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A bride in black poses with her bouquet under a dark wooden arch at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot

Celestial Gothic Styled Wedding Shoot

Elvaston Castle, Derbyshire

"Fayre beyond the Fayrest"

When Bryony from Bobbi Wren Events contacted me to get involved with a shoot she was planning, I had no idea just how epic it would turn out to be. Bryony’s vision from the start was to do a gothic shoot with a  black wedding dress, but it was when we found The Hall of Fair Star at Elvaston Castle that the theme really dropped into place.

The hall is a stunning gothic design with pillars leading to a vaulted ceiling and everything painted in rich heraldic colours. It was commissioned for the fourth Earl of Harrinton in 1831 for the love of his life, Maria, who he called his Fair Star. It is considered a symbol of the chivalrous pursuit of love. Decorating the hall are many moulded and painted stars and mottoes of love. ‘Faithful to Honour and Love’; ‘Gallantry, Courtesy and Love’; ‘Fayre beyond the Fayrest’

Inspired by this love story, Bryony collected together a team of supliers to help her create her vision of a celestial themed shoot with our very own ‘Maria’ as the star of the show, played by Nyx Arielle. Bryony’s choice of model came with some bonuses as Nyx is also a performer and we were treated to giant burlesque fans made with pampas grass and a fire performance at the end of the shoot, both of which would make fantastic entertainment at any wedding party.

With added features of stunning floral arrangments by J Austin Designs and fantastic backdrop props including a moon seat (which Bryony added to her collection of items available to hire specifically for this shoot), we had loads of exciting set ups to photograph.

One of the down-sides about photographing a dark subject in a dark gothic hall is the lack of natural light. I didn’t want to use too much flash photography which would interfere with the video recording by Maxine Furness Films. So battery powered LED lights turned out to be our friends and the moodly shadows they created really addded to the atmosphere of the images.

Creative Team

Concept planner, styling & props
Bobbi Wren Events

Venue
Elvaston Castle

Photography
Doodah Photography

Stationery
Doodah Designs

Videographer
Maxine Furness Films

Florist
J Austin Designs

Make-up and hair
Amazing Grace Hair and Make-up

Dress
 Ryley & Flynn

Model & pampas grass fans
Nyx Arielle

Glasswear chargers & cutlery
Absolutely Vintage

Caligraphy
 Crafting by Cali

Cake
The Cake Rack Lutterworth

An elegant bride in a black gown stands on a staircase lined with candles at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
A bride with pink hair and a black dress looks at her bouquet at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
A bride in a black dress poses on a staircase with a gold moon backdrop and pampas grass at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
An alternative bride with pink hair holds her bouquet at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
A full length portrait of a bride in a black gown with a staircase in the background at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
A bride in a black gown and floral crown poses in front of a moon backdrop at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
A bride in a black dress twirls in front of a moon arch and pampas grass at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
A bride in black poses with two huge pampas grass fans by candlelight at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
Portrait of a bride's face with pink hair and floral crown at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
Bride in a black dress poses under a wooden arch in a gothic hall with elaborate gold vaulted ceiling at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
A bride in black poses with her bouquet under a dark wooden arch at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
A bride in black poses with her arms in the air in the gothic hall at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
A bride poses in the middle of a gothic hall. Taken from a low angle to include the vaulted ceiling at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
A bride stands with her back to us showing the rear of her black gown and holding her bouquet behind her back in the gothic hall at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
A bride in black sits on a wooden floor and looks up at an elaborate gold vaulted ceiling at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
A bride in black dress poses with her bouquet with heraldic wall art behind her at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
A bride in black stands side on to the camera with a fireplace with heraldic wall coverings behind her at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
A bride in black loos off to the side and stands in front of fireplace decorated with flowers, candles and a pampas grass fan at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
A bride in black poses against the famous fireplace in the gothic hall at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
An black geode wedding cake with amethyst interior is surrounded by pink flower arrangements and cut crystal glasses at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
A bride in a black dress looks down at her bouquet with gold pillars and lanterns in the background at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
A star shaped sign reads "Hall of Fair Star" and is leant against a table decorated with a grey cloth and large flower arrangement at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
A celestial inspired placename and star shaped menu is displayed between gold cutlery on a grey tablecloth at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
A tattooed bride in a black dress laughs as she holds a champagne glass amid large flower arrangements and pampas grass at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
A bride in black is pictured behind a table surrounded by pampas grass under a high vaulted ceiling at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
A bride in black with lilac hair looks over her shoulder and holds a champagne glass with the name Maria on it at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
A bride in a black dress sits in a moon seat at night surrounded by flowers in the courtyard outside Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
A bride in black spins fire poi in front of a moon backdrop at night outside Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
A bride in black spins fire poi in front of a moon backdrop at night outside Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot
A set of black and gold celestial wedding stationery is laid out in a flat arrangement on a stone floor at Elvaston castle, Derby during a celestial gothic styled shoot

Elvaston's Gothic Hall has featured in the film 'Women in Love' (1969) directed by Ken Russell and based on D.H. Lawrence's novel. In it, Elvaston Castle was referred to as 'Shortlands' and the splendid Gothic Hall provided the perfect stage for the nude wrestling scene between Oliver Reed (Gerald Crich) and Alan Bates (Rupert Birkin), which took place in front of a blazing log fire.

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