BTS At Our Spring Shoot
A Day in the Life with the H&I Team
If we’ve learned anything in the last 10 years as a business, it’s that sometimes you have to be adaptable, and when everything seems like it’s going wrong, beautiful things can still happen.
One such experience where this rang very true was during our shoot for the Spring 2025 collection...
Last summer, H&I co-founder Sarah was joined by our fantastic agent Lucy and her photographer sister Kate as they jetted off to one of our favourite shoot locations – The South of France. The trio flew into Marseille Airport at the end of June, the time we always film for the following spring thanks to its typically beautiful weather and the plentiful blooms that offer such stunning backdrops. Sadly, on this occasion, as the date of the photoshoot approached, we realised the weather forecast was NOT what we’d originally hoped for.
What we imagined might be a short, sharp shower was anything but, and we were left with no choice but to start planning for how to capture our new collection during a torrential downpour.
Just when we thought things couldn’t get much worse, we arrived at our pre-booked accommodation, and did not quite find the romantic, quintessentially French villa we were anticipating. Run down and not at all in line with the vision we had for the shoot, we called up our trusty photographer John Lander, a Provence local, to brainstorm new options for locations.
John suggested that the bustling flower and fruit markets of Aix-en-Provence's old town would provide a touch of cover from the rain and wonderfully romantic surroundings, so bright and early the next morning, that’s where we headed. With the gorgeous Jenna as our model, it was a full team effort to keep both her and John dry as they worked, with Lucy opting to use a light reflector as a makeshift umbrella!
We shot a total of 14 looks across the day, making full use of Aix’s cobbled streets and squares, and even stopping by a beautiful fountain. As locals looked on, we dodged the rain clouds and meandered through stalls selling an abundance of delicious vegetables and fragrant bouquets of lavender.
John did the most amazing job making it look as though the rain hadn’t dampened our morning, and the team couldn’t believe how lucky we were to have captured such beautiful photographs.
After Aix, Sarah and the team headed out into the countryside to film our bridal pieces in beautiful meadows before returning to the overnight accommodation to see what magic could be created. Once again, adaptability proved to be the word of the day, as they took advantage of one gorgeous, traditional room. Complete with opulent French decor, blue, lime-washed bookcases and intricate carved oak doors, it was as if we’d discovered a scene from Beauty and the Beast. The rest of the property wasn’t what we’d been hoping for, but in this room, we found the perfect backdrop for our Gemma dress.
In the afternoon, there was no slowing down, as we took advantage of the pool area for a couple of pictures, just as the sun started to peek through the clouds. Then, it was off to Ventabren, a stunningly beautiful village where the light reflected across each of the quaint, blossom-covered houses.
All in all, the team flew in and out in 3 days and thanks to a huge, combined effort, we’re delighted with the pictures we were able to capture. And if you’ve already had a giggle at our misfortune... let us paint one final picture of the glamour this excursion involved.
With the shoot set early in the week, very few restaurants were open, so when it came to sitting down to toast to a job well done, there was only one place the team could stop for a glass of wine.... none other than Lidl. Not quite the experience of drinking wine in Provence that they’d had in mind...
A very important reminder that teamwork is key to all we do, and that there’s always a way to create sunshine on rainy days
Love H&I xo
