Morning, beautiful people! I could not be any more excited to be sharing this post with you today. When the opportunity arose earlier in the year for us to create a styled shoot with astoundingly talented photographer, James Frost, we knew we wanted to bring to life something original and boundary pushing for the bridal scene. I hope you'll agree that, with the help of some of the wedding industry's finest artists designers and creators, we unearthed a little bit of magic in this editorial.

An earthy woman; a pillar of strength and security, she steeped in heritage.

A playful woman; she's sensual and feminine, yet possesses a fierce energy.

A wild woman; she's full of life and youth, but there's wisdom and experience behind her eyes.

Contrary to my original plan, the ever-inspiring, James Frost, encouraged me to tell the full story behind The Sisters editorial, and with good reason.

You see, the shoot was originally orientated around the south coast of England, with a Siren theme pervading the portrayal of the women. The original vision was set against windy cliffs and rugged shoreline in late Spring, giving the women a wild feel, and the shoot an impressively raw landscape.

Alas, that setting was not to be; the universe had other plans, and I'm so grateful it did. Upon changing our setting at the very last moment to our incredible Woodland in Kent, the shoot really came to life. As James will mention in a moment, these changes induced an increased sense of spontaneity and, with an enchantingly pared back setting, our team created absolute magic.

So, with all that divulged, now seems like the best moment to give the hugest, heartfelt thanks to everyone that was involved in the shoot; to James: for your incredible talent and input into this shoot, to Old Bear Films: for capturing the beauty of these women so honestly, to the ladies of Portraits Bridal: you were an absolute pleasure to work alongside, The Wild Fox: thank you for a stunning series of bouquets, to the dress designers and boutique suppliers: your gowns are a constant source of inspiration, to AM Faulkner: what a dream it was to work collaborate with you, to our jaw-droppingly beautiful MOT models: you are nothing short of goddesses, and to the wonderful people at our Woodland & Field Shelter in Kent: it was truly our privilege to explore your magical space.

And of course, to my partner in crime, Festival Brides founder, Laura. Without whom I would never have had this opportunity and who brought this shoot to life; your ideas, your support and your energy are invaluable to me. Thank you.

If you haven't heard of James Frost, you need to shimmy your butt straight on over to Instagram and hit 'Follow', because this guy is sheer talent. We were so excited to have him shoot with us, and my goodness did he work his magic.

Born in the UK, James grew up in Spain and has been living in Australia until he recently decided to relocate to the South Coast of England, and that's how we finally got to meet him, having adored his work for years.

Inspired by his grandad at an early age, photography has always been a passion of James', and around five years ago he began documenting weddings and naturally fell in love with telling peoples stories. As well as weddings, he loves to shoot lots of personal pieces, including atmospheric landscapes, as well as portraits shot on medium format film, fuelling his passion for wedding photography.

We asked him a little about his thoughts on the shoot...

What attracted you to this shoot initially?

I loved that it was different to most bridal shoots, and the ideas and styling that Clare had put forward to me in the brief just captured my attention.

What were some of your favourite aspects of the shoot and how did you interpret those ideas into your shots?

I actually loved that the location changed from the original idea, putting us under pressure to create something that suited the brief. I like in-the-moment thinking when it comes to imagery.

Do you have a favourite shot?

My favourites have to be the low light black and white shots. It's my favourite light to shoot in.

We asked our longtime loves, Old Bear Films, to capture the shoot for us, and boy did they nail the brief!

We asked for atmospheric framing, for a portrayal of strength and flowing movement, a sense of each individual identity, but also of sisterhood among the women... And Old Bear delivered all this and more.

Here's what their main videographer, Jack, had to say about the shoot:

This was such an inspiring brief. To be given the luxury of time to capture each of these carefully crafted bridal looks in all their glory was really such a pleasure. I focused on framing the shots to really emphasise the subject; the depth of her expression against the soft muted backdrop of the log cabin, or her powerful stance on the hillside of the Kent Downs. The music choice for the film 'Modibo Chante à la Maison' by Lessazo was Clare's choice, and together it really aided us in visualising the film: its raw, stripped-back feel unites with the natural setting, allowing the viewer to focus on the women. The picked strings of the acoustic guitar also pair perfectly with the slow-mo vibe we went for with this film; every subtle movement becomes alluring and it gives it that captivating atmosphere, like you're pausing a moment in time.

Take a moment to enjoy...

And now, I do believe it's time we delved into the detail of our triad of beautiful women...

Gaia was the first character that came to my mind when conceptualising this shoot. Centered around the incredible bridal head wrap we collaborated with AM Faulkner to create, this look is inspired by African heritage. Gaia embraces her roots, she is strong through her ability to show herself love and is an inspiration to her sisters.

A confident female, Gaia is daring and bold both in character and appearance. As soon as we saw Betsie Dsane's portfolio, we knew she'd be the perfect model for this character. Her strong bone structure, maturity, dark warm eyes and elegant demeanor gave her the earthy while goddess-like poise we were looking for.

Accessories

Hair & Make-Up

Words by Portraits Bridal

In terms of hair, the aim was to create a gorgeous, statuesque, silhouette. Hair was very minimalist and just pulled out at the front to soften the look. The important part of this look was getting the head wrap position right, keeping the bulk of the underneath matte material at the top, front of her head, helping to elongate and exaggerate her natural head and body shape.

The main focal point of the strong Gaia character was her flawless, super glowy skin (YSL Touch Eclat Foundation) with highlighted cheekbones (MAC Stobe cream), soft brows (Anastasia Beverley Hills) and a bold deep matte burgundy lip (Bobby Brown Cheek and Lip Colour in Cherry Chocolate).

The Bouquet

Words by The Wild Fox

Clio is all kitten. She embodies the playful, sensual facet of women. Clio is willful: she knows what she wants from life and she knows how she's gonna get it too. A natural, doe-eyed beauty, she's all sass and she unashamed of her sensuality.

Flirtatiously feminine, this look naturally evolved with a fun nostalgic 90's twist; Clio's got a fun, self-assured approach to style that she readily and fully embraces, much like her approach to life.

Accessories

Hair & Make-Up

Words by Portraits Bridal

We chose a carefree hairstyle to compliment the Clio character's flirtatious neck choker. With this in mind, we created two loose messy braids with non distinguished partings. Avoiding products that are to sticky as it can be hard to braid the hair, so product free is best or a small amount of coconut oil on the tips of fingers works well. To modernise the look we aged the braids by pulling them out as far as they could go and rubbed them with the palms of our hands to make them look a day or so. Partings were created roughly with hands rather than a comb and we took a carefree approach to the overall style. Finish the look using Kevin Murphy Session Spray.

To compliment this flirtatious natural beauty, make-up was kept very natural (Armani Silk Luminaire Foundation) with emphasis on creating long fluffy doe eye lashes (Eyelure Individual Pro-Lash Extensions). A flush of dewey colour to the cheeks maintained the natural look (Bobby Brown Lip and Cheek Colour in Pale Pink and Calyspo Coral).

The Bouquet

Words by The Wild Fox

This look was inspired by my all-time favourite muse, Bambi Northwood Blythe. Hebe possesses a youthful face, with glowing bronzed skin, but there's a wildness in her soul and a wisdom in her eyes. She's a spirited woman, tamed into a luxurious gown that's as intricate and bewitching as she is.

Hebe's undone; her hair's natural and unkept, it flies in the wind. She chases freedom, born a wanderer. Her partner won't tame her, he'll run alongside her.

Accessories

Hair & Make-Up

Words by Portraits Bridal

This look is wild, sexy and overtly feminine. We are still totally in love with centre partings at the moment and went with this to compliment the Hebe look, keeping our model's thick and slightly wavy natural texture. We kept hair super clean and shiny at the root and tucked it behind the ears to make this look fierce and bold, but a little quirky at the same time. This is also great if showing off a statement pair of earrings!

To create the sleek root on our model's hair we went through in small sections and straightened approximately two inches at the root only, then used a small amount of gel pump hairspray (Paul Mitchell Freeze and Shine) to add a some hold and shine. The ends of her hair were left natural, using fingers we twisted and sprayed with with a light hairspray (Bumble and Bumble). Ensure the hairspray you use isn't overly sticky and never spray too close to the hair as you will end up with hard patches, a light mist is always best.

Concept & Coordination: Clare of Festival Brides
Styling: Clare assisted by Laura of Festival Brides
Photography: James Frost
Venue: Woodland & Field Shelter in Kent & The Kent Downs
Videography: Old Bear Films
Hair & Make-Up: Portraits Bridal
Flowers: The Wild Fox
Dresses:Houghton NYC (from The Lover's Bride), Odylyne the Ceremony (from LA Bespoke) & Yolan Cris
Bridal Head Wrap: Bespoke Creation by AM Faulkner
Accessories: ASOS & Tarin Thomas (courtesy of LA Bespoke)
Models: Betsie Dsane, Christina Colson & Lillie Bernie of MOT Models