Autumnal French Countryside Elopement With warm colour palette and romantic picnic

The theme for this shoot was an autumnal French elopement with a muted, terracotta inspired colour palette to complement the autumn scenery. There were two main locations; the romantic woods and a beautiful beach. The photographer Katherine tells us all about each element of the shoot and how her vision came together.

Inspiration

This shoot aims to show the beautiful simplicity and intimacy of a French countryside elopement. A morning vow-sharing on the beach at historic Saint Malo, unique sand cast wedding rings, a romantic golden hour picnic with red wine and macarons in an orchard, a stylish couple in warm, autumnal tones, and stunning dried flower bouquet and buttonhole. Everything pulls together to showcase how a small, intimate elopement can be romantic and beautiful.  

The Food

For the picnic, we had the most delicious macarons and sugar cookies by the super talented Jo Harper – I’d tasted one of her macarons at another styled shoot a few weeks previously and they were soooooooooooo delicious I asked her to make some for this shoot. They didn’t disappoint! They looked beautiful and I only just managed to photograph them before temptation took over and we snaffled them up!! I borrowed the fabrics from Love by Design Weddings; I love the texture of the cheesecloth and the colours worked beautifully together and in the surrounds of the orchard. It was topped off with the terracotta place settings by Ivy Inks. My main inspiration for the shoot was a terracotta colour palette, so as soon as I saw these pop up on my Instagram I knew I had to have them!

Florals

Olive and Ochre supplied a stunning dried flower bouquet and buttonhole. Not only did this mean they could travel, I love that you can then keep your wedding flowers and enjoy them for longer. She absolutely nailed the warm, earthy terracotta vision and the bouquet looked stunning paired with Maria’s calligraphy ribbons.

Rings

When I first saw Justin Duance’s sand cast wedding rings I just knew I had to have them for the shoot. Considering we were planning a vow exchange on the beach it just seemed so fitting. The rings are beyond beautiful and my favourite thing is that they can be cast with sand from a beach of your choosing (if you can supply them the sand!) making them personal and unique to you.

Details

I had such a strong vision for this shoot, the terracotta colours, the warmth and intimacy of a French elopement – just the couple and their love for each other. One of the first suppliers I contacted was Maria – I am totally in love with her calligraphy ribbons and she supplied a couple of gorgeous vow books for the shoot as well which were just perfect. Maria even went to the detail of putting the words on the ribbons and books in French.

Suppliers

The suppliers who were part of this shoot were people I had worked with before or admired from afar (or more accurately Instagram!) As the shoot was in France I arranged to take everything over myself, so huge thanks to all these wonderful creatives for trusting me to pull the vision together from across the Channel!

Bridalwear

For the bridal look, Kimberley Stone designed and created this incredible dress with a simple slip paired with a wrap-over spotted tulle topper. The long sleeves were perfect for the autumn season while still being super stylish. The look was finished with elegant boho earrings from Muted Luxe – my absolute favourite earring brand and just the perfect detail for this earthy elopement. Sash and Veil provided a beautiful and simple drop veil which created a more ethereal look for our bride. After a hunt high and low for a groom suit to match the theme, I found this terracotta stunner on ASOS. It might be a bit unusual but I think it looked great with the rest of the setting.