Magnolia Rouge: Vintage Bridal Shoot by Josie Richardson

I have a shoot with a little bit of a difference for you today. Josie Richardson sent over this amazing inspiration shoot which was centered around an historical exploration of bridal wear over the last century. All with a vintage feel to it. It started originally when Josie found a 1950’s dress in a second hand store in Brisbane and fell in love with it. It had been handmade and although the fabric was of a synthetic nylon style material, it spoke volumes about the era from which it came. Fashioned after Grace Kelly’s wedding dress and made at a time, after WWII, where fabric was so scarce wedding dresses were often borrowed. Josie tells us more about the shoot and the stories behind the dresses.

What had originally started off as a ‘one dress, one model’ shoot grew to encompass styles from nearly every era as far back as the 1920s as more and more dresses found their way to me. A 1960s dress was given to Glenys at ‘Preloved Bridal’, by the husband of it's original owner after she’d passed away. It had been made by a local woman who had individually stitched the pin tucked details around the bodice and sleeves by hand. Ultimately I ended up with 12 wedding dresses, many with their own unique story. Included was a new Karen Willis Holmes design, the ‘Millie’, to cover the modern bride though still with a distinctively vintage look to it. I resourced hats, gloves, flowers and other accessories from a range of suppliers, all wiling to be a part of the project.

The photos were taken over two days including a number of outdoor locations around Brisbane and the indoor photos were taken at the Treasury Hotel in Brisbane, a building completed late in the 19th century. In order to remain true to the historical theme of the shoot I photographed the bulk of it in film. I’ve found the look and colour of film to surpass that of very good digital cameras but mostly the grain in the Black and White images gives them a vintage feel that matches the eras of the dresses.