Let them eat cake! ~ A Marie Antoinette inspired Rococo shoot ~

As styled shoots go, this one was pretty unique.  Knowing full well that today's modern bride rarely goes for an 18th century themed wedding, this shoot was more about bringing to life the vision of or more accurately, giving colour to a dream of being swept away to a time where it was all about romance and tiny wasted lace dresses. To a time when chivalry was still a thing!  It challenges you to think beyond what is current and remind you that elements of that period will always contribute to the feeling of romance in a wedding or special event.  That was the shared vision of the team behind mastermind René Haydon of René H Couture.

The cake was to be one of the set pieces for this shoot so of course it was going to be all about fitting in with the style of the dresses of that period which in turn was all about fine details, frills and ornate embellishments but being a lover of History, I also wanted to give a nod to the woman herself, Marie Antoinette - the French queen who was rather infamously credited for saying: "Let them eat cake" when the Royals of that time got word that their French subjects in the streets did not have anymore bread (food) to eat.

 Sadly, Marie never actually uttered those words as the saying was first credited to a Spanish aristocrat long before Marie and King Louis' reign! In actual fact, she was quite a charitable queen. But her lavish lifestyle and love for the finer things in a time when most scarcely had anything to live on, caused her subjects to lose any love that they had for their queen. At the end, the politics of the French Revolution saw to Marie's execution and in time those infamous words became synonymous with her name.  But still, you can't think of Rococo fashion and all the elements that you love about the 18th century without the name Marie Antoinette popping up! She is forever immortalized as a fashion icon of that dramatic period in time.

As always, René put together the perfect team to pull off the look she wanted.   

  Make-up artist, Mana Bosch of  Mana Makeup was on location to make sure that models,  Denise van der Walt, Zandri de Koker and Tyler Miller looked flawless, each with their own unique hairstyle. 

  

 Anina form Lilyblue Shoes and Accessories provided just the right finishing touches in the form of hairpieces and jewelry.  Even down to the pretty shoes that went perfectly with the exquisitely detailed masterpieces which René lovingly made especially for this shoot.

 They chose Casa Labia Wedding Venue and Cultural Centre in Muizenberg to provide exactly the right backdrop to take you right back to the 18th century when you look at these stunning images by  Samantha Clifton Photography. A long awaited dream finally brought to life! 

For more images from this stunning shoot, be sure to visit SA Weddings for a full article.