Great Expectations Bridal Shoot | Creative Wedding Photographer

OOOOOOHHHHHHHHH! I’m so excited about this one! If you are looking for quirky inspiration for your wedding, then this one is for you! This Great Expectations wedding photo shoot is inspired by the classic Charles Dickens tale. Charlotte from Wilden Bride London is a bridal designer and she is known for her creations that are fashionably quirky and elegantly glamorous! I adore her designs and the Great Expectations shoot show them off spectacularly!!! I really enjoyed photographing this shoot. You will see the mood of the shoot change after Miss Havisham receives her letter…

Here is more from Charlotte herself:

“It may seem strange to use such a sad story as inspiration for your wedding, but couples do, and so we have endeavoured to provide that inspiration, but with two options from which to draw upon . . .There are many ways in which you can draw inspiration from a ‘theme’, and rather than turn your wedding into a costume party, it can just give a little more meaning and direction to your styling choices.

The first part of our shoot we have provided a more ‘realistic’ look which doesn’t step too far into the realm of fantasy. Our Miss Havisham is beautifully groomed, she is vibrant and happy as any bride would be on the morning of her wedding, she is dressed in a dramatic gown with and excitedly makes her way through the corridors of the building on the way to her lavish afternoon tea party with beautiful cakes and treats towering high, dainty porcelain crockery and pretty red roses and table accessories.

It is my view that variation in one theme creates much more luxury than ten items all looking the same in a row.

Having several cake bakers involved in the shoot, making different things from their repertoires meant that there was a real feeling of luxury created with all of the different interpretations, textures and layers, and to have everything tangled together by the flora, made all of the pieces connect, rather than sitting stale on the table.

You may notice that our Miss Havisham bride is being followed by some intriguing red bubble balloons which were supplied by online store Party Delights. This detail relates to a line in the novel of Great Expectations where Miss Havisham describes love as having a red balloon burst in your face. Subtle details of your theme can help you make your decisions, but you don’t have to be bound by them.

The second part shows Miss Havisham broken down, she receives a letter from her fiance to tell her that he is not coming . . .

While still beautiful, the brides hairstyle and make-up is more eccentric and her dress is shredded. Cobwebs have veiled the table of luxurious treats and now there are hand-made sugar mice ‘scurrying’ around the table.

While we didn’t want to turn the shoot into a fancy dress party, we know that there are brides out there who are keen to break the boundaries.

Ours is a shoot with purpose as well as prettiness, I’m quite keen to show the versatility of items that can be used on your wedding day. For example, a dress in a very modern design, can be styled to fit any theme that you like, likewise for all other items and for different budgets too. A bride can satisfy tradition with her choices, but also style it in a way that makes it her own.”