I recently photographed a styled shoot arranged by the lovely Kate from Forget Me Nots Hire. Kate said: I decided on the spring shoot at Cottesmore as it is such a beautiful blank canvas. After a fire in 2018 and then the pandemic the golf club had quietly been doing renovations and have created a stunning modern “barn” themed ceremony and function room making it a really popular new choice for weddings in the West Sussex area. I really wanted to dress the space to show it in its full potential and thought a bright, crisp, spring shoot, foliage heavy and a romantic feel would really showcase to couples what a gorgeous and versatile space they have to work with. We pulled the theme through the whole shoot with a stunning vintage beetle for the outside space, gorgeous modern cake design and elegant bridal hair and make up.
The outfits matched the spring theme with the sage green tie and pocket square on the groom, the real flower buttonhole and the beaded detail on the dress. The wedding dress was from Velvet Birdcage Bridal and the suit was from Greys Suit Hire, both in Worthing. The bouquet and buttonhole were from The Florist Next Door.
Makeup was done by Belle Denbury, she said: I wanted to create a fresh but classic look for the shoot, almost ethereal and to match the dress, so stuck with a palette of blush / pink tones. I kept the skin coverage light and glowy using my all time favourite illuminator (iconic London) mixed in with some charlotte tilbury light wonder foundation which is a favourite way of mine to create that lit from within glow! Eyes were kept neutral with a pinky toned shimmer shadow and a smudged liner along the lash line (both by Charlotte Tilbury) and some individual lashes to create a natural but fluttery look!
Hair was done by Occasion Hair by Megan, she said: For the bridal hair we continued the soft, romantic and boho style with a low, textured bun and pink flower hair piece to finish off the look. For the young bridesmaid, we went for a soft topsy tail braid complimented with a pearl hair vine down the center and loose curls as face framing.
Forget Me Nots Hire dressed the venue beautifully with chair covers, sage green bows on the chairs, candles running down the middle of the aisle, a stunning floral arch at the end of the aisle, floral centre pieces and tea light candles hanging from the arch. The gorgeous vow books were provided by Love Flora Studio.
Bus and Bug Vintage Weddings let us use their amazing vintage beetle wedding car. The bumpers were decorated with florals. Cottesmore is the perfect place for a spring wedding, they have an outdoor ceremony area, light and airy indoor rooms for the reception or ceremony, plus plenty of outdoor spaces including a sweet little fish pond in the courtyard and use of a golf buggy to take you to the lake for photos.
In the main reception room Forget Me Nots Hire dressed the main table with a leafy garland, gold cutlery, candles and blossom trees with hanging tea lights either side. The amazing wedding cake was provided by Lyn Cooper at Crafty Cakes Bognor, it had amazing detail. Lyn said: The beautiful three tier wedding cake was covered in white sugar paste with delicate lace ribbon around the bases. The bottom tier had delicate royal icing stencil detail. The cake was adorned with hand made sugar flowers and lots of foliage – including Roses, Tuberose, Ruscus and Ginko leaves. The cake was displayed on a hoop stand to create a fresh modern feel. The wedding favour heart shaped cookies matched perfectly, tying in the stencil detail and had a touch of gold.
Here is a list of all the suppliers from the shoot:
Venue styling: @forgetmenots.events
Venue: @cottesmorehotelgolf
Photographer: @phoeberossiphoto
Florist: @the.floristnextdoor
Videographer: @storybyshan
Makeup: @belledenmua
Hair: @occasionhairbymegan
Celebrant: @celebrant_louise
Dress: @velvet_birdcage_bespoke_bridal
Wedding car: @busandbugvintageweddings
Cake & cookies: @craftycakesbognor
Stationery: @loveflorastudioco
Suit: @greyssuithire
Bride: @samanthalorrainec
Groom: @scott_robert_85