Huntstile Organic Farm Wedding Photography

Huntstile Organic Farm Wedding Photography. You can see a full feature of this photo-shoot on the Rock n Roll Bride blog here

This styled shoot is a celebration of the ‘Summer of Love’ 1967 – which kicked off 50 years ago today! I’m a big fan of the 60’s era and I really wanted to put something together to mark the 50th anniversary of this incredible period in our history. The Summer of Love officially started at the Monterey Pop Festival on the 16th June 1967 with performances by Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead to name a few. It was a time of hope, optimism and real social revolution. An alternative way of living was being explored and the emphasis was on travel, festivals, sex, drugs and rock n roll.

I wanted to bring this hedonistic vibe to the shoot and capture the free-spirited feel of the late 60’s. Of course, the wedding had to be on the road whilst living in a VW bus 🙂 Huntstile Organic Farm was the perfect spot to set our scene as we could park the VW inside their magical stonecircle. The 60’s counter culture was exploring alternative religions, UFO theory and leylines so, of course, this would be a chosen spot for a hippy wedding.

I needed everything to be authentic for this time so I found a gorgeous black & white splitscreen campervan ‘black betty’ which dates back to 1965. The models are seated on boho, rugs, blankets and bean-bags around the van. They are chilling, drinking some beers, listening to records and playing music. The tables have a selection of beers, psychedelic lollipops and other 60’s memorabilia. There some classic 60’s records by the likes of Joni Mitchell, The Beatles & Donovan and we have a portable vintage record player… perfect for life and love on the road 🙂

I chose four models for this shoot. As the 60’s was a time of free-love I didn’t want to make it overly romantic – instead the emphasis was on friendship and an element of sexual ambiguity. There is also a young child, which hints at sex before marriage in an era when the traditional family model was being reframed. Days of Grace Vintage supplied us with the most gorgeous outfits for this shoot. The bride wore a beautiful crochet pink dress, very of the era and the bridesmaid wore a tie-dye dress which could have been sent straight from Haight Ashbury. Our male model, Matt, had a fabulous embroidered waistcoat which was very reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix fashion at this time. My little girl modelled in one of her dresses which matched the scene and set-up perfectly.

I approached my suppliers with a brief and a few ideas for them and was stunned at the creativity bought to the shoot. Our wedding cake was AMAZING!! It’s a cake sculpted in the shape of a vintage record player with some very fabulous flower power details. The florist also did a fantastic job, creating a floral ‘ban the bomb’ peace sign, colourful bouquets and gorgeous flower crowns. Of course, being 1967 the girls had to have flowers in their hair. Hairstylist Brigitte Fisher is so creative and did a fabulous job of showcasing two different boho styles for the hippy bride. One wore a colourful flower crown and the other had little daisies woven into her hair and a splash of glitter! The make-up details by Joanne Bates are gorgeous to, with both girls wearing different shades of groovy colours popular in the day.

For the setting, I had hired the rugs, blankets and cushions but I needed help and expertise with styling the rest. Blue Fizz Events stylists – Tracy & Bridget – came on-board to help with the set styling and their set-up was spot on! We had a vintage 1960’s tablecloth, plate records and name tags with groovy 60’s style lettering. They bought so many beautiful details it was the perfect finish for the shoot.

I photograph lots of festival weddings so I set this up with the boho festival bride in mind. Lots of inspiration hopefully with how to be creative for an outdoor event with vintage and boho styling. Also, some really great fashion, hair & beauty ideas for the alternative bride & groom. The cake and flowers are so unique that it shows how you can really push the boundaries of a traditional wedding set-up.

This photoshoot was filmed by Channel 4 ‘Extreme Cake Makers’ and you can watch the programme here

Full list of suppliers –

Photos – https://emmastonerweddings.com/
Styling – Emma Stoner and Blue Fizz Events http://www.bluefizzevents.co.uk
Florist – http://www.bromptonbuds.com
Cake – http://www.peboryon.com
Fashion – http://daysofgracevintage.co.uk
VW Campervan – https://www.vwblackbetty.co.uk
Venue – http://www.huntstileorganicfarm.co.uk
Hair – http://www.brigittefisher.co.uk
Make-up – Joanne Bates
Props – https://www.propfactory.co.uk and http://virginiasvintagehire.co.uk
Assistant – Miranda Warburton
Models – Gaia, Matt, Sarah and Lila