Deep in the heart of Cornwall, under the magical canopy of Underpine Woods, an intimate fairytale woodland wedding shoot took place, headed up by Sara from Peony and Lace Weddings.

Initially, the editorial shoot was conceived to gain images of the woodlands as a new wedding venue. Beth (Underpine Woods owner) and Cassie (Bude Blooms) wanted to capture the beauty and wonder of the venue, so enlisted Sara at Peony & Lace Weddings to come on board to style and plan the shoot.

Sara explained, "The first time I visited the woodlands I was in awe of its natural beauty. 27 expansive acres of spruce trees, a babbling river and the endless possibility of styling".

Sara wanted to highlight the natural beauty of the woodlands, so she used a colour palette of bottle green, metallic gold and white. Mixing festoon lighting, candles and macrame pieces, the team styled the woodlands to create a rustic, bohemian fairytale affair.

Woodland Wedding Venue

Underpine Woods, Bude, Cornwall.
Underpine Woods is a 27 Acre sustainably managed ex-plantation woodland just outside of Bude in Cornwall. Originally planted in the 1970’s the woods as a plantation crop, it is now being transformed by Beth and Sam the owners, into a beautiful space for everyone to enjoy.

The magical environment of Underpine Woods is a delight to the senses. With its babbling brook, steep hills, wonderfully straight rows of thousands towering coniferous trees, dotted with some broadleaf giants, you could be mistaken for landing in a woodland fairytale.

The woods now host weddings, as well as being responsibly managed as a traditional woodland, making charcoal, firewood and traditional crafts to maintain and improve the nature and biodiversity of the whole space.

Outdoor Boho Wedding Decor

Having worked with Jill from Knot Again Jill on previous editorial shoots, Sara knew that the woodland setting would be ideal to use Jill’s ‘Crystal’ macrame hanging on a copper arch to create a ‘ceremony’ backdrop.

Macrame jars filled with candles, perched on tree stumps were used as framing for the cake table, along with a macrame hanging between the trees creating an entrance focal point.

Bohemian Wedding Dress

The wedding dress was supplied by Lynsey of Evolved Bridal. Evolved Bridal offers 'Nothing Ordinary', and handpicks dresses that represent trendy, alternative styles that embrace individuality to represent the modern bride.

As soon as the details and the concept of the shoot started coming together, Sara knew that the dress by designer White April from Evolved Bridal, was the perfect fit for this enchanting shoot.

A romantic, yet modern boho dress with simple lines, a wonderfully plunging deep V front and back and thigh high split to the front of the skirt.

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Bespoke Bridal Veil

To finish the look, Rebecca, from Rebecca Anne Designs provided one of her beautiful veils. “To complement the venue, I felt a veil with embroidered wildflowers would perfectly suit the wilderness of the surroundings and the locally grown flowers being used for the shoot.”

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Delicate Bridal Jewellery

As soon as the dress was secured, it was straight over to Sarah Jane at Bish Bosh Becca for the jewellery. “It’s always a pleasure to work with Sara and when she mentioned a magical woodland shoot I was hooked. I am at my most creative when designing jewellery for shoots, just like a real wedding I have to be aware of the theme and the dress".

For this shoot Sarah Jane created a Y drop necklace in gold chain with white pearls. The dress had a wonderful deep v back and front so she added a back drop attachment to the necklace and teamed it with some matching long pearl chain earrings from Bish Bosh Becca’s new Stella range. The finishing touch was a real statement pearl and gold cuff bracelet that snaked up and round our beautiful bride’s wrist.

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Relaxed Wedding Hair

For a free spirited, boho hairstyle, the obvious addition to the team was Toni Gogola at Toni Gogola Wedding Hair. “I specialise in laid back natural braided hairstyles so when I was asked to be involved with the woodland shoot I was so excited! Bekki has the most gorgeous striking purple hair and I knew exactly how I wanted it to look. I decided soft waves with a twisted top section knowing it would fit perfectly amongst the stunning backdrop of Underpine Woods.”

A floral crown made by Cassie, Bude Blooms finished off Bekki’s hair look. The white flowers popping against Bekki’s fabulous purple hair.

Due to the Covid-19 restrictions that were in place at the time of the shoot, we were unable to have a MUA apply makeup to Bekki our model. Bekki did her makeup whilst being talked through different tips by Toni.

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Celebrant Led Wedding Ceremony

Nixie James Scott of Unique Ceremonies, provided a hand fasting ceremony for the shoot. Nixie has been known in the past to remark that she can marry couples anywhere, including up a tree. Of course, it was this comment that led to her being asked to join the team!

Unfortunately, spruce trees don’t make for easy climbing so we were unable to test Nixie’s theory. Nixie will co-create with the couple a ceremony which wholly reflects their personalities and beliefs.
The ceremony was such a beautiful and moving affair that it led our model Bekki to cry tears of pure joy and happiness.

Wooden Wedding Rings

As the woodland is an eco friendly wedding venue, who better to partner up with than Eco Wood Rings for the wedding bands. For Bekki’s ring, Steve provided a ring made from oak with an inlay of white gold shavings and diamond dust. For Brad’s band, a strong and simplistic band of oak was supplied.

Nature Inspired Rustic Wedding Cake

Claires Sweet Temptations cakes never fail to delight. The mood board inspiration was a mixture of cakes iced with green and gold, but with a desire to incorporate flowers given the ‘nature’ feel to the shoot.

“For the cake I took inspiration from the mood board, which is often the starting point for wedding cakes. And also the flowers being used, and the colour scheme. I knew there needed to be some drama too, as it’s such a beautiful and dramatic venue.”

Locally Grown Wedding Florals

Bude Blooms was established in 2017 by Cassie and is based in the field next to Underpine Woods. All the flowers used for the shoot were grown locally by Cassie and the greenery was a mix of the foliage grown in Cassie’s fields and the foliage growing in the woodlands.

“I wanted the florals to reflect the calm and pure nature of the woodland setting whilst also standing out from the back drop leading us to choose white as a base colour. They shone bright on a rainy day. Working with seasonal flowers and foliage I had a mix of roses, gladioli, nigella and zinnia to name a few. A perfect mix for end of summer.”

Rustic Woodland Table Decor

Working with the colour palette, Sara from Peony and Lace Weddings decided on classic white plates sat on gold chargers along with gold cutlery. A green napkin added the touch of colour against the white dinner plate.

“When I first saw the woodlands with Cassie and Beth, I knew straight away that a table runner of greenery accented with white flowers would be the perfect décor for the table. Candles always feature in my work, so the addition of white glass votives and white tapered candles in gold holders was a must to accompany the foliage.”

In keeping with the surroundings, the table was formed out of wooden planks that had been milled from trees that were felled in the woodlands sat upon tree stumps. The seating was tree stumps topped with white cushions for that extra pop of colour.

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Sustainable Wedding Stationery

Beth is not only the owner of the woodlands, she runs Boo Lou Lew Design. The stationary she created was inspired by the idea that any couple can create something completely unique, beautiful and sustainable whilst supporting local artists and having fun too!

Beth carved a custom stamp and combined it with an online calligraphy course and beginners set from the wonderful Langham Calligraphy and a choice from a wide range of beautiful ethical papers from Torn Edge Paper. Delicate, hand crafted gold edging adorned the invites.

Couples can visit Beth’s beautiful studio in North Cornwall for a special day of stationery making complete with nibbles and good coffee. Beth shares her supplies, tools and experience to make their ideas into something beautiful!

Natural Wedding Photography

Lucy at Moon Gazey Hare’s photography style was exactly the right feel for shooting in nature. Her eye for detail and for crafting the perfect shot, making the most of the natural light, ensured we created magic in the woodlands.

Playful Wedding Videography

Katherine of Katherine and Her Camera was the videographer for the shoot. Her playful yet natural style fitted in with the team and the concept of the shoot. It was important to the team to have the shoot on video to capture the movement within the woodland.

Wedding Planning Cornwall

The shoot was planned by Sara of Peony & Lace Weddings. “The first thing that struck me about Cassie and Beth’s initial idea was the lighting amongst the trees".

Sara knew in that moment that she would love to join the team, and coordinate the collaboration between all of the suppliers and manage the running of the day. The organisation of the day meant that even with an hour of down time due to biblical downpours, the team were still able to stick to our original planned timings.

Shoot Assistance 'The Little Details'
Our fabulous approved supplier, Sophie of The Little Details by Sophie, was the shoot assistant providing planning and styling assistance to Sara. Sophie’s attention to detail enabled Sara ensure the day ran smoothly and all elements of the shoot were captured.