Light vs Dark in a Claire Pettibone Gown

Aug 30, 2016 | Inspiration

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We love the description by stylist House of Hannah for these two looks: light and angelic versus dark and smoldering. The contrasting piece to the light and airy ethereal bridal look is this stunning 'Notre Dame' gown by Claire Pettibone - one that is both non-conventional and unique. Read below for the creative process behind this intriguing inspiration shoot and see more of these lovely film photos by Paula O'Hara...

From House of Hannah: "We’d love to share with you our Gothic Angels shoot captured by the amazing Paula O’Hara. We often find ourselves inspired by a single item which sets off a barrage of ideas for a shoot, and in this case it was sourcing Claire Pettibone’s “Notre Dame” gown at Blackburn Bridal in London that ended up being our first building block. We wanted to balance the darkness of this dress with some light and airy gowns, and through this process the idea of “Gothic Angels” was born.

This theme incorporated the light and dark aspects we wanted to capture, and was perfect for our venue of Loughcrew House and Gardens with its superb outdoor stonework and ancient feel. The palette we chose needed to be fairly neutral, as heavy jolts of colour would be overwhelming with such a variation of shade. The overall style was heavily focused on textures and fabric: we chose the other gowns from Myrtle Ivory and Covet in Dublin to match our original Claire Pettibone dress and ensure the theme flowed completely through. Ann Marie O’Leary’s decadent and beautiful florals were wild, free and very foliage-heavy, with the main table centrepiece set in an ancient-looking pewter urn.

Two gorgeous bouquets, one floral and one foliage, gave us the option to use whichever suited each dress. For the table settings we sourced matt porcelain plates in a gray-green shade from our palette: almost the colour of a light shadow. Bronze cutlery, neutral silk ribbon and crystal glasses with a decorative swirl (also from House of Hannah) completed the look. Hand crafted stationery with calligraphy by Four Hats Press fit perfectly with the timeworn aspects of our theme, while Smyth and Barry’s one of a kind cakes brought an interesting slant.

Grace O’Mahoney and Abby Harris were superlative models, braving extremely cold weather with smiles, and both Anita from The Powder Room and Bridget Haren really nailed the ancient glamour we had in mind for their look, keeping Grace’s look a light, angelic style and giving Abby a darker, smoldering look."