Rustic decor, an industrial setting, and elegant vintage style, it is possible to mix themes and ideas for your wedding.
Today's gorgeous wedding inspiration shoot photographed by San Shawe of Sanshine Photography and styled by Rachael Corigliano of Serendipity Weddings, does just that.
Fusing mossy green textures and delicate white wildflowers with steel girders and metallic decor touches – oh, and throwing some pretty accessories and romantic dresses in for good measure.
With everything covered from the cake to the stationery, and the florals to the styling, the shoot is laden down with ideas for couples who want to give a softer feel to an urban wedding, with offerings from some of the most creative London wedding vendors.
So, without further ado, we'll pass you over to the lovely Rachael Corigliano of Serendipity Weddings, to tell us more about the idea behind this shoot…
About the Shoot
The inspiration behind this shoot was to bring together two incredibly popular wedding themes; rustic and industrial.
The concept came to me while I was working on fresh and modern wedding ideas for my London clients. Many of them strive for the rustic look and an abundance of greenery on their big day but don't really want to have to stray from the city they call home.
I wanted to showcase that it is possible to combine an urban environment with contemporary rustic details and accents without anything looking out of place.
The gorgeous contrast that a bohemian dress, wooden furniture and rich green centrepieces can create in an otherwise industrial setting shows that with a vision and a little bit of magic from quality wedding suppliers, you can have your own little piece of rustic heaven right in the middle of the City.
The elegant images you will see today are the handiwork of San Shawe, the fabulous face of Sanshine Photography.
The Venue
On the rainiest of September days San, myself and a host of other wonderful suppliers headed to the West Reservoir Centre, a former water processing plant in North East London.
The majority of the shoot took place in the Centre’s main tower; its amazing structural design includes four-story high ceilings and original metal beams.
The Centre is situated on the bank of a greenery-edged reservoir which adds a calm, rural feel to an otherwise very urban venue.
The Style
Whilst florist Sarah of The Flower Bird and I got to work on styling the venue space, Laura of Laura Anne Hair & Make Up worked her magic on model Bianca, pairing flawless skin and an urban smoky eye with a rustic loose-curled hairstyle and pinned Emmy London’s Secret Garden Flower Drape into place.
Fashionwise, I knew I wanted the gowns to have a bohemian feel and for the first bridal look Halfpenny London’s Marilyne gown fit the bill perfectly, with its v-neckline and beautiful combination of French and Chantilly lace.
Bianca’s shoes were kindly loaned by Emmy London. The pretty Cinderella design features delicate crystal and mirrored glass details.
Bianca’s ‘Prince Charming’ was the delightful Matt who looked slick in a grey check suit and berry red tie.
The Stationery
Designer Lisa of Paperknots provided the beautiful invitation suite for the photoshoot.
She customized her stylish Amour range using a colour palette combination of luxurious pale silver blue, rustic kraft and splashes of black for an industrial feel.
The delicate botanical illustrations tied in perfectly with the shoot’s floral elements and ensured the look was as romantic as it was modern.
The Flowers
Sarah designed a loose hand tied bridal bouquet which included fresh, white hydrangea, scabiosa and astilbe blooms, splashes of dark red sanguisorba to add depth and foliage of mixed grasses, ferns and leaves.
A smaller, dainty posy of japanese anenomes was also created to compliment Clare's incredible cake design (more on that later!) whilst groom Matt was spoilt for choice with three mismatched buttonholes casually bound in rustic twine.
The Decor
The tablescape styling was the perfect opportunity to combine the two themes.
Rustic elements included vintage wood furniture, soft flowing linen and earthenware crockery whilst industrial touches came from mismatched metal cutlery, vases and candlesticks.
The table featured more of Sarah’s amazing floristry with centerpieces that included dahlias, anenomes, mimosa and amaranthus. Individual stems of chincherinchee were potted in galvanized metal favour tins and finished with rustic calligraphy place cards.
The crowning glory however had to be the hanging floral display. Sarah combined textured foliage such as berried ivy, bells of Ireland and ferns with subtle sprigs of amaranthus, mimosa, gravillia and wigelia to create an eye catching but subtle feature that showed the venue’s architecture off to its best.
At this point I also have to thank Mr Serendipity for being a fabulous helper on the day. He put aside his fear of heights to scale a rather tall ladder, positioning the plank and pulleys and turning my offbeat vision into a reality
The Cake
Cakemaker Clare from the Little Bear Cakery interpreted the theme with a sleek and modern square design combined with rustic bas relief detailing and silk ribbon.
This beauty of a cake was finished with trailing ivy and the most exquisite sugar Japanese anemone flowers.
An Outfit Change
With the rain easing and the sun making a very welcome appearance it was time to head outside for some waterside shots.
Bianca changed into beautiful boho style separates from Belle & Bunty, specifically the whimsical Brooke top and flowing Scarlett skirt.
To accompany the dress change Laura twisted Bianca’s hair into a loose chignon and finished the look with Emmy London’s Teardrop Halo hairpiece.
So beautiful, the blend of themes works really well, don't you think? It's all so fresh and airy.
The West Reservoir Centre is actually right by my home in London, I've passed it many times and the quiet waterside setting is pretty much as rare as you get in this city – I'll have to pop in next time I'm walking by!
Thanks so much to Sanshine Photography, Serendipity Weddings and the rest of their wonderful team for sharing their London wedding inspiration with us!
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