Vintage Style Bridal Fashion Shoot…

There was some debate recently on the Think Splendid Blog, on 'Staged Photoshoots for Wedding Blogs'.  The author, Liene Stevens posed the question, 'are staged photoshoots an inspiration to the couple planning their wedding, or are they just a marketing tool, and has the wedding industry lost sight of what the wedding is really about?'

Personally, I adore a well staged wedding photoshoot. For me, they not only represent the culmination of talents of a creative team (the Photographer, Stylist, Hair and Makeup Artists, Dress Designer, Models  etc), the results of which always excite me – they can also serve as an inspirational visual mood-board for those planning a wedding.  If it were me planning my big day all over again, I'd certainly be adding the images below to my wedding planning scrap book.

These photographs were shot by my lovely new online friend and contact, Sarah Vivienne.  I love their imagination, inventiveness and originality…

"I've only recently started theming these shoots (the last one was Alice in Wonderland) and decided to go for 'vintage' this time to celebrate the current trend for vintage weddings. I didn't want anything too literal or dated looking so the brief to my hair/make-up artist and the dress boutique was for a contemporary, wearable version of vintage. I'd studied vintage portraits and noted that very careful placement of hands was a big thing so went all out for trying some new poses. Hands are always tricky to pose well so this was a really good exercise…"

Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2010, Sarah Vivienne

Bridal Fashion Shoot, Photography by Sarah Vivienne...

"The shoot was a personal project. A wedding day isn't really the time to be experimenting and trying new things. But it's important to keep pushing yourself, learn new skills, think creatively and continually improve. So I often plan 'creative days' where I'll get together with models, stylists and other wedding suppliers for a day of shooting where anything goes.  Everyone involved pushes the boundaries a little to get some amazing, fresh and creative shots for their portfolios. It helps to raise everyone's standards and new Brides are inspired by the looks created. And it's lots of fun too!

It's important to say that that the models I choose for these shoot aren't professional models, they're either girls who want to get into modelling or regular people who have other jobs but are happy to dress up and be photographed. As a wedding photographer, working with non-pros, you need good posing and direction skills to make your clients look good in their photographs. A professional model would know what to do in front of the camera, so I deliberately steer clear of experienced models to keep me on my toes."

Bridal Fashion Shoot, Photography by Sarah Vivienne...

Bridal Fashion Shoot, Photography by Sarah Vivienne...

Bridal Fashion Shoot, Photography by Sarah Vivienne...

Bridal Fashion Shoot, Photography by Sarah Vivienne... Bridal Fashion Shoot, Photography by Sarah Vivienne...

The 'sweeping stair case'' shot is always a very dramatic scene…

Bridal Fashion Shoot, Photography by Sarah Vivienne...

Bridal Fashion Shoot, Photography by Sarah Vivienne...

Bridal Fashion Shoot, Photography by Sarah Vivienne...

Bridal Fashion Shoot, Photography by Sarah Vivienne...  Bridal Fashion Shoot, Photography by Sarah Vivienne...

Bridal Fashion Shoot, Photography by Sarah Vivienne...

Bridal Fashion Shoot, Photography by Sarah Vivienne...

Bridal Fashion Shoot, Photography by Sarah Vivienne...

Bridal Fashion Shoot, Photography by Sarah Vivienne... Bridal Fashion Shoot, Photography by Sarah Vivienne...

Bridal Fashion Shoot, Photography by Sarah Vivienne... Bridal Fashion Shoot, Photography by Sarah Vivienne...

Credits

♥  Photographer ∼ Sarah Vivienne
♥  Hair and Make-up artist ∼ Toni Perryman
♥  Models ∼ Sasha Wilford and Beth Norman (not professional models)
♥  Venue ∼ Chicheley Hall (a new venue which opened in June 2010)
♥  Vintage china ∼ Vintage Teas and RSVPs
♥  Dresses and jewellery ∼ The Bridal Gallery, Finedon
♥  The lace parasol and birdcage veil were ebay bargains!

What do you think? Do you appreciate that blogs post these type of images to inspire you?

You can see more inspirational staged/themed Bridal photoshoots on Love My Dress here.

Sarah Vivienne is a Northampton based Wedding Photographer (covering the whole of the UK), who loves all things wedding – visit her website here.

Much love,

Annabel xXx

Annabel

Annabel View all Annabel's articles

Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.

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