A Styled Bridal Shoot Collaboration (Part III): Whimsical Woodland styled with a headpiece created by Hannah Berry Flowers

The third and final part of a creative collaboration with the fabulous team below. A dreamy boho theme set in a magical forest. HUGE thanks to: 

Model: Lydia Clyma

Hair Stylist: Kirsty Budden www.honestyhairdesign.co.uk

Make Up: Vicky Draper www.vickydraper.com

Wedding dress and wardrobe styling: Hannah at  http://hannahelizabethbridal.com

Dress: Anoushka G: http://www.anoushkag.com at http://hannahelizabethbridal.com

 Flowers & Headpiece: Hannah at http://www.hannahberryflowers.co.uk

Sneak Preview: Matthias & Dagmar's elegant Islington Town Hall and J & A Cafe Wedding in London, UK

     

On Saturday I had the great pleasure of photographing the sweetest couple, Dagmar and Matthias. They held a wonderfully intimate wedding celebration, full of understated elegance and style. Many guests travelled from Germany to witness this happy day. I've been excitedly following Dagmar's never ending Pinterest board, so knew the day would be awash with beautiful mint and blush tones (my favourite) and lovely details, but oh my nothing quite prepared me for so much pretty. Dagmar looked quite the Hollywood starlet from a bygone era. Her statuesque figure and elegant demeanour set her dress off perfectly, a modern day Marlene Dietrich... Matthias and Dagmar decided to meet before the ceremony for a "first look". This is the first time I've captured such an event, and I hope it won't be the last as it was such a joy to photograph pure emotion. The "first look" is traditionally seen in the US, and rarely occurs in the UK. It was moving to watch the couple’s first glances at one another, both looking so beautiful; I think I was just as excited as the couple! After their Islington Town Hall ceremony, everyone jumped on a red route master bus to the J & A Cafe in Clerkenwell for feasting, sipping champagne from vintage saucers and dancing to the 1920s band called Albert Ball's Flying Aces. I hope you enjoy my first few favourite images from the day; I can't wait to work on the rest!   :) LOVE x

Lisa & Daniel: A LOVE shoot in St Albans with a dash of Film Noir

Rain isn't always welcome on shoots but on this occasion I was jumping for joy! Lisa and Daniel chose to capture their LOVE shoot in an atmospheric Film Noir style which with a little help from mother nature came complete with glistening cobbled streets and mist filled chilly air...a very fitting backdrop for a touch of moody romance. Add the movie stars, a femme fatale and her chiselled lover, who happily jumped into character despite the freezing temperatures, and the scene could be straight out of a movie. The stars of the show stole kisses under the glow of hazy street lamps, canoodled in the dazzle of car headlights and smoked and whispered sweet nothings in the shadows of a desolate dark cold night. Another fun shoot in adverse weather conditions!  LOVE x

Seasonal tips for a magazine contribution

Can you smell Spring? Being a Summer loving kind of gal I particularly love this time of year with the excitement and sheer anticipation of the Summer months lying ahead. Blossom is a blooming, birds are busy tweeting, days are growing longer and light is shining brighter. Working with the seasons and the weather Gods offerings can prove a challenge on UK soil.

With this in mind, here is a little article for Life in Petersfield magazine which I had the pleasure of being asked to contribute a few tips and images, aimed at helping couples plan their wedding day revolving around each season: http://issuu.com/lifemags/docs/lip39  

More top tips are revealed by hairstylist Tracy West and make-up artist Nicky Rattray who also worked on the images illustrated featuring the beautiful hair pieces by Katie Elizabeth London. 

So let's embrace our seasons and the beauty and diversity they can offer... Just think soon we will be saying, "hello sunshine"! LOVE x

Model: Gina Godfrey

Headpieces: Katie Elizabeth London http://www.katieelizabeth.com

Dress: The Ivory Boutique www.theivoryboutique.co.uk

Hair: Tracey West http://traceywesthair.co.uk

Make-Up: Nicky Rattray http://www.facebook.com/Vanilla.Blush.Makeup?fref=pb

Congratulations & Celebrations with Warmest Wishes for the New Year...

Well another year has whizzed by with a distinct lack of caking baking...So as Viva Loves la blog reaches the tender age of two years old, what better way to celebrate than to bake a ginormous colourful cake! Bon Anniveraire Viva Loves!

The air is high on cheer at this time of year marked by a cluster of celebrations such as Christmas, my own Birthday, Viva Loves Anniversary, the dawn of a New Year and for some....something sparkly to mark an engagement to be married. 

I wish these lucky lovers huge congratulations on their super exciting news. To celebrate this and also to see the New Year in, I'm offering a very special discount voucher to be used on my wedding packages (http://www.stephanieswannweddings.co.uk/index2.php?v=v1#/rtext_5)

It's so lovely hearing proposal stories, so for those who received an almighty surprise of a cosy Christmas proposal or perhaps New Year was toasted with an extra sparkle, this voucher is for you. Huge Congratulations! 

To save the voucher below, simply right click it and "Save As", then drop me a few lines at: info@stephanieswannweddings.co.uk  Looking forward to hearing proposal stories :) 

Wishing all my readers a very Happy Healthy 2013...may your dreams come true... LOVE x