Love My Dress Wedding Blog

Rustic and Whimsical ~ Pretty Countryside Wedding Day Inspiration

My lovely friend Naomi Kenton came to stay recently.  Naomi is a really talented photographer - I love her use of natural light and the beautiful, luminous images she creates.  She is also someone who I have the pleasure of having worked with myself (she took the photographs for our beauty tutorial series, my most recent White Gallery visit, and this feature on wedding day perfume).  She is also a photographer who many of those new in the field of photography look to for inspiration, which is why, recently, she took some time out to collaborate with a small group of female photographers (at various stages in their photography career, some very new and just starting out, some a little more experienced) to produce a set of inspiration photographs.

One of those photographers Naomi collaborated with was Kerry Diamond, who explains a little more about how these images came about...

"We are a small group of female only photographers that met online through Facebook this year.  We decided to plan a fun weekend away together, with a bridal styled shoot included to help inspire us all and have fun taking photos together.   We also hoped that the images we produced would be worthy of sharing on Love My Dress to inspire readers, with their focus on pretty florals and a romantic couple styled rustic, country wedding aesthetic."

Image Credit - Kerry Diamond Photography

"Last month we all headed up North to the gorgeous little town of Glossop, Derbyshire, where we stayed in a camping barn on a farm over the weekend.  In bunk beds.  It was brilliant!

It was like we had known each other for years.  Plus after a few glasses of wine and a trip to the local pub for food (across a couple of fields in the dark without a torch!) we didn’t stop chatting and laughing all weekend!"

Image Credit Naomi Kenton Photography

"Our styled shoot was amazing and we managed to get the most glorious sunshine in between weeks of snow.  Although it might look like a lovely summer’s afternoon, it was actually freezing and there was still snow everywhere!  Photographer Natalie Leech agreed to let us use her parent’s farm for the shoot, which is in the most beautiful location right in the mountains of the Peak District."

Image Credit - Penny Young Photography

Image Credit Naomi Kenton Photography

Image Credit Natalie Leech Photography

Naomi told me "I was so excited when Kerry Diamond messaged me and asked me to join her group as I love making new photographer friends.  In our little group, some of us are more experienced and some are complete beginners, so this was just for fun, but I really hope that the photographs offer something in terms of inspiration for Love My Dress readers.

It was great to have a weekend away with some lovely girls and plan a styled shoot together.
Our theme was rustic whimsical and filled with flowers – we shot on a farm in the middle of stunning mountain scenery.  We had haybales everywhere and so many gorgeous flowers from Bex at Blush Floral Design   A sweet local couple Jade and Andy came along as our models and also some cute local children were our bridesmaid and pageboy.

It was an amazing few days away for me – as afterwards I went to stay with my lovely friend Annabel at Love My Dress, at her gorgeous new house in Whitby for a couple of days!  I totally fell in love with Whitby and the surrounding countryside and moors – thank you for having me come and stay with your gorgeous family and for being such a lovely friend!"

Awwww, pass the tissues! 

Image Credit Naomi Kenton Photography

Little Miss Photography

Image Credit Natalie Leech Photography

Jenny Packham Minverva Elegance for a Northbrook Park Wedding

Oh my darling readers, I'm sorry this is a little late, I really am, I couldn't let today slip by without featuring a lovely wedding though, and because I"m late, I've brought forward one of the loveliest weddings I have waiting to be published to inspire you.  I think you're going to love this.

These beautiful photographs were sent in by Naomi Kenton, whose fine art wedding photography we are huge fans of here at Love My Dress.

Katie and Stu got married on 26th July 2012 Northbrook Park in Farnham, Surrey - a day which also happened to be the hottest day of 2012 - reaching temperatures of 32'c!  I'm imagining that Katie felt effortlessly cool and chic in her gorgeous, backless floaty gown however...

"My dress was Jenny Packham Minerva and I purchased it from Shay Harris bridal boutique in Southampton.  I knew I wanted this Jenny Packham dress as I loved the soft tulle layer skirt and the gorgeous vintage beading and detailing on the shoulder..."

Love My Dress Wedding Blog - Photography Copyright (c) 2013, Naomi Kenton

"I was unable to get an appointment at the Jenny Packham boutique, so searched to see where else stocked this dress, and stumbled across Shays shop.  I made an appointment to try it on and to begin with was really disappointed, as the style did not suit me at all.  The dress had a dropped waist, which on someone of only 5'1 was not at all flattering.  loved the top half of the dress though, and asked shay if she could move the skirt to on my waist and create a waist band of tulle around to give it more definition, that would then tie in a bow at the back..." 

"I had a vision of soft pastel pinks, and feminine - almost ethereal touches to the wedding styling.  Bex from Blush Floral Design was one of the first suppliers we booked to help me achieve my styling vision.  Her flowers are so beautiful and meeting her and her lovely mum for our consultation assured me she would do a fantastic job. We wanted the flowers to be romantic, soft and blousy, in pastel pinks, creams and greens.

Bex understood me perfectly and created such beautiful flowers that when I was handed my bouquet on the day I cried because it was everything I had imagined and more!"

"Shays dress alterations were faultless and it made the dress even more special to me, as I knew it was unique and styled to suit me perfectly."

"My shoes were Christian Louboutin and were one of my favourite purchases for the wedding. Although you couldn't even see them under my dress I loved them to pieces. Also all of Louboutins bridal shoes have blue insoles, so they were my something blue!"

"My friend Abbie from university set us up. Her boyfriend (now fiancé) Jon and Stu have been best friends since the age of 10 and Abbie told me I had to meet Stu as she thought we would get on really well.  They arranged a night for us to meet, and we have been together since that night.  Four years and ten months later we got married!

We got engaged on the 12th August 2011 on a trip to Rome to celebrate my birthday.  I had no idea Stu was going to propose; it was the perfect proposal, just before midnight by the ancient ruins of Rome (The Forum) all lit up.  We originally planned to wait until 2013 to get married, but one month after getting engaged we decided why wait so long and started organising for a 2012 wedding."

"I had my three best friends as bridesmaids and also my cousin Mia who is only 11. It was hard to find a dress that was suitable for all four of them to wear, as I didn't want Mia to be in something different to the other three. I found these beautiful pink chiffon pleated dresses from Kaliko and Shay Harris altered a size 8 to fit Mia's 11‐year‐old frame. Shay Harris is an absolute genius with alterations and Mia was over the moon to be wearing the same dress as the 'big' girls!

The bridesmaids shoes were a bargain buy from H&M. I loved the gold t-bar design, as they reminded me of the shoes Baby wears in Dirty dancing! I even brought a pair for myself to wear on honeymoon I loved them so much!"

"My two cousins who flew over from Thailand to attend the wedding were our flower girls. They both wore a dress and shoes from Monsoon..." 

"My veil was the one my mother wore on her wedding day nearly 30 years ago and was my something borrowed. It was silk tulle and edged in lace. When I tried it on with my dress the colour matched perfectly. "

"My hair band was from Powder Blue Bijoux On Etsy. I wanted something beautiful and slightly crystally without being too bling, it tied at the back of my hair with a satin ribbon in a bow.

Stu’s mother Eileen gave me a pair of beautiful pearl studs from Links of London on the morning of our wedding. I wore these for the day as they fitted perfectly with the pearl detail on my dress.  In the evening I added a crystal and pearl detail bracelet also purchased from Shay Harris."

"Northbrook Park is so beautiful that there was not much need for adding decorations. But we did have giant helium balloons tied around the gardens, which looked amazing..."

"Our table plan was an old map of Rome (where we got engaged), purchased from Ancient Shades on Etsy. Each of the tables were named after our favorite places we went on our trip."

"Our photographer was Naomi Kenton. I was really struggling to find a photographer and mentioned on a consultation with Bex our florist that I couldn't find anyone I liked. She recommended Naomi to me, and as soon as I saw her pictures I knew I wanted to book her.

Her style is so soft ‐ feminine, romantic and really captured the beauty of the day.  She uses natural light in such a stunning way I can't believe how beautiful the pictures are."

Naomi Kenton ~ Fine Art Wedding Photographer

Here at Love My Dress, we have never made any secret of the fact we adore the work of fine art wedding photographer Naomi Kenton.

Naomi belongs to a very select group of people who have managed to take a portrait of me that doesn't immediately make me want to bury my face in my hands and cry! {Take a peek at the Love My Dress Beauty Series for evidence of this!} She doesn't simply take beautiful photographs though, Naomi is also one of the friendliest people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting.

Annabel and I were thrilled when Naomi decided to come on board as a sponsor, as we wouldn't hesitate to recommend her to anyone searching for the perfect photographer to capture their wedding day.

Shall we get to know the lady behind the lens a little better?! 

 

'Hello – I’m Naomi Kenton, I am a fine art style wedding photographer.  

I live between Andover and Newbury (Hampshire/Berkshire area) – but I travel all over the UK for weddings.  I love travelling and I am also available for weddings worldwide.'

How did you get into wedding photography?

'I made a career change a few years ago, so I haven’t always been a photographer. I’ve actually only been photographing weddings for the past three years, but I am very lucky and happy that it has taken off so fast – so far I have already shot over 100 weddings and I am having an amazing time!'

What do you love about photographing weddings?

'I love everything about being a wedding photographer! I love the excitement I feel when I first see the wedding venue– especially if I am going to be spending the day somewhere really lovely with lots of pretty things to photograph. I love all the little details the couple have planned, and seeing their personality through them.

Happy and relaxed clients that understand and appreciate my style of photography are my favourite, and I really adore weddings that suit my natural pretty style – such as countryside weddings, rustic weddings, seaside weddings, home weddings, destination weddings, vintage weddings or days filled with lots of flowers and pretty things.' 

**DIY Makeup Video Tutorial** A Simple and Sultry Smoky Eye Look...

Annabel and I both love a good smoky eye. There's just something about the way a woman looks when her eyes have been enveloped in a haze of smouldering colour. It's seductive, sultry, a little bit sexy even. At the very least, that's how sporting such makeup can make a woman feel and, as I firmly believe glamour is a state of mind as much as it is anything else, a smoky eye may be all anyone needs to look fabulous.

Clara Bow shows us how it's done...

With this in mind, and once again using the glamorous Luton Hoo Hotel as a backdrop, I set to work with photographer Naomi Kenton, filmmaker Frances of Reellove Films and expert Makeup Artist Lucy Baker to bring you today's tutorial.

If you're keen to channel the likes of 1920s screen siren Miss Bow with an alluring pair of caliginous eyes, the next video in the Love My Dress beauty series is just what you need. As ever, be sure to continue reading below for more of Lucy's expert advice and great product recommendations...

Film Production & Copyright (c) 2012, Reellove Films

Makeup Artist Lucy Baker told me that creating the perfect smoky eye is all about great blending and building up layers of colour using a small amount of product at a time to create a hazy, smoky look. Here are her step-by-step instructions to help walk you through the video above...

Love My Dress Wedding Blog - Photography Copyright (c) 2012, Naomi Kenton

Choose a matte base colour. Grey, brown, or even purple tones work really well. I used a shadow by Topshop called ‘Leather'. Work the product all over the lid and into the root of the lashes using a soft brush {I use an eye shadow brush by Illamasqua}, ensuring an even coverage. Be careful not to apply loads of shadow at once. You can always add a touch more makeup if needed, but it is much harder to take it away. Now softly blend any edges using an eye shadow blending brush such as the MAC 217...

Gradually build up the eye shadow colour to achieve the desired intensity. Follow the shape of your eyelid up to the socket line and blend slightly outwards for a lovely big eyed look!

Using the same shadow and brush, trace underneath the eye to create definition. You can tidy up using a cotton bud if you make any teeny mistakes – I always do!

To complete the smoky shadow, I added another slightly lighter shade to lift the matte brown and add some subtle shimmer. I went for a blingtone shadow by myface.cosmetics in the shade sp”ice”y. This is a mid-toned brown with a gorgeous foil like finish which, when applied over a darker colour, looks simply incredible.

Wash the product over the matte brown area of the eye and blend using your finger or a brush so that the shadow stays put. Apply to the inner corner of the eye as well as underneath the eye. I used a great affordable brush by GOSH {available in Superdrug} to apply the shadow to this area.

Next, add some black kohl pencil to the upper lash line. I used Bourjois Khol & Contour in Ultra Black. Blend using a small brush such as the 211 detailer brush by Japonesque. 

Finally, add lots of mascara to the upper and lower lashes. If you need some extra help with this step then be sure to check out our Neutral Eyes and Luscious Lashes tutorial. For even more added drama see our guide to applying individual false eyelashes.

Ta-daaaaaaaaa! The smoky eye is born!

This was the last look of the day from our shoot at Luton Hoo Hotel. I loved breezing in to my favourite Japanese restaurant for post-work dinner and drinks with a good friend while still wearing my sultry makeup. It certainly provoked a few admiring 'ooohs' and 'aahhhs' from my girlfriend! 

Are you a fan of the smoky eye look?

Do you plan to wear your makeup a little sultry on your wedding day?

Do you have any questions for our expert Makeup Artist Lucy Baker? Feel free to post them in the comment section below...

Oh, and if you're wondering about that divine red lippy I'm wearing above, you need to take a peek at our red lips tutorial.

You can see more beauty tutorials here:-

*  Red Lipstick
*  Neutral Eyes and Luscious Lashes
*  Applying The Flawless Face **also featured on Etsy Weddings**
*  How to Apply Individual False Lashes

Franky

 

Credits:
Makeup Artist: Lucy Baker
Venue: Luton Hoo Hotel
Photographer: Naomi Kenton
Videographer: Reellove Films
Franky's Hair Stylist: Victoria Fraser Gadd 

Copyright Notice: The film and images contained within this page have been produced for the Love My Dress Wedding Blog and may not be reproduced elsewhere in any format without permission.