A Styled Shoot: Retro Valentines Vibes, Romantic Lace & Modern Florals & Styling
Venue: Lola Jeans, Tynemouth
When the idea came to me of doing a Valentines shoot, I started to ponder on how I could really make it different & what different elements could be added in to really make it stand out from the crowd. I started looking into Vintage Valentines aesthetics, from retro valentines day cards, cupids bows & vintage crockery and lace - I loved the idea of the retro cards being implemented in the shoot in someway. Then the ideas just spiralled from there!
Choosing the Venue;
I chose Lola Jeans as a Venue, purely because of the vibe and style of the venue, Lorna, who I met over the summer at a Wedding where Lola's were doing the catering, was kind enough to offer us the space on a Monday morning in January before the restaurant opened.
The venue has so many lush spots that we were able to use that fit in perfectly with the theme of the shoot; from chandeliers to cocktails in vintage cups.
The Concept;
I really wanted to stationery to play a big part of how the shoot came together, I teamed up with Carly @ With Bells On Invites, and she created the coolest design following the vintage valentines brief; the colour palette she used on the design was then weaved throughout the day; like the lilac in the florals. Originally I had just planned to stick with Red & Pink, but so glad we brought the lilac element into it, it added a whole new level to the shoot.
We were lucky to have a real couple for the shoot, which always helps in getting the best, real & heart-felt shots. SJ & Simon from the Smiths were great at creating high energy on the day and giving the best direction along side the creative duo at Rurose Film who documented the day on video!
I really wanted to incorporate the vintage element subtly; too much vintage could have totally killed the vibe. I found red glass tumblers from a charity shop for the glassware, Lisa's mum kindly gave us her vintage plates for the crockery & Amy @ Muscari had an abundance of vintage glass pots! I even raided my mums house - where I found the coolest plant pot which looked like it had cupids holding the pot - I wasn't even sure if it would be used but it was great to have the selection on the day to see what worked with the space and the rest of the design.
I love how the shoot looked nothing like the original 'table styling' document that I made, it's so great to get there on the day and see how your creativity flows rather than sticking to a strict brief. I feel we all work better that way too.
The Team;
The team came together fairly quickly for this shoot! Which is amazing, there were only a few suppliers we needed to find by the start of January, alot was organised already before Christmas (Valentines at Christmas has to be done haha). I've worked with a few from the group for a few years now, on various different projects - but welcomed some new suppliers too which was great! I love working with new creatives - I've always followed everyones work on instagram and loved being able to bring us altogether for a fun day!
If you're looking for wedding suppliers, who are just all round amazing at what they do, I'd highly recommend checking the gang out:
Photography: Sj & Simon from The Smiths Photography
Florals & Styling: Muscari Events
Videography: Ruerose Films
Stationery: With Bells on Invites
Balloons & Streamers: Imaginarium Balloon Studio
Celebrant: Lisa Wilson Celebrant
Cake: Lucy Young Cakes
Neon: My Dream Neon
Photobooth: Studio Social North
Models: TTM Mangement
Bridalwear: Rare Bridal Studio
Make-up: Meg Joannou
Hair Stylist: Keep it Pinned
On The Day;
The day was a total success; It ran on time and was totally stress free - when does that ever happen?
We arrived at the venue at 8am, where we started the set-up of the steamers & floral installation for the ceremony. Chloe & Amy are creative genius' & I bloody love working with them, forever in awe at their amazing work.
Katie, Meg & Jade got to work on making our beautiful bride, Beth, look incredible! With glowing skin, a loose wavy pony & a stunning satin slip dress. The groom looked sharp in a black tux and satin pink accents to valentines him up a bit!
With Lola's being a restaurant, we had the full use of the space up until they opened at 11:30, anyone who's done a shoot before knows how messy behind the scenes can look, but we absolutely pulled it out the bag by getting the main restaurant space ready for service and then we stayed in an area away from the customers, we all worked so well as a team when it came to sticking to the timings of the day.
For the ceremony Lisa Wilson (my fave celebrant & great friend) brought the coolest pinata for the couple to smash open and really have fun with - this looked great on shot! Lisa also really thought outside the box by thinking of the surroundings of the venue, Lolas is in Tynemouth which is by the sea, so Lisa had the idea of doing a stone ritual.
"Being by the sea, I thought it would be fun to use a stone ritual. In past centuries, couples could not always afford wedding rings, so to confirm their vows, the bride and groom cast a stone each into a nearby river or ocean instead of rings being given and received. Symbolising their remaining together forever as the tides of time ebbed and flowed over their lives. We could go to the beach to do this, or I can get some pretty flat peddles to add their initials with the date on. I’ll bring some items with me little treasures like seashells from the beach and handwritten notes." - Lisa
During the ceremony prep, Lisa got us to write advice to the couple on a long lasting marriage, my advice was simple "Laugh & Talk to each other",
After the ceremony, Lolas brought out the most amazing food for us to shoot (& eat!), Lola Jeans also does wedding catering, so the shoot was a great way to also get some images of the amazing things they do whilst being in their venue! I always recommend Lolas to my clients, especially those looking for a quirky street food option!
Like the lush food from Lolas wasn't enough, Lucy @ Lucy Young Cakes made us a REAL cake for the shoot - typically cakes on photoshoots aren't real, so I couldn't believe our luck when she said we could eat it. We took full advantage of the cake being real making sure we got loads of fun shots of the couple feeding each other cake. Which added to the fun element to the shoot.
We then moved on to 'The evening' which showcased the best photo-booth in the North East from Studio Social North - Tom totally got my vision and created the coolest border for the printed images.
We got some really cool GIF's & Boomerangs from the photo-booth & we all had a little play in it too, great fun! If we weren't on a time frame I would have spent a good few hours in there!
It was a really cool way for Kelly @ My Dream Neon to get some different shots of her neons too, the shots of the couple holding them looked great. I even got some shots with my neon too which I got from Kelly (She can do absolutely any design would highly recommend!)
The lovely ladies at High Life North also joined us on the day to document the day on their instagram stories - They're launching a wedding edit this week where you'll be able to read my article on how a wedding planner can really help with your DIY wedding -
Be sure to check it out! <3
Heres to the next shoot ;)
Happy Valentines Day! x
Interesting post