by Liz Baker Photography | Inspiration
Demelza
Poldark
The Spirited West Country Bride
Poldark wedding inspiration with excerpts from Winston Graham’s novels…
“Ross Poldark is not a novel which ends with a wedding, like Jane Austen. It’s the first of twelve novels about a marriage, which lasts the rest of their lives. The sudden, shocking, unconventional marriage of Ross and Demelza is at the heart of this magnificent, beautifully written series of books.” Tim Vicary
“And Ross again knew himself to be happy
– in a new and less ephemeral way than before. Someone — a Latin poet — had defined eternity as no more than this: to hold and possess the whole fullness of life in one moment, here and now, past and present and to come. He thought: if we could only stop here. Not when we get home, not leaving Trenwith, but here, here reaching the top of the hill out of Sawle, dusk wiping out the edges of the land and Demelza walking and humming at my side.”
“I want her, not any other,
not the most beautiful eighteen-year-old damsel born out of a sea-shell, not the most seductive houri of any sultan’s harem; I want her with her familiar gestures and her shining smile and her scarred knees, and I know she wants me in just the same way, and if there’s any happiness more complete than this I don’t know it and am not sure I even want it.”
“Blemishes
on the beauty of a person one loves are like grace notes adding something to a piece of music.”
“The past is over, gone.
What is to come doesn’t exist yet. That’s tomorrow! It’s only now that can ever be, at any moment. And at this moment, now, we are alive–and together. We can’t ask more. There isn’t any more to ask.”
“Not for the first time
he was conscious of emotional lights and shades in his wife that could not be categorised, could not be named as sensuous or emotional as such, perhaps derived from each and gave to each but in essence grew out of a deeper fund of temperament that he still could not altogether apprehend. The simple miner’s daughter was not simple in character at all.”
“Did I behave myself tonight, Ross?’
she asked.
‘Did I behave as Mrs Poldark should behave?’
‘You misbehaved monstrously,’ he said, ‘and were a triumph.”
Editorial Wedding Photographer
Dorset, UK & Europe
by Liz Baker Photography | Inspiration, Weddings
Fine Art Wedding Stationery = Pinterest Heaven (or Nightmare?)
Fine art wedding stationery is certainly not in short supply. BUT finding the right suite AND choosing from the thousands of lovely designs out there does present a challenge. Pinterest seems to be literally heaving with beautiful samples – you’re not imagining it! How will you possibly choose?
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I love to shoot beautiful stationery at weddings (oh alright, and I’m a design junkie) so I want to help you! Here are my top 5 tips for working out what you want, and narrowing down the choice of fine art wedding stationery to a really good shortlist.
1. Set your budget.
First, decide how important it is to you to have a coherent set of paperie, or a unique one-of-a-kind design for your wedding invitations. Work out how much you want to spend. Then you will know whether you can look at completely bespoke designs or whether you need to hunt down a (more affordable) stylish semi-custom suite. Bespoke designs are utterly beautiful pieces of art that are a joy to behold and make a beautiful keepsake from your wedding day. On the other hand semi-custom designs are great if you are on a tighter budget, or need them in a hurry. There are certainly plenty of handsome suites out there.
2. Put your stamp on it.
The next step will be to keep in mind the style, theme, florals or colours that you are planning for your wedding. You might be drawing inspiration from the venue, or the season of the year. Or elements of your romance that you want to thread right through your wedding. This is the stage where a wedding planner will come into their own and do all the hard work for you. So if you’ve booked one you can relax. Or perhaps you are a creative bride and groom who want to be hands-on in your wedding planning. In which case this is when you want to find a stationery supplier who will take your ideas and make them reality.
3. Keep it simple & understated.
Fine art wedding stationery is known for being at once modern and elegant. Often its a minimalist design although that can take many forms. It could be a traditional letterpress font and a thick cotton rag paper. Or it could be an elaborate handwritten design using pen and ink, headed up with an elegant monogram, detail or line drawing of your venue. These could look quite different but they share simplicity and elegance by allowing plenty of space on the page. Further, these types of design rely on understated elements like the texture of the paper or the watercolour wash applied to it.
4. Think outside the box.
Try to think from the start about every aspect of stationery that you might want. Save-the-dates, invitations and RSVPs themselves are the obvious essentials. However, here are a few other elements for you to consider. Will you want place-names or escort cards for your tables? Will you want a table layout plan or table names? What about menus, orders of service, ceremony seat reservations, an order of the day, welcome/directions signs, or signage for cards/gifts/signature cocktails? Beyond these items, have you considered handwritten vows or a penned love letter to give one another on your wedding morning? So many possibilities, but the key is to think it all through and decide at the start what you’d like.
5. Keep up with the paperwork.
Keep in mind timescales, since even semi-custom designs need to be ordered in sufficient time. A good rule of thumb is a minimum of 6 weeks before your print deadline for customisable designs, and 12 weeks in advance of printing for bespoke and handlettered designs. Once you’ve found your favourites, be sure to contact the designer and ask what their exact deadline requirements are before you place your order.
So, let’s recap.
Pinterest is a huge resource for fine art wedding stationery, but arm yourself first by remembering these top five: budget, style, simplicity, details, timing.
Help! I’m still stuck in the wedding stationery mud!
If you’ve followed these steps and are still baffled by the array on offer, or if you got stuck halfway through, then cut to the chase. Here are my best 5 tried-and-tested fine art wedding stationery designers that I have personal experience of. (You’re welcome!)
Laura Elizabeth Patrick (Bespoke)
Bureau Design (Bespoke & semi-custom)
Gemma Milly (Semi-custom)
By Moon and Tide (Bespoke & customisable)
De Winton Paper Co. (Bespoke & customisable)
Of course, stationery is just one stop on your wedding planning journey. Get my guide to planning your own fine art wedding sent to you completely free, along with your no-obligation, personalised quote.
GET YOUR QUOTE
by Liz Baker Photography | Branding, Inspiration, Weddings
The DIY fine art wedding bouquet
Are you a modern bride in need of a fine art wedding bouquet? If so, it is certainly a wonderful idea to consider the DIY route for this special aspect of your day.
By getting along to a one-day workshop, perhaps with your mum or bridesmaids, you’ll learn how to create your own fine art wedding bouquet.
These courses offer fantastic value for money for the fine art bride. It’s one of the recommendations in my guide How to Plan Your Fine Art Wedding which I send out to all my clients when they enquire.
The real cut flower garden
It’s always such a pleasure to hang out with Charlie and her team at The Real Cut Flower Garden. Charlie’s home and garden is a true gem in the heart of rural West Dorset.
A journalist and passionate gardener for 25 years plus, Charlie traded the pen for the trowel and began The Real Cut Flower Garden in 2004. They were the first company in the UK to send out bouquets of entirely home grown flowers nationwide. Four years ago expert Charlie launched her Flower School, and every year she and her team add to the courses on offer.
Real flowers for real brides
I was lucky enough to get along to the bouquet workshop in June – perhaps the UK’s most beautiful month, flower-wise. Here are some photos from the workshop, including the bouquets which I created with Charlie’s beautiful flowers. (How stunning do they look tied up with hand-died silk ribbons from Kate Cullen?)
Of course, if you are totally not the green-fingered type, don’t panic! Charlie can supply all your wedding flowers, home-grown and cut fresh from her garden.
P.S. Don’t forget to request your personalised quote today in order to get more tips and keys to planning a fine art wedding.
by Liz Baker Photography | Inspiration, Weddings
Spice it up with warm tones
Today I am sharing how you can have a neutral fine art wedding colour palette, yet still incorporate warm tones in your florals and details to spice things up a little.
Florals that stand out from the crowd
The classic blush palette is lovely but ubiquitous, and we all know that elegant green and white never goes out of fashion! But by adding just a few shades of yellow and mustard we can really elevate the style. These tones will stand out a little without overpowering the timeless aesthetic of the fine art wedding style.
Go Gently
I gave this editorial the title “Go Gently” after a line in a song I had recently performed at a family celebration. Called Underneath the Stars, it’s a beautiful modern folk song by Kate Rusby (click here to listen). Inspired by this title, the collaboration focuses on keeping things simple and serene. Our quintessential English country manor and gentle styling brings to mind scenes from Jane Austen.
Going gently on the senses with a warm but pared-back palette of creams, yellows and just a touch of blush. Going gently on fashion with an elegant Chantilly lace dress. Going gently on nature with seasonal & foraged florals, hand-dyed artisan silks & paper goods, and natural beeswax candles.
Created from the heart
It was shot entirely on both medium format and 35mm film, to ensure a raw, natural look. We demonstrate here the beauteous possibilities when you invite thoughtful creatives to work with you on your wedding design. Creatives who work from the heart, making with their own hands, working together to produce a truly one-of-a-kind wedding.
Featured on Wedding Sparrow!
This wedding inspiration was featured on Wedding Sparrow.
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by Liz Baker Photography | Inspiration, Weddings
What is Fine Art Photography?
This is the question many couples are wondering as they look at the array of options for their wedding photography. And there are several answers!
The original fine art
My own take on it is to produce photographs that are as beautiful as paintings. Paintings are the original fine art. Paintings are often impressions, they use licence, they interpret movement, they invoke feelings. Photographs can do all this too, and that’s precisely what I’m aiming for. And so I coined the phrase painterly imagery to describe my photographs.
Fine Art weddings
“Fine art” is a genre sweeping through the world of weddings. It encompasses every aspect of the planning and design of a wedding. It generally features an elegant, pared-back style with a strong emphasis on seasonal, loose, floral design. Colours, dresses, accessories and makeup vary but tend to lean towards soft, natural and organic looks.
The Film revival
Most accurately however, the fine art wedding movement stems from a revival of film photography. This is really important to note. The look and feel of overexposed film tones is the defining factor of fine art wedding photography. Pioneered by Jose Villa and spearheaded by blogs like Wedding Sparrow, film photography is at the heart of fine art wedding style.
I am proud to shoot film and delighted to be a preferred Wedding Sparrow vendor. And I would be honoured to discuss how true fine art film photography can be the perfect choice for your wedding. Please do get in touch with any questions you may have!
by Liz Baker Photography | Inspiration, Weddings
Dillington House Wedding – Pastels and Moody Blues
A S S E E N O N B R I D A L M U S I N G S
I am so delighted to share a few preview images from a Dillington House wedding editorial I worked on just recently, soon to be published on an international wedding blog.
Dillington House wedding venue in Somerset, England is a 16th-century manor house with a small but perfectly-formed Orangery. With full-height windows to bathe your wedding in light, it also features the most beautiful local hamstone walls and blue lias flagstone floors. The warmth of the hamstone is reflected so beautifully in these film stills. We also aimed to juxtapose the warm pastel tones against the moody blue tones throughout every element of the styling – from the florals to the silks to the pewter cutlery, and everything in between!
Sassi Holford is a proudly English label, her dresses designed and manufactured right here in England, and we are delighted to feature two of her 2017 designs. Florist Jacalyn of Cottage Flowers created a stunning greenery arch with Japanese lilacs, while stylist Beth produced a striking handlettered invitation suite and menu on acrylic for Apple and Bramble Events. Leanne at Baking Chick worked her baking magic on an exquisite four-tier blush and pewter marble cake.
The warmth of the stone, Old World rentals, Mantilla veil and fruit-laden evening table lend this shoot the feel of a somewhat Mediterranean destination wedding.
Full vendor credits below.
Click here for the full gallery.
Shot on Fuji Pro 400H.
Photographer: Liz Baker Photography https://lizbakerphotography.co.uk/
Planning & Direction: Liz Baker & Beth Ralph
Styling: Beth Ralph & Jacalyn Arscott
Stationery: Beth Ralph for Apple & Bramble Events https://www.appleandbramble.co.uk/
Florals: Jacalyn Arscott for Cottage Flowers http://www.cottageflowersandmore.co.uk/
Dresses: Sassi Holford https://sassiholford.com/
Rentals: Virginia’s Vintage Hire http://virginiasvintagehire.co.uk/
Accessories: Sassi Holford Taunton http://sassiholfordtaunton.co.uk/
Venue: Dillington House http://www.weddingvenueinsomerset.com/
Cakes: Baking Chick http://bakingchick.co.uk/
Make-up: Laura Le Page MUA https://www.lauralepagebridalmakeup.com/
Hair: Rosanne Derryman http://www.bridalhairbyrosanne.co.uk/
Silks: Plant-dyed ribbons and runner via Alison at Border Cottage http://www.bordercottageflowers.co.uk/
Suits: Harrimans http://www.harrimansmenswear.co.uk/
Film Lab: Exposure Film Lab https://www.exposurefilmlab.com/
