Some serious cool bride style on today’s blog post. Created by Iyata of Iyata Golding Designs and Hannah of Green and Wild Flowers at The Old Library, Birmingham; it’s full of lush orange styling, the most beautiful florals and of course dreamy wedding dress that could rival any red carpet look. It’s fresh, modern and full of the most divine details, mixed with an urban vibe and uber cool theme. We catch up with the team behind this inspirational shoot.
The Photography
Photographer – Leesha Williams Photo
“I was really excited when I saw the brief for the shoot, the concept was really unique and I loved the different textures and the multicultural styled elements. For the photography, I kept it fun, relaxed and not entirely romantically focused. I photographed the couple to achieve a touch of regality, which complimented the stylish clothing. For the couple shots, I focused more on the editorial side to really highlight the shoot styling.”
“The Venue has amazing windows and skylights which I had fun with by playing with the shadows and light. Some of my favourite shots are from the afternoon whereby we took advantage of the
golden hour light and used the blinds to create shadows on the couple’s faces. I recommend waiting for the sun to dip when taking couple shots as it creates beautifully dramatic dimensions to the photographs. I incorporated my own moody and alternative style into more intimate shots which worked incredibly for this shoot.”
The Styling
Stylist – Iyata Golding Designs
“The styling incorporated multiple aspects of modern multicultural weddings. For example, the Bride’s culture was highlighted though using an African fabric sample as the foundations of the wedding’s colour palette. African fabric inspired the bridal bouquet (which Hannah and I constructed together) and the Jacket (bringing cultural significance to both the modern and traditional aspects of the wedding. The headwrap, styled with flowers, was a twist on traditional African-Caribbean attire and such re imaginings gave a boho and modern elegance. Incorporating and re-imaging a significant fabric, object, or traditional dress is a fabulous way to include your culture, making a beautiful, personalised, bespoke wedding. The stunning Victorian architecture was utilised through using a vintage sepia pallet, art deco features, and seated portraits. The venue offered an abundance of natural light that celebrated the darker skin tones of the couple and finding such a complimentary space is ideal for multicultural weddings.”
Wedding decor – The English Wedding Company
“For wedding decor, my initial inspiration comes from the couple and the venue location. It’s important for a theme and colour palette to reflect the couples personalities as well as complimenting the venue. My advice to couples planning their big day is to take a step back and consider if your theme or colour palette will compliment the venue first and then use the internet to determine the finer details, such as centrepieces etc. It’s so easy to be overwhelmed by the vast amount of information available, but by starting with a basic palette, you can create an event which flows beautifully. My inspiration for the shoot came from the rich palette of burnt oranges and strong earth tones. The palette is so impactful, that I kept the décor to a minimum, instead choosing key pieces such as the small ceramic bottles and taper candles in colours from the palette.”
Spreads company – Spreads and Breads
“Our style of grazing creates food that brings people together, creates special memories and Instagram worthy photos. In essence it’s a cooler alternative to a buffet, where beige food and tiny canapés don’t cut it! Taking inspiration from the autumnal vibe of the shoot, our bespoke displays are made up of unique quality ingredients, sourcing where possible artisan cheeses, cured meats, fresh fruits and vegetables and handmade produce. Your guests can graze throughout your BIG day, without any formal sit down meal, which gives a relaxed informal atmosphere. Get the look by sourcing fresh produce with autumnal colours, ensure you have selection of cheese to cater for your guests preference, offer variety. Pick a few key products that you can use all over you display to pull it all together to create a stand out graze”
The Bride
Dress – Poppy Perspective
“My dresses are for brides who want a less traditional, cool and comfortable dress. First, the ivory lace ‘Gigi’ dress was a chic and pretty option but the open back, unusual geometric lace and split skirt give it a little edge, which worked so well in this shoot. Second, the gold wrap ‘Harlow’ dress is for a luxurious look. The pale gold silk was perfect against the boho styling and complemented elements and textures in the shoot. It’s made in the softest silk crepe which makes it lightweight and comfortable to wear whilst making a real statement!”
“Both dresses are sustainably handmade to order by me using British sourced fabrics. I love the current trend for adapting your wedding dress to wear again after the big day, because why invest in something to wear it only once?! Both these pieces could be easily adapted into shorter dresses or into a jumpsuit Jewellery I believe that for wedding jewellery, ‘less is more’. I recommend a more subtle and simplistic look instead of an overpowering and busy one. I chose a mixture of gold plated and filled gold jewellery as the warm tones complemented the vintage style dresses and the golden flower arrangements. The long gold bars in this shoot worked with the bride’s beautiful headwrap. I recommend choosing your jewellery after picking your dress and hairstyle. When layering jewellery, dainty and hammered pieces work well as they provide a variety of textures and shapes. My jewellery choices for the shoot aligned with my belief that low cut dresses look beautiful with layering necklaces whereas high-neck dresses look lovely with statement earrings. I would always suggest wearing something that you would wear again! Choose classic, timeless pieces that suit your style.”
Personalised Jacket – Rock Paper Nib
“The brief for the jacket from the stylist was to incorporate traditional African material into the shoot through having a jacket with African cloth designs on it, preferably as a panel or/and on the jacket pockets. The colours for the pattern needed to be with yellow tones gold and white. It’s not a direct copy of a print but more a use of the elements of african cloth the stylist sent as a reference. The shoot is a reflection of the fusion weddings that many people of African/Caribbean/Asian heritage have. Thus the personalised jacket is a great expression of the stylish modern African element of the bride.”
Make up artist – Makeupology
“Some of my weddings are multicultural so I was excited to get involved with this shoot. My aim for the look was to create an earthy modern bride look inspired by Solange Knowles. Brides makeup I filled in brows with nyx brow pencil in brunette, on the eyes used soft golden tones from inglot and mac. I lined the eyes using black liner from inglot no77 to define and make eyes stand out, added subtle false eyelashes to finish. I used Weleda skin food to hydrate the skin, for the skin my aim is to keep the skin really clean and radiant by mixing a touch of illuminator and illamasqua skin base foundation with subtle soft golden highlights to the cheek bones, that pops when the sunlight hits it, completing the look with bold red lips and switching it up later with a nude lip to compliment the gold dress.”
The Details
Florist – Green and Wild Flowers
“The flowers for the shoot were influenced by the warm autumnal colour palette that was sourced from the African fabric. A mix of dried and fresh flowers in tones of oranges, golds, browns and contrasting shades of off-white. This colour palette worked perfectly in contrast with the stark white rooms of the Old Library. We used gold stands to create floral pillars for the ceremony area. This is a great idea when on budget as by using minimal flowers it still gives a maximum impact in a large space that could feel quite empty otherwise. The gold stands are movable so can be reused in other parts of the wedding! Various brass vases and brown apothecary bottles added to the look, again these give maximum impact and need minimal flowers which is great for reception tables, especially when table space is limited due to sharing platters or grazing runners.”
Stationery – Pen & Fold
“Celia at Pen & Fold ‘I love being involved in styled shoots with black, mixed race, asian, interracial couples and same sex couples, who have been underrepresented. it’s time for change! Celia’s work is inspired by patterns in nature. This ‘rainbow suite’ invitation pattern and colour scheme was created from looking at the natural patterns found in coral. ‘The rainbow shape has been used during the coronavirus pandemic as a symbol of both hope and gratitude, I wanted to echo this shape and meaning in the stationery for the couples getting married at this time’. The muted tones of this stationery worked perfectly with the look of the whole shoot, and the stationery was so beautifully styled with dried palm and Ankara fabric. Pen & Fold create unique laser cut & foil pressed stationery, working with couples to create tailored designs from the house collection, or bespoke stationery suites.”
Cake – Vanilla Cakes
“The cake was inspired by the rich colours and natural beauty of the autumn season. The saturated colours of burgundy, gold and russet beautifully complimented the natural features of the fresh flowers, foliage, pearls, and fruit. The ripe black berrires were accentuated with gold to coordinate the cake with the regal essence of the shoot. Autumn is a season of warm tones and plentiful harvests, so let your cake be indulgently decorated to match! The main color of the cake was white, as is traditional, because I consider it the perfect colour for a wedding cake. But the touches of gold and additions of extravagant toppings made the cake inline with the shoot’s modern, personalised and unique styling.”
The Team – Cool Bride Style With Poppy Perspective Wedding Dress At The Old Library, Birmingham
Photographer – Leesha Williams Photo @leeshawilliamsphoto
Florist – Green and Wild Flowers @greenandwildflowers / Stylist and florals – Iyata Golding Designs @iyata_golding / Venue – The Old Library, Birmingham. @theoldlibrary_ / Make-up – Makeupology @makeupologybrides / Dress Poppy Perspective @poppyperspective / Jewellery – Jodie Fern Jewellery @JodieFernJewellery / Stationery Pen & Fold @penandfold / Cake – Vanilla Cakes @vanillacakes_rugby / Jacket – Rock Paper Nib @rockpapernib / Wedding decor – The English Wedding Company @theenglishweddingco / Spread company – Spreads and Breads @spreadsandbreadsuk / Female model – Kayla Cadence @kayla_cadence / Male model – Faaris Mughal @Faaris_mm /
IF YOU LOVED THIS WEDDING INSPIRATION AT THE OLD LIBRARY WHY NOT PIN IT TO YOUR WEDDING PINTEREST BOARDS?
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