Wedding Magic at The Duke
The 19th of April saw The Duke collaborate with some of the amazing talent in the local area to create our latest stylised wedding shoot. Think Audrey, think 1950’s…!
The day was filled with creative, passionate people, who love all things weddings, joining together to create another beautiful showcase of all The Duke can offer to potential couples considering getting married at the hotel.
Capturing the day we had the talented Photographer Toby Lowe and we also were delighted to have Baxter and Ted on hand to record a film on their many nifty cameras. It is always so wonderful to watch people who are passionate about what they do at work. They will do whatever it takes to get the perfect shot and they did.
Predominantly based in our newly refurbished Hayward Room, the shoot was filled with natural light from the five floor to ceiling windows that make up the far wall, creating a beautiful setting for Christine Trewinnard’s bespoke dresses and Flourish’s stunning centrepieces.
Starting the day off at 9:00am our lovely models, Rachael and Ashley, arrived along with Milly and Lauren from No.4 Hair Boutique and Rebecca Searle the wonderful make-up artist and the team got straight to work. The precision and detail that went into both the hair and make-up is something that all of us just couldn’t help but be astounded by.
The detailing of Rachael’s hair fitted the style perfectly and the girls were on hand all day armed with hairspray, grips and a comb to make sure not one hair went out of place. Rachael’s make-up also fitted our style perfectly and Rebecca executed it effortlessly.
The room was decorated to perfection by the hugely talented Jayne from Flourish, the colouring and design worked wonderfully with the room and lent itself perfectly to some teaser shots. The beading and detail was second to none and everyone commented on the impact when you walked into the Hayward. Anon Design created our bespoke stationary for the shoot, working with the 1950s Art Deco feel, their designs fitted in so well and were exactly how we wanted them to be – even down to the names of the people attending!
Cut Me Off a Slice were kind enough to supply us with a cake (unfortunately we didn’t get to eat it, as we know their cakes are delicious!) – from the feathers to the pearls we couldn’t have asked for a more fitting cake – not only did we get three tiers, but we also got cupcakes and little cake balls which were exquisitely decorated.
Sitting Pretty were on hand with their beautiful chair covers and ruffles (you can never have too many ruffles) – they finished off the room beautifully.
We were so happy to have The Lucky Sixpence on board with their stunning hair pieces, ranging from intricate combs to dazzling headbands every single one was perfect (it was hard to choose only two!) – keep an eye out for them, their detailing is beautiful and no two pieces are the same…we were spoilt for choice.
The incredibly talented Christine Trewinnard provided the dresses for the shoot…and goodness weren’t we the lucky ones! Christine brought along three dresses, all very different, but each as amazing as the other (one of which she designed especially for our shoot!) Spinning, dancing, sitting and standing these dresses lent themselves perfectly to Toby’s vision. The detailing and finish of the dresses was stunning – we all wanted to try them on and feel like a princess for an hour!
The suits and shoes for our groom were provided by The Grooms Room (The Wedding Company) – and I’m sure you’ll agree when you see the shoot they look very dapper indeed! Perfectly fitted and shoes shined up so you could see your reflection, it was the perfect attire for our shoot.
Toby has such a calm approach to his job (although maybe not in his head) he was able to relax our models and get the most amazing photographs from them (armed with a joke or two to get them smiling). His tool kit contained five cases of batteries (as he says “you can never have too many batteries”) and two cameras he managed to get the exact shot he wanted with such ease and professionalism – no space was too small or awkward.
Baxter and Ted always find gorgeous movement and work so incredibly hard to capture the best film possible. Their knowledge of lighting and cameras is second to none, they’re a joy to have on set and smile their way through the day. Their bag is full of the perfect cameras for the shoot you are looking for, from ones you can clip your iphone into to ‘proper’ cameras and they have a particular trick up their sleeve, which is perfectly suited to the Duke!
We can’t thank everyone who was involved in this shoot enough! You are all so amazing, we can’t wait to see what we have created and share it with the world!