Autumn wedding inspiration at No131 Cheltenham with James Fear and Countrywild Weddings
Autumn wedding inspiration at No131 Cheltenham with James Fear and Countrywild Weddings
Last October James Fear got in touch to ask if we’d like to be involved in a special editorial shoot at No131 Cheltenham. It’s a venue we love to work at, in the gorgeous town of Cheltenham, working with one of the best wedding photographers in the industry. He didn’t need to ask twice!
So armed with a brief of something wild, seasonal and in keeping with the beautiful No131 Cheltenham location, we set to work making and creating. It’s always great to have an open brief when it comes to wedding flowers and styling, and we were over the moon to be involved with the exciting project.
Cheltenham is the most beautiful and stylish town and the setting of No131 is perfect for a cool, up-market and on trend wedding. We wanted to make sure we captured the essence of this within the floral designs. We chose mainly British grown blooms as October is the best time for Dahlias, anemones and ranunculus ,which are some of our favourite flowers to work with.
We raided the Countrywild garden for British grown flowers for the shoot at No131
We raided the grounds here at Countrywild HQ and collected together armfuls of eucalyptus, pittosporum and other wispy foliages which grow abundantly here. We finished the bouquets with pure silk ribbon from Viv at Little Acorn Silks, who creates the most beautiful botanically dyed silks. You can buy virtually any shade and it finishes a bouquet so perfectly, adding a hint of colour or softening the look of the stems without needing to cover them completely. It means they look nice and natural which is always a winner in our books.
James and I had chatted over the months about how difficult lockdown had been and how hard it was for all of us working in the wedding industry. Having the chance to get creative with flowers again with such an open and create brief was absolute music to our ears.
So little did we realise the shoot would be so star studded - though James is a renowned celebrity wedding photographer, so really we shouldn’t have expected any less. The models booked were the stunning West End actor and model, Bronte Lavine and the equally beautiful Abi Phillips a hugely talented actor and musician. Both such gorgeous, fun and friendly people who really added to the excitement of the day.
Alongside his obvious talent and skill with light and composition, it’s also his magnetic sense of humour which helps to get those special shots.
Alongside James of course - I mean come on, he doesn’t get those fantastic shots by hiding away in the corner. James is a master at his craft and is seriously good at getting the crowd relaxed and having fun. Alongside his obvious talent and skill with light and composition, it’s also his magnetic sense of humour which helps to get those special shots.
Here’s some of the results from our Autumnal photoshoot at No131 Cheltenham. I don’t often get involved with photoshoots, and neither does James, but on this occasion it was something we both wanted to do. With Sarah Elizabeth providing gorgeous gowns from her beautiful Cheltenham boutique and Jessica Short working her very talented magic with hair and make-up, it was a fantastic way to spend a Monday.
131 is a sophisticated hotel and wedding venue in the Montpelier area of Cheltenham. With beautiful interior design, delicious food and wonderful cocktails this venue makes a fantastic location for a wedding.
Sarah Elizabeth stocks some of the most beautiful and on trend gowns from the likes of Sassi Holford and Suzanne Neville. Her brides frequently feature online in magazines and blogs and it’s easy to see why.
James Fear is a photography genius who not only managed to capture all the best angles and moments from a wedding day, he’s also a really great guy who is extremely passionate about his work and weddings.
Bronte Lavine and Abi Phillips are both beautiful people who enabled James to capture all of these stunning shots.
Enjoy x
