Wild Romance at Pauntley Court
I will usually start my styled shoot planning with inspiration taken from elsewhere – a fable, a fashion trend, a colour scheme – and will then start to seek out the spaces and the suppliers who will help bring it to life in the best way. However, this time, we started with the venue, and the shoot grew out of the romantic fairy-tale atmosphere that every part of Pauntley Court exudes.
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We knew that we wanted to showcase as many different areas of this enchanting venue as possible – the quince orchard and gardens, the interior and the staircase – while creating a cohesive sense of story and impact. It quickly became clear that flowers would play a big part in the shoot, and Christianne of Honeysuckle Flower Co. knew that she wanted to create a really dramatic backdrop that ran the full height of the quince orchard in the venue.
Our theme is wild and luxuriant coupled with an abundance of tiny, multisensory details that, when all put together, created a feeling of understated luxe and a little bit of magic. We let the flowers take the lead, and worked with what was available and in season – a soft and sophisticated palette of apricots and caramel tones to compliment the exterior décor.
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I loved how much each and every supplier took inspiration from the venue and ran with it. I really only gave the gentlest of direction in terms of colour palette and moodboard, the rest of the magic was drawn from the venue itself. Everyone had their own interpretation of the brief, but it all came together beautifully and cohesively.
