Our Luxuriously Classical Gloster House Inspiration Shoot, Part I
Working on this shoot was a bit of a dream team situation. And apart from taking a couple’s breath away on their wedding day, of course, building dream teams is my favourite part of being a wedding designer… finding people with big talents and big ideas about wedding aesthetics, hunting them down and convincing to do something lovely with me, either for a client, or an inspiration shoot like this.
This baby was featured on not just one, but two of my favourite international wedding sites: here on Green Wedding Shoes and here on Magnolia Rouge. It also had a delightful print outing, in the wedding special of IMAGE Magazine. So we were all rather chuffed that we joined forces to live our Jane Austen dreams, for two glorious days in County Offaly.
But back to the dream team (in this post, I’m focusing on the decor style team and concept - next up, I’ll swoon over fashion and beauty); first on my hit list was photographer Paula O’Hara. I’d worked with her back when I was a wedding magazine editor and found her treatment of light, her attention to detail and her ability to make even the most beautiful people and things better than real life, almost impossible to beat. I was dying to team up with her for something we could steer independently. When we talked about the vibe we were hoping to capture, Gloster House was a joined first choice. It’s a grand, authentic Irish Manor House, but a super light decor palette throughout the rooms makes it somehow feel contemporary in photographs. It’s filled with antiques, chintz and china; the ideal setting for my matchimalist aspirations. And above all, it’s a home, where the family welcomes you as such. Like you’re a valued guest in the magical world they’ve lovingly renovated over the past few decades.
“I love bringing personalised, contextualised elements into a wedding concept, creating talking points for guests and heartfelt memories for the couple, but above all making it feel like this venue was built especially for them, for this day. Like their wedding could never have been anywhere else.”
The florist is the wedding stylist’s closest ally; the work each of us does depending so closely on the other’s. A florist needs the stylist’s brief to be good; they need the stylist to understand flowers, the colours, the seasonality, how they change after cutting and how they’ll sit in the context of the wider design aesthetic and venue. A stylist needs the florist to be all these things, too, but with the added skill of fulfilling the brief while bringing some extra magic that only someone who knows their craft inside out, can do.
I don’t need to say much about The Rosehip and Berry’s Hollie, in this regard. Just look at the flowers as they unfold in this story, and you’ll see why I felt insanely good about the partnership.
So, I had tracked Paula and Hollie down from across the country (they’re both based in Northern Ireland), but I felt like going even further afield and nabbed one of the stationers I’d been lusting after via the ‘gram, Emily Rose Ink, who’s all the way across the pond, in Chicago. Emily built the paper concept around the chintzy vibes in my vintage crockery, but also created a bespoke illustration of Gloster House, done in such a tasteful manner. I love the suite she made for us. I also love that she allowed my baker of choice, Suzanne of Dublin-based Cove Cake Design (who’s just such a wonderful artist of treats; and you don’t even see her sugar flowers in this story… but stay tuned) to recreate her illustrations on our cake. It’s just the right amount of matchy-matchy to feel cohesive, without being too much. Note: on my own table, I love a bit of too much, but I’ve found that most couples like to keep things light and timeless, which is a beauty unto itself.
And as for my input; well, I couldn’t say, personally, of course, but to channel one of my favourite Jane Austen characters, Emma’s Mrs Elton, “my friends say I’m quite the wedding stylist”. Chuckle and note: not a direct quote.
