There are many elements to designing a wedding but I think the most important element is cohesion. You might have a wedding full of beautiful details but, pardon the pun, they need to marry. This is the stylist's main focus. You may be styling your own wedding or have appointed a wedding stylist to be responsible for delivering your vision within your budget, whoever is styling, here's some ways to make the process easier.
CRYSTAL CLEAR
Your suppliers will need to understand your vision; they'll need to be able to explore your ideas, so communicate exactly what you do and don't want from the start. Discuss not only how you want your wedding to look, but also how you want your guests to feel, what you want them to experience and the mood you want to set.
TEAM WORK
Enabling your suppliers to work together is the easiest way to ensure cohesion. Being a stylist or who is responsible for keeping everyone on track with the same vision is a difficult job. Each one of your suppliers may interpret information, particularly information that isn't visual, slightly differently. A good starting point for communicating your vision is to create a simple image board that gives some ideas and a colour palette. Share cake design sketches, table-scape visuals, fabric and stationery samples with all your visual suppliers, either in person or digitally and keep referring to the mood board and inspiration throughout the planning process.
SET THE TONE
Be specific with colour choices and create a palette that has the flexibility to allow for different tints, tones and shades. I like to start to build a colour palette around the main wedding colours, then add in hues to complement, contrast and add depth or highlights. If you need help creating a wedding colour palette this is one of the elements covered in my inspiration session which you can purchase as a stand alone design service.
COHESIVE DESIGN COLLABORATION
The photos below are a collaboration between The Honeybee Wedding Cake Company, Leigh Calligraphy, Stock Florist and Party Squared, photographed by Laura Jane Photography. The colour blue and the creative cake design were the starting point for the styling design. The focus for the design was texture, pattern and creativity and I think you'll agree its a striking design element for a modern barn wedding. Shoot organisers Jennie and Laura provided the colour palette, Lauren the cake designer provided a sketch of her cake design and the rest of the suppliers worked to enhance and embellish these concepts and I was responsible for styling the components on the day. Scroll through to see the details and finishing touches.
Lauren's unique contemporary, textured cake has been styled with a hexagon backdrop and fabrics in similar hues and textures to that of the cake decoration. The classic garden bouquet by Stock Florist features spring flowers in harmonising tones that are picked out in the hand dyed soft fabrics draped around the dresser and backdrop.
The simple and elegant Leigh Calligraphy invites, were printed and hand lettered in navy ink on handmade recycled paper feature a torn edge which is also replicated in the cake design.
I chose to use a repurposed dresser in classic blue for the cake display and selected reflective, patterned blue glass tea lights and a hexagonal backdrop from the collection in my prop store. I hand dyed natural muslin runners and draped them around the set up. The textured fabrics are much more interesting when draped as they add highlights and shadows to the overall colour palette. I've always been a lover of texture so I enjoy using these drapes as a background for flat lay photographs like the one above.
Your suppliers will enjoy collaborating and talking to each other about your wedding aesthetics and the designs they are creating. A stylist will want to know all about the design for the cake, stationery, floral style, flower choices and colour palette so they can select props and decor to tie all the design components, textures, sufaces and colours in together.
If you aren't clear on your vision or how to bring all the visual elements together, seek advice and get this nailed before you talk to your suppliers. Most stylists offer services to cut through the noise and identify your wedding style. My Inspiration Session is one such service. We chat over the phone or on Zoom and I listen to your ideas then go away to create a series of pdf mood boards or a digital wedding look book to help you communicate your vision. Click here to get in touch and find out more or to book an inspiration session.
Now before you leave, here's a list of the suppliers involved in the shoot above.
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SUPPLIERS
Venue - Apton Hall
Photographer - Laura Jane Photographer
Concept and Hair - Bridal Hair by Jennie
Styling - Party Squared
Floral Design - Stock Florist
Cake - The Honeybee Wedding Cake Company
Videography - Pursey Productions
Stationery - Leigh Calligraphy
Dress - Indie Bride London
Veil - Sash and Veil
Rings - Smoke and Ash Jewellery
Hair Pieces Hey Jules Bridal
Groomswear - Dapper Chaps
Bride Model - Megan Vickers
Groom Model - Gareth Edwa