Oh me oh my what a refreshing bridal beauty shoot I have to share with you today.

Contrary to what some might think when picking up a wedding magazine, bridal beauty comes in an array of different varieties and it’s a delight to see a talented team of wedding professionals wanting to represent different variations of beauty in their inspiration shoot.  

This debut shoot is conceived by make up artist Ellieanorah (Elle) Ikiebe is inspired by Beyonce’s  album –  lemonade and  celebrates the carefree black women movement of the moment with a historical context.  with the black and white motif inspired by freedom from Beyonce’s Lemonade album. 

Complemented by wedding dresses from Lucky Sixpence Bridal –  who refer to themselves as an outfitter for “badassbrides” (take with that as you will!) it is the perfect pairing. Founder of Lucky Sixpence Bridal Anna, founded 2 years ago after her own wedding and was motivated to provide an alternative and affordable bridal fashion offering for brides who want to go against the norm.

As a small business aiming to disrupt and improve the industry, I love to collaborate with others doing things I admire. I met Elle through her sister who I had interviewed for a magazine a few years ago and loved her idea for the shoot and helping break down the stereotypical vibes of bridal shoots.

As a bridal supplier I aim to work with beautiful girls of all ethnicities for my photoshoots and can’t wait for this to be the norm across the industry! Anna, Lucky Sixpence Bridal

This inspiration shoot is definitely something you won’t have seen before, from the fashion, to the models, to the braids and natural hair. Congratulations Elle and team for going against the grain and showcasing bridal beauty looks for women who are often forgotten about.

The wedding industry is one that rarely showcases diversity in bridal beauty in particular  – What inspired you to cast this shoot with black models?

In mainstream wedding marketing, black brides are rarely shown but only recently have people been talking about it. On this shoot, I got to put my stamp on the narrative of love and beauty. I am black and I have black nieces and to me simply seeing and showcasing our beauty is a fun thing to do. Additionally, I was very inspired by Beyonce‘s lemonade album.

Being explicit about this shoot celebrating carefree black women was a gamble and it paid off. 

Also, I noticed the wedding industry can be very ‘one note’ in how photos are taken because they are interested in selling one type of image to a diverse audience, but I was interested in creating art and Robin with the whole team accomplished this perfectly. Anna was very on board with what I wanted to create and so I think a shift is taking place… we can think about bridal wear differently if we get creative. 

 

Organising the shoot was very tasking but my partner was super encouraging and I was motivated to tell the story of elegant black women in Britain having high tea in a fantastic garden. The response from all the collaborators was amazing.

Thank you for such a fresh take on wedding inspiration. Hot of the press – One of the dresses featured in the shoot is being donated to a charity raffle to raise money for Leukaemia & Lymphoma LLS in New York  in February.  Wonderful!

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