d asked them to create me an entire cloud among other things.”

“We had the pleasure of using the gorgeous Upthorpe Wood wedding venue, which gave us the perfect winter woodland backdrop for our escapades, dressed with gorgeous furniture from Anthology Vintage Hire who were brave enough to let me take their gorgeous pieces into the woods in winter!”

“Cakes and cookies were provided by RT Cakes – and I can personally confirm, they are delicious, of course we kept warm with hot coffee and cake whilst creating woodland flat-lays with stationery from Helen Smith Designs.”

“The jewellery was provided by Bloody Mary Metal , who are now my new favourite jewellery company (I bought and kept the tentacle earrings used in the shoot) their necklaces and rings adding an extra layer of other worldliness and completing the final look.”

The Team – Dark Romantic Outdoor Wedding Inspiration at Upthorpe Wood, Suffolk

Photography and Concept- The Menagerie Lifestyle @themenagerielifestylephotos

Styling – Rock The Day / Dresses – Rock the Frock Bridal @rockthefrockessex / Hair and Makeup- Michelle Lacey @bumblebee_bridal / Styling – Rock The Day @rockthedaystyling / Flowers – Passion Flowers by Emma @passionflowersbyemmaspowage / Jewellery- Bloody Mary Metal @bloodymarymetal / Veils – Sash and Veil @sashandveil / Cake and biscuits – RT Cakes @rtcakes / Stationery – Helen Smith Designs @helensc0tt / Venue – Upthorpe Wood @upthorpewood / Furniture – Anthology Vintage Hire @anthologyvintagehire / Accessories – PS With Love @pswithlov3 / Models – @clolloyd_ and @lillygraham