A Vintage Tea Party
We are so lucky to work in the wonderful world of weddings and this week we get to share our latest Vintage Tea Party styled shoot where we collaborated with the very best suppliers in the region. You may have seen the beautiful feature in Your Devon and Cornwall Magazine, if you haven’t and you’re engaged, make sure you buy your copy for fantastic inspiration and advice when planning your big day!
We feel fortunate to work with a strong team of suppliers (many of whom are listed on our Wedding Partners page). including the wonderful Agata from UpArt Photography. Agata is extremely enthusiastic and always has lots of exciting ideas, check out our supplier love celebrating all of the reason why we love collaborating with Agata. On this shoot Agata added:
“I always love to come back to the Duke, so it was very exciting to be asked to be part of this particular project. I loved the idea of Alice in the Wonderland theme. It amazed me how the other suppliers transformed this venue into something so beautiful, different and special. It truly was magical and so great to photograph.“
Our beautiful Tower has recently been licensed for wedding ceremonies and we felt that this was the perfect opportunity to showcase this unique setting, there’s certainly nothing else like it in the city or beyond.
We loved the idea of a tea party style shoot with lots of wild flowers and knew that Lou from The Secret Garden Flowers would have some amazing ideas! We previously showcased our Restaurant for a ceremony styled shoot with Liberty Pearl in 2015. With the high, domed ceiling and exquisite chandelier this space is perfect for a Wedding Breakfast.
This was our sixth styled shoot (not including Mini Wedding Collections!) and we wanted to create something a bit different which would hopefully act as inspiration for our couples, both for those who’ve already booked their wedding at the hotel and those of you that are still dreaming of your dream day.
Louise from The Secret Garden Flowers entwined the beautiful spiral staircase in our Tower with luscious flowers, using wild flowers in the chosen palette with plenty of foliage. Louise created everything from a beautiful headband for our bride to table centrepieces with flowers that looked like they were being poured out of the tea pot! We wanted the flowers to stand out and be one of the focal points and Lou certainly delivered!
“The Tower photoshoot was a wonderful opportunity to be creative with colour and design. The amazing team at the Duke gave me free reign to dress the tower and reception space to create a beautiful and slightly other-worldy feel. I created a large unstructured bridal bouquet, flower crown, buttonholes, a pedestal piece for the tower, I dressed the stairway to the tower with flowers and a large wreath, alongside poseys for the reception tables. There is no other space like the Tower-it feels as though you are escaping to a secret place, and the views are incredible. As ever, I loved working for this amazing venue!”
Carmen and Carys from The Prop Factory provided a selection of stunning props for the shoot. They worked with our team and Louise to choose the perfect pieces. We love the clock face stands in particular, they add an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ style twist, whilst keeping with an elegant wedding reception. Other items included large suitcases in the form of a cake stand and a beautiful vintage sofa.
“The space and grand rooms at The Duke make the perfect space to set up our range of props and furniture. We love collaborating and creating some really special inspiration for future customers”.
Rachel from Cut me off a Slice created not one, but two cakes for the shoot! The first was a three-tier iced cake, which Louise adorned with fresh flowers. We wanted the cake to be in keeping with the colours from the shoot and knew that fresh flowers would coordinate perfectly.
“We supplied two cakes for the tea party shoot as with cake design the possibilities are endless and designs can vary greatly for similar themes. One cake we provided was a plain iced cake adorned with beautiful fresh flowers to match and compliment those used in the rest of the shoot, tying in perfectly. The other design was a more classic cake look, white iced with blush pink sugar flowers and a touch of greenery, decorated with delicate cake lace to give a soft beautiful cake design; perfect for an afternoon tea themed wedding.“
Gem from Gem Ryder MUA had lots of ideas for our bride’s make up, but in the end decided to go with a natural and timeless style, which worked well and complemented the overall look.
“I always love working at The Duke, it holds plenty of happy memories for me as I celebrated my own wedding here, so I always love to return. This shoot was inspired by a Garden Party Theme with a hint of the Alice in Wonderland. For the makeup, I took my inspiration from the flowers supplied and used some fairly strong yet romantic pinks and golds on the eye and complimented it with a soft pink lip and cheek colour. The overall effect is a look which would suit many brides, is bold enough to be captured on camera but natural enough to look great on your BIG day!!”
April from April Wagner Hair worked with our bride to create a classic style to complement the make-up look. Our models shoulder length hair was styled with loose curls and of course the elegant flower crown, which set off the look.
“Working at The Duke is always a pleasure, but what a fantastic day we had styling our Tea party themed photoshoot. My favourite area of The Duke is the Tower so having that part of our shoot was amazing. With the beautiful summer’s day and picture perfect panoramic view, it made our styling easy. I decided to go for a beautiful classy loose curl which was bought to life with a colourful flower crown. Sometimes and in this case I would say ‘less is more”.
Denise from Cornish Celebrants performed the ceremony in our stunning tower. We were delighted to welcome Denise and felt this added another dimension to the shoot and something we had not captured before. Denise is fantastic and made everyone feel at ease.
“What a location and amazing views for the background for the ceremony shots and I just loved our ‘bride and groom’! Working with a real couple who obviously love each other so much made my job a lot easier….. no acting required!”
The beautiful vintage china was provided by the lovely Kim from Kimberly Rose Bridal Boutique. Kim and her husband Paul held their wedding at the hotel last year. We loved their china at the time and knew it would be perfect for this shoot. The colours from the china worked perfectly alongside our chosen colour scheme.
“We would fully recommend The Duke of Cornwall as a wedding venue, being only too happy to hire out our beautiful Old Country Roses China that we included in our Afternoon Tea wedding reception here last year”
Erica and Lyndsey from Anon Design created the beautiful stationery, using the Bright Blooms design suite as their inspiration. We absolutely loved this design with a combination of pink, teal and blue making the perfect colour palette. The deep blue in particular worked well in our Restaurant and coordinated perfectly alongside the décor.
Danielle from The Wedding Hub and from Rock the Frock provided the lovely vintage style suits for our groom and a pretty tea length style dress for our bride. Danielle has so many beautiful piece, check out her shop on Hyde Park Shops!
Dave and Sarah from Celebration Balloons provided the chair covers and sashes. The deep blue satin sashes complimented the décor of our Restaurant, remaining understated whilst classic.
Gareth from Soundview Media filmed the shoot on the day, working alongside Agata to ensure that every element was covered. The sun was shining and so the team took the opportunity to head outside to the adjacent park where Gareth was able to capture some fantastic footage! Check out our film promoting weddings in the tower.
Our amazing models were husband and wife, Rebecca and Colin along with their beautiful daughter Lily. The love between this pair is clear to see and we think it comes across from the photos. Thank you both!
We think you’ll agree that all of our talented suppliers did a fantastic job and have created something truly special. This shoot offers couples some fantastic styling inspiration as well as helping them to imagine the possibilities for their big day.
If you are engaged and looking for a unique dream venue, then call Toni on 01752 275861 or email weddings@thedukeofcornwall.co.uk to book a meeting. We can’t wait to meet you and play a part in your journey.