Dutch Masters Style Wedding Ideas

From photographer, Serenity Photography: "This bridal editorial was inspired by work of the Dutch Golden Age Masters, in particular their paintings of still life: fruits and flowers. Old-World romantics, such as myself, can find inspiration for their wedding décor in lush florals and opulence of the era. Especially if they have chosen a darker venue, full of rich history and beautiful architecture. Candlelight and colourful flower arrangement will create a unique atmosphere for the wedding day. I have chosen the artist colony Montsalvat as a location for this shoot because of its history and unique architecture.

Montsalvat is an artists colony in Eltham, suburb of Melbourne, established in 1934, the colony is home to dozens of buildings, including houses, halls, studios, galleries and stables. All of Montsalvat's buildings were designed and built by residents using materials from a variety of sources, including Victorian era buildings then being demolished in the city centre. The grounds and buildings are currently used for exhibitions, performances, and weddings conferences; however, artists working in a variety of mediums continue to reside in Montsalvat."

From the florist, Sassafras Flower Design: "Every now and then a brief comes my way that stops me in my tracks. When Ana reached out to me and asked to collaborate on a Golden Age Dutch Masters shoot my heart skipped a beat. I remember pouring through old art books as a child, captivated by the moody, detailed still life paintings, then later in Art school, being fascinated by the lush decay and opulent vases spilling over with flowers and fruits. For the tablescape we were lucky to have the last of the ranunculas, poppies and some fabulous bearded iris as well as beautiful roses and stock, preserved blue hydrangea and the first coral peonies. I also used some of my preserved luneria for light and texture.

I created a series of overflowing bowl arrangements and we styled these with fat grapes and stone fruit, nuts and quail eggs and sugar coated Turkish delight. It was a rainy day, so the light was low and moody and on the navy table cloth the brass vessels and gold cutlery shone in the candlelight. Upstairs in the Upper Gallery was much lighter and I so used luneria en masse in a low garden style floor installation that curved around in a semi circle. I added quicksand roses, ferns and foraged grasses to soften the piece and used king oyster mushrooms, enoki mushroom clusters and clusters of birds nests with quail eggs at the base. This bouquet is comprised of peach ranunculus, nina roses, quicksand roses, carmine classique roses, preserved hydrangea and foraged grasses."

From HMUA, The Face of Beauty: "Montsalvat helped really create the inspiration around choosing the right dresses and complete beauty look. We wanted this enchanting and radiant final look to come across as an utter statement on camera. Enhancing and highlighting Ashley’s natural features was our goal, complimenting her eye color, eye shape down to the individual lashes used to really customize this statement look. Cheek bones highlighted with light gold tones and bronzed with airbrush, finished with glossy natural pouted lips. To achieve this highlighted, flawless skin look - prepping the skin well builds that natural glow before the foundation process starts. Preparation is the key to healthy glowing skin, we used skin care as prep such as Tatsha products and cucumber under eye gels to help with any eye puffiness. Airbrushing the foundation was used for this application to perfect the skin and almost focusing on the skin for this look. The eye shadow tones were extremely pigmented and we wanted very light gold tones. Not every look has to be Smokey eye, natural gold/brown tones are very popular and hope to stay that way - complimenting bronzey look! Shadows used by Natasha Denona. The past season and moving forth, Mauves tones for lip with a glossy finish. Utter perfection leaving a the natural pout."

From Jianery: "The brief was a beautiful Dutch-influenced genre and appropriately shot at the Montsalvat Estate that houses one of the most elegant old mansions in Victoria, Australia. I designed the stationery by drawing on blues and orange and counter balanced with earthy colours. The artwork of the venue was intentionally sketched rough to mimic the stones of the architecture and offset that with softness of ribbons from the vow books. Pops of colours from the vellum envelope liner draws the eye. The calligraphy is subtle but draws all elements together."

From The Event Merchant Co: "The Golden Age of the Dutch Masters immediately incited thoughts of refined feasts under candlelight, jewel tones juxtaposed against aged timber and the opulence of exotic luxuries traded from far off destinations. Intricate details on the tablescape were executed to ensure we were accurately reflecting one of the distinct features seen within work from the Golden Age; detailed realism. The mottled, miniature shells of quail eggs, the luxury of gold rimmed porcelain dinnerware and polished gold flatware, and layer upon layer of rich luxurious fabrics depicted the affluence of these simple elements and eluded to the wealth reaped from overseas trading. Artists from the Golden Age commonly produced work of the same genre throughout their entire career, rarely deviating from their chosen subjects. For still life artists, depicting the delicate and repeated folds in fabric or the sheen of the candlelight bouncing off flatware was an opportunity in expressing their skills. By creating a still life scene that captured these same elements was integral to the authenticity of the tablescape."

Photography, Planning & Styling: Serenity Photography | Venue: Montsalvat | HMUA: The Face of Beauty | Florals and styling: Sassafras Flower Design | Tableware hire and styling: The Event Merchant Co | Paper goods: Jianery | Headpieces and Jewellery: Maria Elena Headpieces | Groom buttonhole: Varon by Maria Elena | Gowns: Enzoani & Galia Lahav provided by Eternal Bridal | Zavana Couture & Berta provided by Raffaele Ciuca Bridal | Lace Robe: The Lace Atelier | Shoes: Bella Belle Shoes provided by the White Collection | Rings: Susie Saltzman | Cake: The Real Cake | Linen: Table Art Event Hire | Furniture hire: Always Eventive | Silk: Feathers and Stone