Blog: leaves
Samantha Samantha

A Southend Barns autumn wedding inspiration shoot with Minna wedding dress, seasonal foliage and lanterns

Samantha

.// Kelly Hearn Photography // The Natural Wedding Company

Please note: Minna is now Indiebride London.

Today’s Southend Barns autumn wedding inspiration shoot is bound to cheer up any ‘January blues’. Think soft glowing lights, trailing foliage in vibrant autumnal hues, jewel-toned seasonal flowers and ethereal bridal style evoking visions of Elven folk from a Tolkien novel.

This beautiful shoot was dreamt up by the rustic farm venue Southend Barns in Chichester and To Have and To Hire wedding stylists. The shoot aimed to showcase local and ethical wedding businesses which of course we always love to see.  The styling was a celebration of autumn to reflect the beautiful textures, forms and colours it has to offer. Everything was perfectly captured by award-winning wedding photographer Kelly Hearn.

Autumnal boho bridal style // Kelly Hearn Photography // The Natural Wedding Company

Autumnal aisle decoration of lanterns and leaves // Kelly Hearn Photography // The Natural Wedding Company

Rose gold floral bridal hair slide // Kelly Hearn Photography // The Natural Wedding Company

Autumn wedding table setting // Kelly Hearn Photography // The Natural Wedding Company

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Samantha Samantha

Rustic autumnal wedding decor inspiration with pumpkins, dried flowers and leaves from ‘The Crafted Garden’ by Louise Curley

Samantha

The Crafted Garden book review by The Natural Wedding Company

Rustic autumnal wedding decor inspiration from The Crafted Garden

You know how fond we are of a crafted, hand-made project here at The Natural Wedding Company, and a crafted project made with natural, seasonal materials either foraged or homegrown, well that ticks every box in our eyes. It is wonderful projects such as these that you will find in The Crafted Garden: stylish projects inspired by nature a beautiful book by Louise Curley that we are sharing with you today.

We also have a special reader offer for those who’d like to buy the book – you’ll find all the details at the bottom of the post.

Rustic autumnal table display with pumpkins, dried flowers and leaves // The Natural Wedding Company

Book review of The Crafted Garden

I was a excited to receive this book based on the brief synopsis and beautiful cover alone, and although I will admit I was a tiny bit sceptical that it wouldn’t offer anything more than what I could find scouring Pinterest, I will say straight away now that my scepticism was unfounded!

The Crafted Garden winter squash vases // The Natural Wedding Company

The book has been cleverly put together and Louise clearly has a passion for the great outdoors and how you can incorporate it in your home, for a celebration or as a unique gift idea.

I approached the book from a wedding point of view (whilst also already planning how I was going to use each one some how in my home) and excitedly flicked through the pages thinking how each craft could be used or adapted for wedding décor, accessories, gifts and so on and how all the ideas could be adapted through the seasons.

Dried autumn leaf 'Mr & Mrs' wedding garland // The Natural Wedding Company

Although some of the projects may seem simple or obvious, I was surprised at how I hadn’t ever thought of doing them before and it really makes you look around and consider the natural resources you have around you.

The Crafted Garden foraging // The Natural Wedding Company

The book offers 50 crafting projects all inspired by nature and whether you are a crafting amateur or gardening pro it contains a plethora of information beautifully presented to make it easy to read and follow. Broken down into seasons, not only does it provide instructions on craft ideas but really useful tips such as guidelines for foraging ethically, how best to dry flowers (great for after your wedding if you wish to preserve yours) and the best seasonal flowers.

Rustic twig picture frame for an autumn wedding // The Natural Wedding Company

Autumnal wedding craft projects

To give you a little insight into a few of the fab craft ideas in the book we tested a few of the autumnal projects out to hopefully offer a bit of seasonal wedding decor inspiration.

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Charlie Charlie

Laura and Dave’s autumn barn wedding with a handfasting ceremony and seasonal decorations

Charlie

Dave and Laura's autumn wedding

Autumn barn wedding with a handfasting ceremony

It has been a while since I featured an exclusive real wedding on the blog, more through my own fault than lack of them to share.  Whenever I put together a real wedding feature I feel this immense sense of responsibility to the couple who’s wedding it is – after all  this was their special day and I want to do my very best in portraying it here on my blog.

As a result it takes me a great many hours to put together the beautiful photographs and carefully answers questions submitted by the bride.  Today’s wedding is a very gorgeous autumnal affair, that was inspired by the couples love for the countryside.

Laura and Dave got married in Stratford Upon Avon during the autumnal month of October, with a humanist ceremony.  Their wedding was captured beautifully by TNWC photographer Sarah Brittain Edwards Photography.  Over to bride Laura to tell us more about the day…

Real leaf wedding signs

The Little Caravan Photography

Groom in waistcoat and mustard coloured bowtie

“We both love Autumn and were keen to reflect the season, with it’s lovely cosiness and beautiful colours.  We wanted it to feel personal and handcrafted – no ‘Gold Package’ all inclusive deals!  And being a country girl at heart, I wanted it to feel rustic, homely and unfussy.”

Autumnal wedding flowers and grasses

Autumn bride and bridesmaids

Wedding sparklers

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Charlie Charlie

Dan and Ali’s rustic seasonal and handcrafted November wedding

Charlie

Seasonal Highland inspired November wedding

Seasonal and handcrafted November wedding

It is lovely to be able to share such a beautiful seasonal wedding full of handmade details, and one that took place in November.  Photographed by Laura Babb, Dan and Ali’s November wedding was held at Folly Farm, a stunning green wedding venue set amongst 250 acres of woodland and nature reserve.  On hearing more about this handcrafted wedding I knew it was just the kind of wedding you would love to see.

Folly Farm eco wedding venue Bristol

Folly Farm rustic eco wedding venue

“When we found Folly Farm we knew it was the right spot. We completely lucked out with the weather on the day, it was hard to believe it was November – but as we fell for Folly Farm’s vantage point and woodland walks on a dreich February morning, we knew it would be beautiful no matter what.”

Seasonal autumn BHLDN wedding dress

Wool tie and autumn buttonhole

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Charlie Charlie

Edible woodland inspired wedding cake decorations

Charlie

It’s hard to believe these extraordinary creations are edible – yes, those leaves are edible.  These are handcrafted sugar decorations, from Andie’s Speciality Sweets, which I think would look beautiful on a simply white wedding cake and would be sure to wow your family and friends.

I have picked a selection of my favourite autumn inspired decorations to share with you…

Edible Wild Sugar Mushrooms

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Charlie Charlie

Inspirational natural winter wedding decorations

Charlie

For all those brides and grooms planning an autumn or winter wedding who are in need of some inspiration when it comes to decorating – look no further.

From red berries to dried ferns, maple leaves scattered on tables, abundant fir cones and gourds, ivy coiled around willow hearts, and beeswax candles – this wedding shows how beautiful natural decorations can be when you look to what nature can provide.

With the help of a few vintage pots and metal jugs and a little bit of imagination an autumn or winter wedding can be just as beautiful as any summer wedding with its pick of flowers.

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