Blog Post

Aztec Boho Photo-shoot

  • by Natasha Gilchrist
  • 04 Aug, 2019

Bright Colours, Aztec Patterns and Two Ponies!

This photo-shoot was my first true baby of a photo-shoot!

Having previously worked with other suppliers on fantastic photo-shoots I wanted to plan one solely on my own to see if I could pull it off…and boy am I chuffed with the results!

My first thought was to try and come up with something a little bit different and to shoot at a location that was relatively new. As an ‘on the day wedding and events co-ordinator' my work is focused mainly at outdoor D.I.Y venues so I felt my shoot had to show what could be created when given an outdoor space to play with!

As a newbie and launching my business last year I was keen to meet with suppliers and in particular owners of D.I Y venues. On my search last summer I came across the beautiful ‘My Spare Garden’ in Romsey, which I discovered were also new to the wedding industry. After contacting the owners Penny & Graham, I was delighted when they said they would love to meet with me. On my arrival I was greeted with the warmest of welcomes and some homemade lemonade, which we sat drinking on their terrace whilst soaking up the sun.

Taking in my surroundings I was in awe of their beautiful grounds!

Getting to know Penny & Graham I knew instantly I would love to work with them in the near future, so holding a photo-shoot in their grounds was a perfect opportunity for us both.

Living on the Dorset/Hampshire border and working mainly with Dorset suppliers on my previous shoots, I was keen to venture the other way and collaborate with some Hampshire wedding suppliers too.

So, this was my chance… 

Top Left to Right: Model Dan Pryke, Lucy Bernier Hair, Make-Up & Beauty, South Coast Glamping, South Coast Marquees, Laurel Designs, Gates Bakes, Minster Designs Bridal Boutique, Tracey from The Photo Rooms, Model Courtney Vines. Middle Row Left to Right: 7th Wave Events, Me - Tasha-Mae Wedding Co-ordinator, My Spare Garden, Ella Anais Gilchrist, Jessica Hillier Floral Design. Bottom Row Left to Right: Model Ava Dover, Nadja from The Photo Rooms

…and WOW what a team!

The inspiration behind my shoot came about when chatting with Penny about horse-riding, as I could see some ponies grazing in one of her paddocks in the distance. As a horse lover myself, I couldn’t help but think it would be fantastic to have some equine friends in our shoot. When Penny mentioned one of her good friends Lyn had two perfectly behaved and camera confident ponies, that was it, my mind went into creative overdrive!

Meet the lovely Reilly and Pinocchio looking beautiful with their flower browbands, designed by the super talented Jessica Hillier Floral Design

Not only did Jess make the ponies look pretty but she also created a beautiful bouquet and button hole for our bride and groom, as well as transforming Penny and Grahams already beautiful archway into this exquisite piece of floral artwork.

Combine the archway and floral design with a stunning handmade macramé backdrop by Laurel Designs and the end result is breathtaking!

Carol from Laurel Designs is the ‘go to’ lady when it comes to stationery (having just won the National Wedding Awards for ‘Best Wedding Stationery’!). From invites, to save the date cards, table-plans and place settings Carol will create whatever you desire and for our shoot she designed and created this beautiful set with just the right amount of aztec boho…if that’s such a thing?

Carol will also turn her hand to most things so she set to making all the macramé décor and dreamcatchers for our shoot!

With an outdoor space, glamping is extremely popular especially for weddings. Having already met Becki and AJ from South Coast Glamping I knew they would be perfect for our shoot and that their bridal tent would fit in just right, so I was delighted when they said ‘Yes’.

Becki's glamping décor makes their bridal tent look and feel like a real bedroom with its cosy double bed, dressing table and brightly coloured soft furnishings giving off the aztec vibe, hence our theme and styling.

Give Gates Bakes a theme and Alice will create you a cake masterpiece…this was a jaw-dropping surprise when she produced this from her car!

With my little sidekick (and daughter) Ella Gilchrist helping to style the shoot, Ella had a fantastic idea of combining aztec jewellery to the shoot. What better person to have onboard for this than Francesca from Palomita with her little pieces of bohemian handmade jewellery.

Don’t ever think jewellery is just for the bride, these beetle brooches looked amazing on our grooms jacket.

Combine some quirky jewellery with two absolutely stunning dresses from Minster Designs Bridal Boutique and this is what you get! These dresses were just to die for…our model Courtney Vines looked totally gorgeous in both styles of dress.

Oh, and then put them all together on a pony…WOW!

Check out our handsome groom Dan Pryke in this very dapper tailored suit also from Minster Designs Bridal Boutique.

…and we can’t forget our adorable little flowergirl Ava-Marie Dover, a true model in the making wearing a blush pink handmade dress by Oxana, the owner of ‘Minster Design Bridal Design’. The silver dress was one of Avas favourite party dresses!

You maybe wondering who made our bride and flowergirl even more beautiful than they already are? The answer is easy to this …the very lovely ‘Lucy Bernier Hair, Make-Up, Beauty’! Absolutely loved the faux-hawk with flowers intertwined on Courtney and Avas loose flowing mermaid braid..sooo pretty!

Food Glorious Food…

This is a vital ingredient to ensure the guests are happy at a wedding and what better person than Mich from ‘7th Wave Events’ to keep them fed and watered? For our chilled out shoot these extremely yummy picnic hampers were whipped up…and yes, we did get to eat them at the end!

This amazing gallery of photos was captured by the dream duo, Tracey and Nadja from ‘The Photo Rooms’, who without them we wouldn’t have achieved such fantastic results. Between them they both have such a calming influence and as you can see certainly know their stuff when it comes to using a camera…you would be silly not to book them for your wedding!

With so many fantastic photos here are some more of my favourites…

To top it all off our shoot was featured in the July/August edition of Your Hampshire and Dorset Wedding Magazine. The best surprise was when we saw it on... the FRONT COVER!

Oh, and it also featured on The Outside Bride Blog…

…as you can imagine we were all pleased as punch!

So, if anyone ever says to you never work with children or animals, I can tell you it DOES work as we MADE it work!!

Lots of Love

Our super awesome team:

Shoot Co-ordinator: Me! -  www.tasha.mae.co.uk

Shoot Stylist: Ella Gilchrist - www.instagram.com/eagilchrist

Venue: My Spare Garden – www.facebook.com/MySpareGarden

Photographer: The Photo Rooms – www.thephotorooms.co.uk

Florist: Jessica Hillier Floral Design - www.jessicahillier.co.uk

Cake: Gates Bakes – www.instagram.com/gatesbakes

Glamping: South Coast Glamping - www.southcoastglamping.co.uk

Catering: 7th Wave Events - www.7thwave-events.co.uk

Hair & Make-Up: Lucy Bernier Hair, Make-Up, Beauty - www.lucybernier.com

Dresses, Suits, Flower Girl Dress: Minster Designs Bridal Boutique – www.minsterbridal.co.uk

Stationery: Laurel Designs - laureldesignstudio.co.uk

Jewellery: Palomita Jewellery -  palomitajewellery.com

Bride Model: Courtney Vines

Groom Model: Dan Pryke

Flower Girl Model: Ava Dover

Ponies: Reilly & Pinocchio

Ponies Owner: Lyn Ebdon

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