Less than two weeks ago I had this crazy idea - it was to set up a styled shoot in an overgrown field. At the time I had no clue where to even begin with finding the right location. I knew exactly what I wanted it to look like and also knew this wasn’t something I could do on my own so I reached out to suppliers who I used to work with pre France. I first contacted Simon at Buffalo Tipi’s because I vaguely remembered him walking through a field like this on his IG story the previous week. Within an hour he had found the most idyllic location for look 1. Then I managed to persuade Flowers by Passion, Sam’s Kitchen Events and Ash James to get involved, and just like that I was planning a styled shoot with two different locations in 5 days.
LOOK 1
Once we had the location locked in, I created a vision board which I shared with Jo from flowers by passion, she instantly got it. The magic between us is she usually just knows what’s in my mind before I do. We decided that we wanted to create a clean & contemporary style blended with a natural meadow location and bringing this through with the florals. I knew that I wanted to use something different for the cutlery and plate ware, so it was the perfect mix to work with the new business that is Country Crockhire – I’ve known Ellie for years and again because of Covid she’s come home to Bath. So, Ellie got involved and we used her amazing contemporary ceramic plates, glassware and cutlery. It completed the look, especially with a more modern style of candle from Ester & Erik. We also had Athena from Meticulous Ink create some simple yet effective menu cards, having those sit on the darker linen napkin really lifted the whole place setting.
In typical English summer style, the day started off wet, but that didn’t stop us. I had my wellies on and loved getting into the middle of the long grass whilst working out the best angles with the very talented Ash James, I love his photography and he’s possibly the only other person who is more obsessive about the tiniest detail than myself – lets just say we spent a good 30 minutes moving candles to ensure the balance was just right!
The whole look came together perfectly, and it was just so easy. The image of the table sitting perfectly within the long grasses was exactly what I had envisaged.
LOOK 2
Later in the day we moved to location 2, which was outside a Bath stone barn on the outskirts of the city. The idea was to create something with a bit more colour but still staying within a more contemporary style. I think this worked well – the colours pop against the backdrop of the wall. We also used ceramic bowls for the flowers and candles to sit in. I love using different materials as it gives the whole table texture especially when the base of everything is a natural wooden table.
LOOK 3
For years now I have championed the style of family style for a wedding dinner, this is something Sam’s Kitchen does very well. We wanted to showcase just how interactive this can be but not just that just how much drama and colour it adds to the tablescape. The original plan was to have this dinner outside however the English weather had a different idea. The family style menu works so well in all settings, people can get involved and it creates an instant talking point amongst people that maybe would not know each other.
Being back in Bath this summer where the company was first established was never the plan but because of Covid you could say we’ve come home, it has been such a nice feeling having incredible suppliers on my doorstep. We have all been working together for years and have friendships outside of what we do, so it was such fun to get the team back together for this.
I feel totally blessed to have the opportunity of working with such talented individuals, we have so much planned for the future and this won’t be the last you see of this wedding team creating magic! Watch this space.
Josh x
The team:
Ash James - https://ashjamesphotography.com/
Ellie Kenning - @countrycrockeryhire
Jo - https://flowersbypassion.com/
Sam Wylde - https://www.samskitchenevents.co.uk/
Simon - https://www.buffalotipi.com/
Athena - https://meticulousink.com/