One of the most important decisions for a shoot, other than choosing a team that you can work well with and will help you create amazing images, is the choice of location. For the first time ever, we decided to shoot the entire collection in a studio rather than on location and when we got up last Monday morning we were so pleased we’d done so given the terrible weather!
As with all campaign shoots, it was an early start for us to make sure that every single dress was packed and ready to go, and that nothing was missed, but pretty much bang on schedule we left at 6am – London-bound, ready to work with our amazing team for one of our key shoots of the year.
I have to say, it’s not often you get to work with such an amazing team but we were lucky to be working with the best-of-the-best in the bridal industry – a true ‘dream team’ of professionals who insist on perfection and quality at all levels. Styling the shoot was Astrid Joss (the Fashion & Beauty Editor of Conde Nast Brides magazine); with Inanch Emir, celebrity hairdresser and multi-award winning Artistic Director of Inanch London (www.inanch.com); award-winning makeup Artist, Sarah Brock described by British Vogue as ‘the go-to makeup artist for award winning bridal makeup’ (www.sarahbmakeup.co.uk) ; ace photographer Jonathan Ryan (www.peoplebyryan.com) assisted by the lovely Nadine Burzler (http://www.nadineburzler.com/); fab videographer Luke Adams of Adams Multimedia (http://www.adamsmultimedia.co.uk/adamsmultimedia.co.uk/Blog/Blog.html) who will be producing a great BTS video for Madeline Isaac-James which you’ll see very soon; Heather Cole of Evelyn Cole Flowers (www.evelyncoleflowers.co.uk) who created THE most fragrant and beautiful arrangements ever; Jane Hardman-Ferris who made some beautiful pieces of millinery (www.hfcouture.co.uk); with the fabulous Stress Free Hire providing a selection of props for us (www.stressfreehire.com) and of course, the ever-wonderful team at Madeline Isaac-James who for this shoot included Natalie, Gwyn and our intern Phuong. A huge thanks to everyone involved, it was a great day and an absolute pleasure to work with you all.
The main campaign images will be released next week, but in the meantime, here’s some snapshots of the behind-the-scenes action!
The finished images will be released next week, and we’ll shortly be releasing the behind-the-scenes video, so keep checking back! Our thanks again to everyone involved in this shoot xx
Our blog post today is not our usual in as much as it has nothing to do with weddings or the bridal industry. Instead, we are dedicating today’s post to both former and currently serving military personnel of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, as a mark of respect on Remembrance Day. With our strong links with local military towns (one of them being our ‘next door neighbour’ Aldershot ‘the home of the British Army’) we see many brides whose husband-to-be is a member of the Armed Forces and indeed, brides themselves who are members of the Armed Forces. We feel it important to say thank-you to those who have, and continue to, put their lives on the line to maintain the freedom that so many of us take for granted.
“We’re Lisa Smith and Dave Gallagher of Vow Bridal Gallery. The Gallery is just four weeks old, but our business is longer in the making! We have left the ‘corporate world’ and set up our business together. I (Lisa) wanted to get back to doing something creative! After doing a Performing Arts Degree I transferred my presentation skills to the environmental industry where I spent the next 17 years. I reached that classic time in my life when I wanted to do something different. Being in the bridal industry means I can realise my dreams of having a creatively displayed boutique (which we call the Gallery), as well as helping brides to select the perfect outfit for their wedding. We work hard to create a ‘total look’ for our brides and the overall style is something which really interests me. It has also given me the chance to work alongside my partner Dave as we also have formal menswear for hire.
Our Gallery is situated in the courtyard of the picturesque Haycock Hotel in Wansford near Peterborough. We knew we wanted a certain look and feel and so we held out for the right surroundings in which to locate our new business. We want the whole visit to us to be an experience and so our surroundings were really important. The Gallery is set on two floors within a listed stone building. Some trailing ivy sets off the outside, and the character filled interior makes for a great canvas for displaying our gowns and accessories.
So whilst we were perusing the veritable treasure trove of garters that Charlotte makes, we also came across horseshoes. Not something we’d set out to source, but seeing them sparked a memory of when I was about six years old of being ordered by my mum to run up to the bride and present her with a ‘lucky horseshoe’. Again – tradition. A tradition that we don’t see as much these days (and frankly, when you look at some ‘lucky horseshoes’ you probably wouldn’t want them in your wedding pictures – thinking of those tacky silver plastic things that you see in novelty shops. Yuck). No, the horseshoes by Atelier Rousseau are a frippery that you would quite happily have in your wedding pictures and again, are made with the highest quality materials using authentic traditional lightweight silver horseshoes.
With a who’s who list of some of the most well-respected names in bridal, the UK’s newest bridal trade show, The Essential Collection taking place at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire from Sunday 17th July to Tuesday 19th July 2011 is set to become a key show in the bridal trade calendar. Located at the home of The Royal Agricultural Society of England, Stoneleigh Park is a wonderful 800 acre site with up to 30,000 parking spaces and is less than 100 miles from most of the UK’s major cities, surrounded by beautiful English countryside. Madeline Isaac-James are delighted to be showing our new 2012 gown and accessory collections at this fantastic venue. For visitors and exhibitors alike, there is also a Pimms tent and a BBQ at the end of each day, and a Summer Party for both exhibitors and visitors.
