In all the craziness that is going on in the world today (which is just blowing my mind to be honest with you) today’s edgy and eclectic engagement shoot is such a welcome reprieve. Styled by one of favourite wedding stylists, Lo and Behold Bespoke (who we worked with on one of our favourite ever shoots: Bohemian Wedding Romance In Kent) this shoot, captured in Southsea, features Nat and Jai – a gorgeously cool couple who are getting married this year. Ami, of Lo and Behold Bespoke, along with her husband Max, is styling their wedding and suggested putting together an engagement shoot to not only explore wedding decor ideas and themes but also because, well – it’s fun!!!
With some excellent tips regarding choosing your wedding theme, styling your wedding and the benefit of having an engagement shoot, Ami shares with us all the details of their shooting day in Southsea and the suppliers who help make it happen.
Have a wonderful weekend lovely peeps.
Love In Southsea…
Words by Ami of Lo and Behold Bespoke
When Nat and Jai approached me to enquire about helping to style their wedding I was beyond excited. Some people just have a sense of style that resonates with you and therefore you know, from the very start, that their wedding is going to be equally as cool.
It’s couples like this that make my job so much fun! You know it’s not going to be a generic wedding and that they’ll be more open to trying something a bit different or go against the grain to create something unique. This is what lies at the centre of our business and is the part of my work that really inspires me.
It’s been such fun chatting through all their plans, coming up with styling ideas and making sure we create a celebration that truly represents them as a couple!
{Top tip… when coming up with themes or styling ideas for your wedding make sure it’s something you both really love rather than just a passing trend! The wedding will feel so much more authentic if it’s a representation of you and your loves rather then just something that is currently fashionable!}
I already knew this gorgeous couple as we all live in the same Southcoast town and have lots of mutual friends! (Always super fun to work with people you know!) Southsea is a beautiful and unique place to live and work. It’s a very inspiring and supportive town, which has a real community feel. Local businesses and independent artists, makers and doers thrive and creativity reigns!
Quite early on I floated the idea that we all plan an engagement shoot (not entirely for selfish reasons I might add!)
{Top tip… Engagement shoots are a great chance to not only get some gorgeous pictures of yourself pre wedding, but it also helps you get into the mindset of posing in front of a camera and thinking about styling choices for your big day ahead}
Luckily they were both on board and were happy for me to come up with my own design concept for the shoot.
Nat & Jai are both talented hairdressers and Jai works at an incredibly unique and cool hairdressers in Southsea called The Barbership. It made sense to us all to use The Barbership and our hometown as the base for our shoot.
{Top tip… For anyone thinking of doing an engagement shoot, don’t think you have to plan/hire/go to/do something different, or “special”, your own home, place of work, fave pub or hangout is where you’ll feel most comfortable and ‘at ease’; this will come across in your photos… they’ll seem more you and not too staged! }
The shop itself is a stylists dream come true as everywhere you look unique items lay alongside vintage tools of the trade, or pieces of artwork. Shots were also taken out and about the streets of Southsea, which are adorned with colourful graffiti. It was important to all of us to create something that felt real…
Nat and Jai chose all their personal hair / fashion looks and they needed no help at all with this area as they both have great personal style, They opted for a few different looks that were laid back, cool, but most importantly ‘them’!
In the basement of the shop is where I let my styling ways run wild. I wanted to create a scene of a date night with lots of candles, warm tones and using our ‘Utterly Intoxicated’ hand painted banner as a focal point. We used lots of items from our prop hire collection as well as spirit bottles from the shop and I adore the finished vibe!
I added depth and comfort by layering lots of cushions, draped fabric and rugs. I also bought in our globe bar, brass trays and shot glasses to compliment the banner and suggest a boozy night in with your lover!
{Top tip… If you want to plan a cute date night, create a similar set up at home by gathering up all the cushions and blankets from your home, light some candles and create an cosy nook complete with your partners favourite drink of choice! It’s low cost, super romantic and who doesn’t love a den!!}
The photographs were all taken by Aida Geciauskaite, a Southsea based photographer and I think she expertly captures the couple the vibe and the general feeling of love between these two gorgeous people!
I don’t know about you but I’m even more excited about their wedding now! Haha!
The Line Up…
Photography: Aida Geciauskaite; Styling & Props: Lo and Behold Bespoke
