Two Looks, One Afternoon: An Editorial at Summerfields

Pink and pearls at noon. Sky-blue and sisal by sunset.

An editorial wedding doesn’t need a flower wall.

We built this one around a single rule — let the fabric do the volume, and let the flowers stay quiet. The linen pools and ruches. The amaranthus falls in lace. Single stems of agapanthus rise from the table one at a time, curved into the cloth as if they grew there.

This is what we wanted to make: proof that intention beats abundance.

The Rule

Most wedding florals are asked to do too much. They cover, fill, dominate. Couples are told — often by Pinterest as much as by their planners — that the proof of effort is in the number of stems.

We don’t agree. Or rather, we don’t only agree. Abundance has its place, and there are weddings that ask for it. But there’s a different kind of luxury we keep being drawn back to: the kind that comes from withholding.

So we set ourselves a constraint. Fabric would be the spectacle — ruched satin, knotted linen, raw sisal that fell like weather. Flowers would be the punctuation: one stem at a time, placed with deliberation, allowed to be specific. We chose Summerfields Estate for the lawn and the late light, and we chose a single April afternoon to do both looks back to back.

Pink and Pearls at Noon

The first look went up at midday. Pink gerberas in clusters at the base of the arch. Cascading amaranthus, the colour of dried roses, falling like lace. Anthurium in a particular shade of coral that almost looks artificial until you get close enough to see the wax on the leaves.

Chloe wore an oyster-pearl bodice with elbow-length gloves. Eddie in a black satin shawl-lapel tuxedo and a beaded bow tie. Above them, a scalloped pink umbrella with white piping by Mr & Mrs Martin — the day’s most photographed object, and the one piece in the shoot we knew we wanted before anything else.

The seating chart hung from the jacaranda behind them, hand-lettered in copperplate on ivory silk. The wind did some of the styling for us.

Sky-Blue and Sisal by Sunset

By five o’clock the field had gone gold and we changed the look entirely. The pink was struck. In its place: cobalt agapanthus, raw cream sisal, calla lilies in white. The agapanthus stems went straight up out of the sisal — tall, ink-deep, geometric. We bought every cobalt stem we could find in Melbourne in mid-April, the last of the season, already past their commercial peak. That’s exactly when they go their deepest blue.

The chairs we’d ruched in cream satin in the morning stayed for both looks — small fabric sculptures that held the pink and the cobalt equally. That was part of why we chose them. From a distance, architecture. Up close, every one slightly different.

Chloe’s second look was a sculptural cream silk mini, a detached train of ruffled tulle, gloves to the elbow, and sunglasses. We rarely style brides in sunglasses. We did this time because the light asked for them.

Why Restraint

We do shoots like this once or twice a year, mostly so we have a chance to ask what’s enough. The answer changes with the day. Sometimes the brief calls for more — a long ceremony arch, hanging florals, a whole reception in colour — and we’re happy to build it.

But when we get to write the brief ourselves, we keep coming back to less. The empty space, we’ve found, does as much work as the flowers. A single agapanthus curving into the cloth tells a longer story than ten of them in a fist.

If you’re planning your day with us, this is the eye we bring.

Credits

Florals & Styling The 8th Day Studio · @eighthdaystudio
Photography & Video Ethan Gallery Wedding · @ethangallery_wedding
Venue Summerfields Estate · @summerfieldsestate
Couple Chloe Lee · @chloelee__ & Eddie Carlton · @eddiecarlton_
Bridal gown Aimee Boutique · @aimeeboutiquewedding
Groom’s suiting Sunnyrock Suits · @sunnyrock_suits
Hair & makeup Yaya Makeup · @yaya_makeup_mel
Wedding cake Bakek · @bakekgram
Umbrella Mr & Mrs Martin · @mrandmrsmartin_

Planning your day? Book a consultation or share your wedding details and we’ll come back to you with our initial thoughts.