Heightened Elegance | Styled shoot at Huntsham Court, Devon
The vision:
As a dry hire venue where couples get to create the wedding they want, picking their own caterer, bringing in their own drinks with no added corkage and cherry picking their preferred suppliers, we wanted to show that while the venue is decorative… there is no need to hold back when it comes to styling!
We work with some of the best suppliers in the South West and beyond, so we wanted to embrace the opportunity to work with some new, exciting and admired suppliers along with those we see at the venue regularly.
The aim was to decorate and enhance 3 of the main reception rooms, styling them in an array of neutral tones; White, Cream, Sage Green and subtle notes of blush.
The venue is highly decorative already, but this shouldn’t mean couples have to limit their styling ambitions, we love it when we see florals and décor in abundance!
The venue and styling:
Situated in the beautiful rolling Devon countryside, on the borders of the Exmoor National Park and close to Somerset, Huntsham Court is a true hidden Gem waiting to be discovered.
The interior is an eclectic mix of old and new, while being respectful to the original details of the house, like its grand Jacobean panelled walls in the Great Hall.
For this shoot, the rooms we focused on when it came to styling were The Great Hall, The Yellow Room and The Library as they tend to be the highlight rooms during a stay.
Generally, couples choose the Great Hall as their indoor ceremony location as this space seats the most guests.
The Yellow room and Library when combined seat up to 130 guests, so it was a great opportunity to look at these two rooms styled with a mix of tall table decorations, and a more paired back yet elegant design.
Inspiration and styling:
Izzy from the Blossom Co was tasked with creating a full, floral landscape at the forefront of The Great Hall. With dark wooden panelling, this room is the perfect backdrop for pretty much any colour. However, styling it with so many different textures and tones of white created a classical, elegant atmosphere. The white aisle runner, something we haven’t seen before at the venue, looked fantastic against the original parquet flooring.
‘For the Great Hall I chose our gorgeous, full, canopy trees as well as masses of candles in tiered glass holders, along with a white runner to bring the design together. The Great Hall is a stunning room and very atmospheric. My vision was to enhance this rooms character and bring in a bright, airy, floral landscape to create an incredible backdrop for a wedding’ – Izzy, Blossom Co.
Laura from Laura Louise Hall weddings got to work on the venues Chiavari Chairs, taking them to the next level with an intricate weave of ivory sheer material. While we have seen similar styling in the past, this weave effect was a first and we were instantly in love! The combination of the chairs matched perfectly with Izzy’s décor, again elevating the whole look.
‘For the ceremony we styled the Chiavari chairs with ivory chair weaves which are so elegant, and the ivory really lifted the room. For me, my favourite transformation was the ceremony room. I just think it looked so beautiful and the floral design from Izzy had such an impact. – Laura, Laura Louise Hall weddings.
Towards the back of the Great Hall, Izzy created one of the most luxurious Table Plans we had ever seen. Love Story Weddings were to thank for the amazing design, with a golden arch and leather staps to hold the seating plan in mid-air, along with the couples dates and names on a small easel. Izzy got to work with her décor, adding lanterns and more floating candles, plus fresh white rose petals scattered around the silk flower arrangement. It was a real statement piece which worked so well against the dark wood of the room.
‘I just loved the dramatic transformation, it was such a wow factor that many couples are looking for when it comes to their own wedding style.’ – Izzy
The seating plan arrangement was complimented by a welcome sign, made from an antique-style mirror. Izzy intuitively knew she wanted to set this up in the Entrance Hall, where guests would be greeted by the sign, putting the couples signature-style on the venue straight away.
Again, Izzy added her silk flowers, fresh petals and lanterns to tie the designs together, creating a cohesive look throughout.
The Yellow Room and Library:
The Yellow rom and Library are popular space for The Wedding Breakfast. They have different styles, but still work cohesively together when couples are looking to host up to 130 guests.
We chose to style the two rooms differently on this occasion, to demonstrate both low level décor as well as tall, dramatic centre pieces can work.
The Yellow room is a bright, airy space with lots of rich colours. Izzy introduced a more simple, paired back look for the tables here, focusing on a mixture of glass vases and floating candles with minimal floral decor.
The Library on the contrary, received tall faux flower installations that draw the eye up to the high ceilings. Beneath the plinths, Izzy added layered candles to again add depth to the tables, plus a warm glow.
For the Yellow Room and the Library I chose our English Garden theme. Both rooms are already stunning and quite ornate, so I felt that a minimal, classic look of green foliage and white flowers combined with the twinkle of candle light would subtly enhance and elevate the historic décor of the venue – Izzy, Blossom co.
For the place settings, Laura got to work with her charger plates, cutlery and napkins with a menu card in place. These small details have a big impact upon the room overall, even just changing the colour of a napkin can really tie in the wedding day theme.
The styling in the Library and the Yellow room focused around similar tones. The gold rimmed charger plates and gold cutlery really accentuated the golden and yellow tones in the rooms. In the Library, we added a mauve velvet napkin and for the Yellow room we styled the charger plates with a sage green napkin. Textures and fabric are so important when styling, so I loved the velvet addition. To soften the white table linen we used ivory chiffon overlays and this looked so beautiful with the foliage and floral design by Izzy. – Laura Louise Hall.
The absolute showstopper for us though was the White Telephone box which we set up alongside the incredible wedding cake, designed and created by the talented Sweet Satisfaction. We wanted to use the backdrop of the gorgeous fireplace in the Yellow room to really draw focus on these to highlight features.
Couples are often looking at ways to introduce a guest book or photo booth on the day. Recording a message in the phone box though not only ticks the guest book box, it adds a whole other dimension of venue styling and photo opportunities on the big day!
The wedding cake was gorgeous and become a real feature on its own. Nicole was asked to make a cake based around the theme, but beyond that she was given freedom to create what she felt would work best. What she delivered on the say surpassed all our expectations.
Not every couple will opt for a wedding cake on the day, but for those that do, giving it a dedicated space to been seen and admired is really worthwhile. The clear plinth the cake stood on made sure the cake remained the central focus, Izzy and Laura then made sure it was styled and tied in with the rest of the rooms, adding white draping and candles.
Tips from the professionals:
I would always work with the room and the colours in the room otherwise the colours can clash. I would always recommend using a stylist as they have so much knowledge when it comes to styling a room and also have so many contacts for hiring styling items, which makes it so much easier. They also attend on the day to set everything up so you don’t need to worry about anything on the day of your wedding. – Laura Louise Hall
Make sure that the décor that you choose matches the venue’s character, time of the year and your personal style. What worked for someone else, might not necessarily work for you. Your guest should see ‘a bit of you’ everywhere they look. Do also consider renting your flowers, is saves money without compromising on style. – Izzy, Blossom Co.
Suppliers:
The Blosom Co - At The Blossom Company we specialise in spectacular wedding flower displays – including exclusive arches, backdrops and table centrepieces. We work with both, fresh and silk flowers.
The current collections available on our website are made from the highest quality silk flowers that are enhanced with fresh foliage to ensure the most natural look. And best of all, they’re available on a rental basis – saving you money and keeping you within your Wedding budget. There is, however, no limit to what we can create in fresh flowers.
Laura Louise Hall - Based in a small village called Wembury in Devon just outside of Plymouth, Laura operates from her office and showroom, offering wedding planning and styling. ‘Weddings are very hard work but it’s the best feeling when you see the all the plans and ideas come together. I love how there are so many different ways now of styling weddings from florals to place settings and stationery. I have worked as a wedding planner and stylist for around 15 years and it’s wonderful to work with so many fabulous suppliers and venues as there are so many beautiful venues in the South West.’
Videography - Tristan Adams
Photographer - Luna Weddings Photography
Wedding cake - Sweet Satisfaction
Signage and seating plan - Love story Weddings