Baroque Asylum Wedding Ideas | Whimsical Wonderland Weddings

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Thisafternoon is all about dramatic atmospheric bridal wedding inspiration. The shoot was a collaboration between Erica Willoughby-Smith from Mr & Mrs Unique who organised the photo styling and co-ordination and Heather from Brighton Photo who art directed and photographed the shoot.

The feel was inspired by Baroque style, with the Asylum, London providing the perfect backdrop; there were edgy yet beautiful bridal looks, striking florals and one magnificent cake.

Huge thanks goes to Erica and to Heather from Brighton Photo for sharing these images with me today...

Erica:

"I had been speaking with Heather from Brighton Photo for a while about creating a Mr & Mrs Unique Photo shoot together, then an email hit my inbox. It was from Heather saying she had found a venue that she would like to work with and was it of interest to me.The venue in question was Asylum, Caroline Gardens Chapel in Peckham, London. The Chapel despite being called Asylum, was never a home for lunatics, but it actually was a 'sanctuary' (old folks home) for retired pub landlords!With its crumbling interior walls and stained glass windows it offered a real theatrical feel, I was so excited to jump on board with the project.Immediately it was discussed that a Baroque theme would suit the venue, so I set about creating a mood board that would inspire the suppliers that would work on this photo shoot. I was keen to soften the baroque vibe slightly- bring in colours of soft pink and gold to create a more bridal feel, something our readers would relate too.I feel blessed with all the suppliers that took part, who really pushed the boundaries and created a beautiful photo shoot - It was a really fun day."

Heather:

"It's funny how ideas come together. Having moved back to London and looking into the SE London art scene in and around Peckham and New Cross, I stumbled across Asylum as an exhibition space and thought OMG this place would be amazing for weddings! Then realised that they had indeed started hiring the space for weddings and thought I need to photograph in there. At the similar time an artist friend of mine was working on Baroque influenced street art and I thought that's it the idea! So Erica and I started to share ideas and imagery on Pinterest and Erica invited an eclectic and wonderfully talented unique bunch of suppliers to bring the Baroque vision together.To photograph and light the shoot building on the Baroque style I wanted to light the subjects referencing Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio. Caravaggio used intense illumination in his painting and seemed to almost turn a spotlight on his figures with dark shadows using a single light source. The high contrast in his paintings made them intensely powerful and dramatic which is what I wanted to emanate in the photographs.Asylum is the perfect photography backdrop with crumbling walls of derelict beauty and atmospheric lighting filtering thought the beautiful original stain glass windows. It's like a total surprise; a hidden gem just off the Old Kent road. Space wise it's huge and Jo and Dido who run Asylum are so accommodating and flexible to work with and it is simply wonderful and if you are looking for a unique venue that will surprise and delight your guests then go and see it!"