Ballet inspired bridal looks ALWAYS get team RMW excited, we love the soft colours, the tulle, the ribbon and the elegance and strength embodied by the dancers themselves. This shoot is even more striking because it embraces the black swan too, using smouldering make up looks from Kylie McMichael and the prettiest dresses in inky shades from Shanna Melville and Olwen Bourke.
The story of the transition of the Ballerina Bride from the pure white swan, to the black swan has been told beautifully through the styling by Sadaf Mirzaei and the photography by Julie Michaelsen. There’s just so much pretty inspiration to pin! Enjoy!
Videography by Irene Piera Films
Ballerina Bride
Julie The Photographer: Ballet dancers…the ultimate representation of elegance, strength, beauty and grace. Many brides to be will remember ballet lessons as a child but even more will relate to that of the bride who is not just a pure and innocent cliche but a complex amalgamation of the soft, the hard, the modern and the vintage, the white and the black, the demure and the sexy…I wanted to create a ballet inspired bridal shoot which was different from other very feminine and pretty ballet shoots we had seen previously.
Swan Lake
We liked the idea of representing all the different types of brides borrowing from ‘Swan Lakes’ transitions of the white to the black swan…we used the wardrobe to represent this borrowing gowns from two very different designers; Shanna Melville and Olwen Bourke.
The Beauty
The hair was styled in a traditional ballet bun, very neat and tidy to begin with whilst slowly but surely descending into an unkept chaotic and sexy bun. The make up also echoes this transition from natural innocence and purity into a dramatic smoky eye with nude but suggestive lips.
The Flowers
We used both natural wood and moss with succulents to dress our stripped back table, using a vintage lace family heirloom to give our table character and to introduce a contrast between the white of the cloth and the plastic ghost chairs. Our eclectic use of texture was intentional especially with our choice of flowers, succulents, heather, lavender as well as cotton and blossom branches.
The Decor
The furniture was a conscious mix of the ancient and the modern, especially using Danish Designer Arne Jacobsen’s prolific ‘Swan’ chair which suited our reference to Swan Lake very well but also is a nod to my Danish heritage which is a significant part of my brand and look as a wedding photographer. Meanwhile we kept colours very simple using an elegant off white, with natural greens, dove violet hues mixed with the dramatic purple and black to finish off our ‘Black Swan’ look.
Photography: Julie Michaelsen
All Hair and Make Up Design and Artistry: Kylie McMichael
Styling: Sadaf Mirzaei
Model: Leila Bradley
Floristry: Elizabeth Carter Design
Wall Decor: Comeuppance
Paper Table Decor: The Pixie
Hair Accessories: Hermione Harbutt, Samantha Walden
Dresses: Olwen Bourke, Shanna Melville
Videography: Irene Piera Films
#littlebookforbrides #littlebookforbridesmember #lovelustlistmember #lovelustlist #smashingsupplier
Comments 2
Me too Wilhelmina! Always stalking the latest new things and putting them on my wishlist 🙂
I LOVE a good palette more than anything, I travel often and am always stalking duty free stores to check out the latest travel palettes. I have a fairly good collection of them, so much so that when I travel it do&e;s#8217nt make things any easier as I can never decide which ones to take!