The scent of earth and moss filled the air, that damp, green perfume that only comes from things growing. Winton Castle was still waking when I arrived. Ladders leaned against old stone, buckets of foliage trailed through the halls, Natasha with ferns in one hand and wire in the other. Before a single guest arrived, Winton Castle had already begun to bloom.
To be invited into the inner workings of a creative business, to witness the beating centre of someone’s passion, is to be invited in to see the core of the creative’s soul. One is the other – inseparable, personal, and vulnerable – which is why we so often keep our processes to ourselves.
With that in mind, when Natasha reached out to ask if I’d be interested in documenting her creation for a whimsical, wild wedding at Winton Hall, I was struck with a mix of honour and disbelief. We’d never met, yet she somehow knew passionately that she could trust me to capture not only her work, but how she works – and I’m not sure I’ve ever received a compliment quite so powerful.
Her design process flowed so naturally – mirroring not only the lines of her tattoos, but the textures and life of the materials she used to shape her art. There was a rhythm to it, part instinct, part intuition – a kind of quiet conversation between her and the materials.
Ferns, branches, fruit, moss – she handled them all as if they already knew where they belonged. You could see her mind working through her hands; twisting stems, testing balance, stepping back to let the structure speak, eyes always scanning for the next shape or shadow that would bring it all together. The wildness wasn’t chaos, it was choreography.
I watched as she and her team foraged, crafted, and transformed the castle into something otherworldly. Scribbles on a page became sprawling installations, and corners of the castle that had stood still for centuries suddenly seemed to breathe. There was a full apple tree branch in the main hallway, ferns suspended mid-air, and pomegranates, pears, and moss scattered in all the right places. Every detail felt intentional, tactile, raw.
You could hear it too. The soft snip of stems, the murmur of her team moving in quiet rhythm, the creak of ladders shifting as they built. Every gesture had purpose, every placement part of the story.
But what struck me most wasn’t just the beauty, it was the ethos behind it all. Every choice was rooted in sustainability, from locally foraged materials to an intentional approach that honoured the seasons and the landscape.
The couple getting married had a vision, of course – a sense of mood, of atmosphere, of how they wanted their guests to feel – but instead of trying to have Natasha recreate something they’d seen before, they gave her the freedom to interpret it in her own way.
They trusted her completely, allowing her to move, forage, and build without limits. And because of that trust, the space became something more than a pinterest board replicate, it grew into something that could only ever have existed for them.
It was a true collaboration – their openness, her artistry, nature’s materials – all intertwining to create a wonderland that felt entirely its own. Creativity and conscience working hand in hand. Magic, with meaning. Truly what us wedding vendors dream of!
This next set of images are taken on 35mm film.
Tupelo Tree isn’t just a floral studio. It’s a philosophy – a way of seeing and feeling the world. Named after the tupelo tree (Nyssa sylvatica), known for its deep roots and vivid seasonal change, the name carries weight. It speaks of transformation, endurance, and the beauty of what’s fleeting.
Like the tree itself, Natasha’s work bends and breathes with the seasons. She builds, lets go, and builds again. Her art is rooted deeply in the landscape it’s born from – foraged, shaped, and woven into being with both reverence and rebellion. Her installations feel less like arrangements and more like wild growth finding its way back home.
There’s an honesty in that impermanence. The beauty exists, then fades, returning quietly to the earth it came from.
Natasha and I just clicked. There was a shared rhythm between us – a respect for process over perfection, for the way nature writes its own kind of poetry. And because I felt so aligned with her and her vision, I think I created some of my best work too.
Wedding couples – this is why it matters so much to be on the same page as your vendors. When your creative team shares your ethos, your story unfolds naturally, without friction. What grows from that kind of trust is always magic.
Being behind the scenes gave me a whole new appreciation for the skill, care, and imagination that go into floristry at this level. To witness ideas take shape – vines climbing stone, branches sculpted into form, flowers spilling across the floor like lava – was unforgettable.
Long after I’d packed up, I could still smell the moss and fruit, still see light flickering through the ferns. The space may have transformed again by morning, but for a brief evening everyone who experienced the work felt as if nature had taken a deep breath inside those castle walls.
You can discover more of Natasha’s incredible work here: Tupelo Tree.
